HCSB Study Bible - Journal

MyStudyBible.com: December 2011 Update - Mobile Version, Content, and Tool Management

Aaron Linne — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 21:11:00 GMT

Today, MyStudyBible.com moved to its next major milestone with a fully HTML5 mobile site that has been optimized for the iPhone and Android devices, added some new features to the main site for a better experience, and loaded in a plethora of new free and paid content to enhance your Biblical study.

The MyStudyBible.com Mobile Site

Accessible by going to mystudybible.com/mobile, our mobile version gives you access to all of your free and purchased content in a quick, responsive way - but also with the deep integration that you've come to expect from your MyStudyBible.com library. When you first come to the mobile version of our site, you'll see the Biblical text supported with the cross reference tools. As always, by visiting MyStudyBible.com - without even registering - you get access to the complete, award-winning HCSB Study Bible notes.

Multiple Bibles

Within the mobile site you have access to all of the Bibles that are available, including the Chinese and Spanish translations we have available.

Dynamic Cross Reference Tools

As you scroll through the Bible or any text that has a Bible verse, the tools section will update to relevant information. You can choose from all kinds of tools to have displayed and updated, including study notes, related commentaries, and dictionaries. Of course, any content you own that works within the tools will work on the mobile site as well. Cross reference tools available in the mobile version include:

Study Bible notes
Word Study
Dictionary
Pronunciation
Commentary
Footnotes

Complete Library of Content

Clicking on either the settings button or the library icon will enable you to sign in and get access to all of your MyStudyBible.com library. In the settings area you have some basic controls for display and - most importantly - can adjust the size of the font to your liking.

Mobile Search

Finally, as you're on the go, you can pull up the mobile site for a quick search through the entire Bible or the entire library. When you search you're given a drop down option to search your library or the Bible you currently have open. We're pretty happy with how quickly we're able to run the search through all our resources and get you back what you're looking for; please, give it a try!

New Features

On the main site, we've continued to work towards making your experience customized to how you like to study. The biggest update to our main site is enhanced speed on the site. We've worked hard to optimize the flow of content and site things like images to get them to you as quick as possible. We know that getting the information to you fast is important, and we're continually working towards performance enhancements just for that.

Tool Management

If you register and sign in to the site, you'll find that the cross-reference tools tab has a new settings icon in it. If you click on that icon, you'll be taken to our new Tool Management feature. Here, you get to control all the elements of the cross-reference tool:

Display order of the Tools
Display order of content in the Tools
Turning on or off Tools
Turning on or off content in the Tools
Turning on or off seeing results for content you don't own

We hope people take advantage of customizing the tool to best suit their needs and utilize the user interface options to create a study atmosphere that works for them.

Exporting Notes

Our personal notes feature just got a lot more powerful with the ability to print or download your individual notes. When you open a note to read or edit it, you will see the icons for printing or downloading in the notes workspace. Each note can now be downloaded as a PDF, Word document, or a plain TXT file.

Show/Hide User Marks

If you are logged in and go to the settings on the site, there are three new options available to registered users:

Show My Bookmarks Icons
Show My Notes Icons
Show My Highlights

This way, if you want just a clean reading experience you can turn all these notifiers off.

Pronunciation Tool

One feature that we've had since launch is a pronunciation guide for whatever verse you are on. Dependent upon your focus verse, we display key words from that verse with an audio file of how to properly say it. This was previously in the Dictionary tool, but we found that a lot of people simply hadn't seen the capability and we wanted to be sure that everyone had a chance to dive in deep with it - and be aware it even existed! These pronunciations are now under their own Pronunciation Tool in the cross reference tools tab.

Show More in Cross Reference Pane

And, finally, you can now expand the cross reference results from within the cross reference pane. There are now two options from within the cross reference pane: "See More" to open in the tool or "Read" to open in the full reader.

New Content

We've added quite a bit of content this go around... so here we go!

Free

(these new, free volumes can be found under the "Teaching" category)

Great Expectations

3D Sunday School

Transformational Class

Invite I-6: A Six-Lane Strategy Toward an Inviting Sunday School

The 5-Step Formula for Sunday School Growth

The Discover Triad

Connect 3

Paid Content

Introduction to True Love Waits

When True Love Doesn't Wait

Arm Yourself Against the Enemy's Schemes

Real Freedom: The Journey, the Stories

Experience a Fresh Explosion of Faith

Is That You, God?

Dare to Love

Surrendering the Secret

La Iglesia Que Dios USA para Transformar

Girls Ministry Idea Book

Girls Ministry Handbook

Path of Purity

Reclaiming Stolen Intimacy

KNOWN/Fall 2011 Leader Guide

Encountering the Manuscripts

Paul and His Letters

A History of Israel

The Heart of Hebrew History

The Heart of the New Testament

52 Words Every Christian Should Know

Holman Book of Biblical Charts, Maps, and Reconstructions

A Simplified Harmony of the Gospels

131 Christians That Everyone Should Know

4000 Questions and Answers on the Bible

My Favorite Illustrations

1000 Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching

A Theology for the Church

Old Testament Survey, 2nd Edition

Jesus and the Gospels

A Summary of Christian History

An Introduction to Wisdom and Poetry of the Old Testament

Holman Illustrated Guide to Interpreting the Bible

A Heart Like His

Believing God

Breaking Free

Jesus the One and Only

Praying God's Word

The Beloved Disciple

To Live Is Christ

When Godly People Do Ungodly Things

Courageous Living

NetCasters

Holman QuickSource Bible Atlas

Holman Quicksource Bible Dictionary

Holman QuickSource Guide to Christian Apologetics

Holman QuickSource Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls

Holman QuickSource Guide to Understanding Creation

Holman QuickSource Guide to Understanding Jesus

Holman Quicksource Guide to Understanding the Bible

The Names of God

Now You're Speaking My Language

The Love Dare

The Resolution For Men

The Resolution for Women

Ryrie's Practical Guide to Communicating Bible Doctrine

100 Top Picks For Homeschool Curriculum: Choosing The Right Curriculum And Approach For Your Child's Learning Style

Fresh Ideas For Women's Ministry: Creative Plans and Programs that Really Work!

The Minirth Guide for Christian Counselors

Perspectives on Children's Spiritual Formation

Perspectives on Christan Worship

Perspectives on Church Government

Perspectives on Election

Perspectives on Family Ministry

Perspectives on Spirit Baptism

Perspectives on the Doctrine of God: Four Views

Perspectives on the Ending of Mark: Four Views

Perspectives on the Sabbath

Perspectives on Tithing

Perspectives on Your Child's Education

MyStudyBible.com September 2011 Update: Video Player, Syncing, and More Content!

Aaron Linne — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 21:19:00 GMT

The September update for MyStudyBible.com is simply packed with new features and content. We've been building towards this one for a long time - can you believe that MyStudyBible.com has been around for over a year now! We've been able to continue to add features and content that you are requesting (literally - we really do read all the suggestions that come in from the feedback link!); I know a lot of you will be super-pleased with what we've added this time. Let's dive in, shall we?

Video Series

Our biggest edition for September is both a feature and a giant content set: we now have synced content videos including the 1,500 videos from Gene Getz's Life Essentials Study Bible. Just like all of the other study tools we offer, these videos are tagged and synced to the content you are reading. So, for example, if you browse to John 3:16 then any videos that reference that verse will automatically display in the video tool.

One issue we had to overcome is what to do if you are still viewing a video while you change the focus verse. Where we landed is that if you have started the playback of a video then change your verse location, we don't automatically take over and display a different video; if youve started a video we will instead just notify you that new videos are available.

In addition to the Gene Getz teaching videos, we have also added the Read the Bible for Life Scholar Series with George Guthrie. In these videos, Guthrie interview various scholars about the importance of and how to read the Bible, including scholars like Danny Hays and Darrell Bock. Both the 1,500 Life Essentials Study Bible videos and the Read the Bible for Life Scholar Series videos are completely free to both registered and unregistered users of MyStudyBible.com

LifeEsssentialsStudyBible.com

Let's be honest; 1,500 videos is a lot of videos. Pair that with some simply amazing study notes from the Life Essentials Study Bible, and we decided to go out of our way to make sure that this content could be easily and readily used by you. As such, we developed a custom version of MyStudyBible.com that you can check out at LifeEssentialsStudyBible.com. Here the Life Essentials content gets its own tab in the right-hand pane, so you can easily get to that specific content.

In-Text Verse Syncing

In MyStudyBible.com, we have the concept of a focus verse; whatever verse is your current focus verse when reading the Biblical text controls all of the study tools that sync in the right-hand pane. We've expanded this content to be for any verse in any text you are reading. So, for example, if you are reading "Gospel" by J.D. Greear, the first verse reference in Chapter 1 is Matt. 22:37-39. When this verse enters your screen, all of the study tools now sync to content based upon Matt. 22:37-39. This means that all of your content is fully integrated with the syncing system, allowing your content to truly come to life for the deepest Bible study experience on the web. Every text and commentary now has dynamic tools that can help lead you on a path to better understanding of the Biblical text.

Enhanced Searching

With each release, we continue to enhance and refine our search tools. In this release, we have added the ability to search directly within the current Bible translation you are reading. If you have the HCSB text open in the reader and go to do a search, you will now get an option to search just that translation for whatever terms you enter.

Additionally, as we continue to add content, we want to be sure that you're able to find your favorite author. In the updated store design, you can now search the store for specific titles or authors. For example, if you search for Beth Moore while in the store's search, all of the titles from her in the system will appear.

Improved iPad Experience

From the beginning, we've been proud to be able to say that the entire site worked on the iPad. Alas, we heard that some people weren't 100% happy with the implementation (including me!), so we reworked quite a bit of the presentation layer of our site to make sure the site would be optimized for the iPad. The site now fits properly on the screen, and we've help new iPad users by informing them of the two-finger touch control in order to scroll through the reader pane. Additionally, we made sure that the video play works on the iPad too - so you don't have to miss out on the videos just because you're on a tablet!

Improved Sign-In Experience

We found that certain browsers were having trouble with registering and signing in to the site; we have corrected this issue as well.

View and Purchase Individual Commentary Volumes

Previously we only had the option to purchase an entire commentary set. Each set now has the option in the store to "View Series" in order to see more details and purchase individual volumes from that series. And yes, the Gospel commentaries from the Holman New Testament Commentary Series are still completely free to both registered and unregistered user!

New Content

Finally, we've added quite a bit of content to the site! Check out a few of the new titles we've added here:

Gospel by J.D. Greear
Spiritual Leadership by Henry Blackaby
The New American Commentary Series
The Message
The Amplified Bible
The Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words
The Life Essentials Study Bible Notes
What Every Christian Ought to Know: Day by Day by Adrian Rogers
Share Jesus Without Fear by William Fay

MyStudyBible.com June 2011 Update: New Content

Aaron Linne — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 22:16:00 GMT

When we set out to build MyStudyBible.com, we wanted to build a site that true, deep Biblical study could happen. Through the inclusion of multiple translations, the entire HCSB Study Bible notes, and Greek/Hebrew word studies we wanted to readily equip the Church to explore more. This month's update is all about enabling you to go further and deeper with new free content and an exciting new way to add to your online library.

Free Content for June 2011

This month we are introducing 3 new, free Bible translations to utilize in your studies. Like all of the translations on MyStudyBible.com, you can read two translations in parallel and in sync, comparing the two as you read through. When choosing a translation, simply click "Read Parallel" to open the second translation and keep the two in sync.

English Standard Version (ESV)

American Standard Version (ASV)

Reina-Valera 1960 (RVR 1960)

Adding Content to Your Online Library

With this update, we are now enabling you to add content to your online library with selections of commentaries, Academic titles, and additional Bible study notes from B&H Publishing Group. We understand that sometimes you just need that one extra resource as you are working on a sermon for Sunday morning or a study for your small group. You need to dip into the content quickly, get the information you need, then get back to writing and studying.

With the content now available in the MyStudyBible.com store, you will be able to purchase access to content for 24 hours, 30 days, or as unlimited access. With 24 hour access on individual titles as low as $0.99 and 24 hour access on entire commentary sets as low as $4.99, you can now dive as deep as you need when you need it for as long as you need it.

A few highlights of the new content and pricing include:

The Holman New Testament Commentary Series: 24-Hour Access at $4.99, 30-Day Access at $9.99, Unlimited Access at $119.99

The Apologetics Study Bible Notes: 24-Hour Access at $0.99, 30-Day Access at $4.99, Unlimited Access at $19.99

Holman Bible Atlas: 24-Hour Access at $0.99, 30-Day Access at $4.99, Unlimited Access at $16.99

Beth Moore's Believing God Day by Day: 24-Hour Access at $0.99, 30-Day Access at $4.99, Unlimited Access at $9.99

Experiencing God by Henry and Richard Blackaby: 24-Hour Access at $0.99, 30-Day Access at $4.99, Unlimited Access at $9.99

Recovering the Real Lost Gospel by Darrell Bock: 24-Hour Access at $0.99, 30-Day Access at $4.99, Unlimited Access at $9.99

Searching All Available Content

Beyond adding content to your library, we wanted to be sure that everyone could benefit from the inclusion of more content. Now, when you do a search, you can choose to see results from all of the available content. By doing this search, you will be able to see results from everything that's in the library. This way you can see a small snippet of the content to see if that is a volume you'd like to purchase access to for further research.

This is an exciting time for us, and we hope that you choose to explore more at MyStudyBible.com. As always, please feel free to let our feedback and let us know how we can continue to improve the site and services for you!

May 2011 Update: Notes, Bookmarks, and Highlights

Aaron Linne — Wed, 11 May 2011 05:01:00 GMT

The @StudyBibleTeam is incredibly excited to introduce the next release of features for MyStudyBible.com: Highlights, Bookmarks, and Notes! By adding the ability to log in to the site, we're now able to give you the basic tools needed to start engaging with the content in a deeper manner - by adding your own notes and markers for thought and future reference.

Creating a Profile and Logging In

In order to create notes and customizations, you must first register or log in. By clicking on the link to the left of your screen you'll be presented with a few options on how to log in now and in the future. We currently offer three solutions for you to log in using other online services, if there's one you prefer:

Facebook
Twitter
Google ID

We are also introducing an exciting new way to log-in to MyStudyBible.com: by using your LifeWay ID. Currently also being used by LifeWay's VBS community, registering for this sign-in solution will give you a chance to grab your spot in LifeWay's ID system. You'll be hearing more about the LifeWay ID in coming months; we hope you'll give it a try. After logging in, the new features will be available to you and your notes and customizations will saved in the cloud, so when you log in from a different computer everything will be just the way you like it!

Highlights

Highlighting allows you to create a visual highlight in the reading pane for any Bible verse. Simply highlight the text like you would in any word processing software and, when you release, you'll be shown an expanded options box. Clicking one of the colors up top will highlight the verse with that color so it can stand out in future readings.

My Bookmarks

Bookmarks allow you to create quick jumping points to different verses. After adding a bookmark you can reorder it in your bookmark list, or rename the bookmark so you can remember why the verse was so special to you. Feel free to watch this quick video for a tutorial on using Bookmarks in MyStudyBible.com.

(Please visit the site to view this media)

My Notes

The My Notes feature of MyStudyBible.com is one of the most anticipated features, and we're happy to open it up for everyone to use and get feedback from you! You can add notes to any verse in the Bible, with basic editing functionality. When you create or edit a note, you are able to tag it what various topics or keywords to help you organize the notes however you like. You can view the introduction to using My Notes in MyStudyBible.com here.

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Thanks and, as always, please send us your thoughts and feedback. We love hearing from our users so when know what to build for you next!

March 2011 Update: Advanced Copy, Short Links, NASB and more content!

Aaron Linne — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 01:27:00 GMT

With much excitement, the @StudyBibleTeam is proud to introduce our March Update of MyStudyBible.com!

The past few months we've been quietly fixing bugs on the site, preparing for future updates, and making sure all the pieces and parts fit for different browsers and services. A large part of this release has been "under-the-hood" work... but you don't care about that. Let's dive into the good stuff!

Advanced Copy and Paste Features

With this release we are introducing an Advanced Copy feature for Bible verses. In your browser, simply highlight a verse and you will be presented with a few new options: Copy Text (this is a simple copy of the text), Copy Link (copies a link to the verse), and Advanced Options.

Clicking Advanced Options gives you full control of the Biblical text you are copying and pasting. You can turn on/off headers, verse numbers, or limit the content to 140 characters for easy Tweeting. The full list of options are:

Headings
Verse Numbers
Footnotes
Reference
Translation
Formatting
Links
Limit to 140 Characters
Turn On/Off HTML Links

From this screen you can also easily share your favorite verse. Pressing the Facebook button starts a post for you with the link to the verse already created. Pressing the Twitter button starts a new tweet for you with the first 140 characters; we don't auto-tweet so you can edit!

Short Links to MyStudyBible.com Content

When you use the new Copy tool, you may notice a "Copy Link" button for Bible verses. You can now easily get links to direct verses for any translation in MyStudyBible.com!

Click this link to see it in action: MSB.to/Jn3:16

In this release only Bible verses have the links automatically created for you, but fret not; check out this post for how to create links to all of the free content in MyStudyBible.com.

New Content

We've added to the library of content that is fully integrated with MyStudyBible.com! This update we've added a new translation, the New American Standard Bible, provided compliments of the Lockman Foundation. The NASB was first released in the 1960s and we're proud to have this highly regarded translation, know for its literal translation, as another resource for studying the Bible on MyStudyBible.com.

We added a few more resources to go deeper with understanding the words and history of the Bible, too:

Please don't forget the most important feature of our site: the Feedback link. We are building this site for you, listening to the needs and requests of our users. The feedback you send from that form will be read by a member of the @StudyBibleTeam; please don't hesitate to send on your thoughts!

Thanks, and Explore More with MyStudyBible.com!

Creating Links to MyStudyBible.com Content

Aaron Linne — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 00:22:00 GMT

MyStudyBible.com has a built-in URL shortener to create quick links to verses and content on the site. By simply highlighting any verse* you will get a neat little pop-up that will allow you to copy the link. We drop the link right into your computer's clipboard for you to paste into a tweet, email, browser URL, or other document.

In the March 2011 update to MyStudyBible.com, we enabled this pop-up feature for the Bible translations, but we are still working on integrating it to the other content. However, even without the pop-up, our shortening service still works! In this blog post, we will explore the art of manually making MSB.to links.

The MSB.to short URLs are consist of three elements:

1) MSB.to/

2) The content volume you are directing to

3) The location in the content you are directing to

Let's look at two samples to get the process down. First, let's create a link to John 3:16 in the HCSB translation. There are three elements:

URL	Content	Location
MSB.to/	HCSB=	Jn3:16

Changing to a different translation is just as simple as changing the translation letters, so John 3:16 in the NASB translation would be:

MSB.to/NASB=Jn3:16

You can automatically get the short URL for Bible verses by using the Copy/Paste pop-up tool. But now that you know the formula, we can explore creating a short link to other content. All you need to know is the short name for the content piece, and an applicable reference point. For example, "That's Easy for You to Say" is a dictionary, so a reference point is the definition term. So, to create a short link for Melchizedek, the link would be:

MSB.to/ThatsEasy=Melchizedek

It's that easy!

For your convenience, bookmark this page to see how to create the various short URLs for our content. In the table below we have listed the free content available in MyStudyBible.com, their short names, reference point type, and an example. Enjoy!

*Bibles*	*Short Name*	*Type*	*Example*
HCSB	HCSB	Book/Chapter/Verse	MSB.to/HCSB=Jn3:16
KJV	KJV	Book/Chapter/Verse	MSB.to/KJV=Jn3:16
NASB	NASB	Book/Chapter/Verse	MSB.to/NASB=Jn3:16
CSB	CSB	Book/Chapter/Verse	MSB.to/CSB=Jn3:16
CUV	CUVMP	Book/Chapter/Verse	MSB.to/CUVMP=Jn3:16
*Study Bible Notes*	*Short Name*	*Type*	*Example*
HCSB Study Bible	HCSB-SB	Book/Chapter/Verse	MSB.to/HCSB-SB=Jn3:16
*Dictionaries*	*Short Name*	*Type*	*Example*
Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary	HolmIllusDict	Definition	MSB.to/HolmIllusDict=Jesus Christ
That's Easy for You to Say	ThatsEasy	Definition	MSB.to/ThatsEasy=Jesus
Easton's Illustrated Bible Dictionary	Easton	Definition	MSB.to/Easton=Jesus
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names	Hitchcock	Definition	MSB.to/Hitchcock=Jesus
*Commentaries*	*Short Name*	*Type*	*Example*
Matthew Henry Concise Bible Commentary	MatHenry	Book/Chapter/Verse	MSB.to/MatHenry=Jn3:16
HNTC: Matthew	HNTC-Mt	Book/Chapter/Verse	MSB.to/HNTC-Mt=Mt1:1
HNTC: Mark	HNTC-Mk	Book/Chapter/Verse	MSB.to/HNTC-Mk=Mk1:1
HNTC: Luke	HNTC-Lk	Book/Chapter/Verse	MSB.to/HNTC-Lk=Lk1:1
HNTC: John	HNTC-Jn	Book/Chapter/Verse	MSB.to/HNTC-Jn=Jn1:1
*Word Studies*	*Short Name*	*Type*	*Example*
Strong's Greek & Hebrew Dictionary	Strongs	Strong's #	MSB.to/Strongs=G998

*You must have Flash installed in order to use the Copy/Paste tool

MyStudyBible.com: December Update - Sync Controls, Read in Parallel and Chinese Translations

Aaron Linne — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 23:07:00 GMT

Greetings from the @StudyBibleTeam! We are incredibly excited to be able to release the December Update for MyStudyBible.com today!

Sync Controls

When you visit MyStudyBible.com, you will see a new Sync icon between the main reading pane and the study panel. This new features gives you even more control over your study experience.

By keeping the sync icon on, whatever verse you are looking at in the reading pane will sync with the content in the cross-reference tab of the study panel; that's how it's been since launch. However, now you can turn the sync off, in case you want to keep the cross reference tab's content where it is, while exploring other scripture. The sync is also on a per-content basis. In other words, if you have multiple items open in the reading pane, you can turn it on/off for individual content. Again, making it easy to be sure that what's showing up in the cross-reference tab is what your'e wanting to see.

Read in Parallel/Sync

Now you can read multiple translations at the same time, in parallel! By opening a second Bible translation with the "Read in Parallel" button from the Library, two Bibles will be open; one in the reading pane and one in the cross-reference pane. Now, with the sync controls, you can keep both translations tied together at the same verse.

Of course, it's not just Bible translations that can be read in Parallel. Select Study Note volumes and Commentaries can be opened via "Read in Sync." Doing so will tie the content to the main reading pane. For example, if you open the Holman New Testament Commentary for Mark via "Read in Sync," the commentary will open in the cross-reference pane. Once you navigate your Bible to Mark 1:1, the commentary will automatically follow along as you move forward in the text.

Please feel free to send us feedback on the Sync tools and how your'e utilizing them!

Chinese Translations: CSB and CUV

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we have added two new translations to MyStudyBible.com: the CSB and CUV. With over 1.3 billion Chinese speakers in China alone, we wanted to be sure that the largest number of people possible could study the Bible online. The CSB is a new translation of the Biblical text, and has been developed in partnership with the Asia Bible Society. You can read about the translation here: www.ChineseStandardBible.com

The CUV is the most well-known Chinese language Bible; you can read more about it here.

And, of course, the English-language translations and the Chinese-language translations can be read in-parallel!

Feedback

As always, please let us know what you like about the new features and what you want to see us add to MyStudyBible.com both here and on the site!

MyStudyBible.com: November Update - Search, Full Screen, and New Windows

Aaron Linne — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 16:35:00 GMT

One of the most exciting parts of developing a site like MyStudyBible.com is all of the features and ideas we get to build towards. The @StudyBibleTeam has a number of ideas we've been cooking for over a year now but, most importantly, we've received a TON of feedback from our users since launch. We love hearing from you and - even more so - we love being able to deliver enhancements that meet your needs.

This month we've worked on cleaning up the UI experience for better study experiences and the most requested feature we've had: search!

Search

There was no question that we would have search; ever since we turned on there's been a search box with "Coming Soon" right there on the screen. The question was, how could we best present all of the content to you after you enter your search term. After searching for a term, we show the results in the cross reference including quick links to each content set we offer (i.e. Bibles, Commentaries, etc.).

Any of the titles in your library show up in the search results, with the first three results. Simply click on "See more..." from that volume to explore more!

Full Screen

In our October release, we introduced Dynamic Sizing, so the site would fit into any size browser screen. This time, we give you the option to push the boundaries and extend the reading panes to full screen. By clicking the full screen icon from the main reading panel, we take away all the navigation elements that might get in your way of just simply studying the Bible and related works. This feature also works great for presenting the Study Bible on projectors or TVs for group study.

New Windows

For each tab of content, we've added an icon for some additional functionality to the reader:

From here you can open the text you are reading in a new window, with only that content showing, in full screen. If you want to be able to just read with no distractions, this is the feature built for you!

Feedback Wanted!

As always, we still want your feedback for future features. We have a lot of ideas in mind, but we want to meet your needs for studying the Bible online. Please visit MyStudyBible.com and click the feedback link at the bottom of the page. The whole @StudyBibleTeam read and review those emails as we plan out future features; we hope to hear from you soon!

MyStudyBible.com: October Update - Dynamic Sizing

Aaron Linne — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 21:10:00 GMT

We are incredibly excited to release our very first update to MyStudyBible.com, today, October 11, 2010!

Just a month after our launch, we have received an incredible amount of feedback on the site. These emails and tweets have been so incredibly valuable to us as we look forward to future releases and what changes to make in order to truly make MyStudyBible.com the site that you, Biblical readers and scholars, need for your personal study.

One thing was very clear to us right from the beginning, before we even launched: we needed the site to be able to easily resize with the dimensions of your web browser. With all of the technical gymnastics we're doing on this site, our first priority was getting the site released in a way that could be used on as many browsers and operating systems as possible - including the iPad - so you could get your hands on it.

Today we're proud to announce that we're releasing the most requested feature from the feedback: Dynamic Sizing!

Do you have a screen the size of an iPad? We fit that. Do you have a giant monitor at home you use for small groups? We fit that. Do you have a high-density, envy-of-everyone monitor on your desk? We fit that too.

We have a host of small bug fixes that we've been working through as well, to make your experience more stable and prepare for future enhancements. Take a glance around the site and please, use the feedback form to let us know what you'd like to see on the site next!

New HCSB eBook Editions Available Now, More Coming Soon

paulmikos — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 21:02:00 GMT

I'm excited about our publishing plan for digital editions of the HCSB (Holman Christian Standard Bible). There's been a lot of downward pressure on prices in the publishing industry. precipitated largely by mass market price wars and the digital revolution. One of the hardest hit is the bestselling book of all time, The Bible, available (as it should be) free almost anywhere you look online. So, how does a Bible publisher exist when the core text is free?

Don't fight it.

We are releasing several editions of the HCSB at different price points, the core of which is the HCSB: Digital Text Edition. All the footnotes, cross references, and textual links have been removed, funky line breaks and formatting issues have been cleaned up, the words of Christ are rendered in black, not red, for optimal display on e-ink devices, the table of contents links to the chapter level only--all of which provides a very clean presentation that is easy and fast to navigate. It is the cleanest version of the HCSB text and it is free. It is available now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD,Sony, iBooks (Dear Apple, please give us a way to link to product pages for iBooks like you have for apps), and others coming online soon.

The HCSB: Digital Reference Edition has also been updated and optimized for easy reading on digital devices. It includes more than 35,000 links to textual notes, alternate readings, explanatory notes, cross references, and Old Testament citations in the New Testament. THIRTY-FIVE THOUSAND LINKS. Let that sink in for just a minute. It is available for $9.99. It is also available now fromAmazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD, eBooks.com, Sony, iBooks, and others coming online soon.

The ebook edition of the HCSB Study Bible is still being optimized for use on ebook devices. In addition to the 35,000+ linked footnotes from the Reference Edition, the Study Bible also includes links more than 15,000 study notes and essays, 290 word studies, and 250 photographs, maps, illustrations, and charts. While the ebook version is still in development, we continue to get rave reviews for the iOS app and free online version at MyStudyBible.com.

The HCSB: Word Study Edition is also in development now. It is the reference edition with additional links to the Strong's Greek & Hebrew Dictionary definitions for the original language root words behind the English words. While this is still in development for most ebook reading devices, it is available now from Olive Tree for iOS, Android, Blackberry, and Symbian, or find links to Strong's Definitions on any web enabled device at MyStudyBible.com.

Each of these editions offer additional content and varying depths of connectivity providing the reader with different tools around which the value can be established, while at its core the Bible is free--as it should be.

HCSB Study Bible Endorsement from Doug McIntosh

Aaron Linne — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 21:23:00 GMT

Holman Bible Publishers have performed a great service for the Christian community in their publication of the HCSB Study Bible. Using their own HCSB text, they bring to the readers’ fingertips a wealth of study aids: timeines, word studies, cross references, alternate renderings, verse-by-verse clarifications—everything is there. The volume adds even more value through its excellent illustrations, photos, and skillfully written essays on critical topics. Altogether the Holman Christian Study Bible is a must-have tool for both personal Bible study and local church ministry.

Doug McIntosh, Senior Pastor
Cornerstone Bible Church
Lilburn, GA

HCSB Study Bible Endorsement from James Emery White

Aaron Linne — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 15:15:00 GMT

"The HCSB Study Bible offers a wealth of resources, knowledge and insight for anyone wanting to study the Word of God. Very Impressive."

James Emery White, Senior Pastor

Mecklenburg Community Church

HCSB Study Bible Endorsement from Dr. Steve R. Parr

Aaron Linne — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 00:05:00 GMT

The HCSB Study Bible is a gold mine for Pastors, Bible Study Leaders, Sunday School Teachers, and anyone who wants to make the best of their personal study and preparation. The combination of accurate translation, readability, scholarly commentary, and user friendly tools make it a resource that you will want to add to your study library.

Dr. Steve R. Parr
Author of Sunday School That Really Works

MyStudyBible.com Beta Demo Video

Aaron Linne — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 17:15:00 GMT

Last week, we introduced MyStudyBible.com, featuring the HCSB Study Bible, to the world through our beta preview. Many of our users have discovered the deep features of the tool, including the instant Greek/Hebrew definitions and updating sidebar, but we wanted to be sure we had a chance to point out everything to you in a nice, concise video. The number one thing for us right now is hearing from you, to know how we can build this tool for YOUR needs. Please watch this video and let us know what you think, either on HCSBStudyBible.com, on YouTube, or via the feedback link at MyStudyBible.com Thanks!

HCSB Study Bible Endorsement from Andy Pettitte

Aaron Linne — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:01:00 GMT

The HCSB has enriched my life so much. To be able to read God's word and to get all the great insight the HCSB Study Bible offers—what a blessing!

--Andy Pettitte, New York Yankees starting pitcher