Export/Print Scripture Chapters with Annotations

[samspoors]

I am unaware of a current process that would allow me to print a chapter of scripture complete with annotations. The way in which I study means that all of my notes are linked to the verses. Being able to print or export these notes either with or without the actual scriptural content, would help enormously in archiving my studies and ensuring that no matter what the Technology team chose to do with the website/mobile application, my content would be safe.

[lmcguire]

Sam,

There are options. Off the top of my head:

1) LDS.org website, log in, pull up the chapter, make sure annotations are showing (there's an option to hide them). Then in the Page Setup settings for your browser, select the option to print background colors & images. Then when you print, it will include your highlights. (I don't think it will include your tags or notes.)

2) LDS.org website, Notes tool (after logging in, click on My Account and Ward and choose "Notes"), each notebook includes a "Download" option (there's an "Unassigned Items" notebook for everything you haven't personally put into a notebook). The download option includes the ability to choose what to include in your download, and the format to use. Experiment to see what works best for you.

3) In the Gospel Library app, if you put things in a notebook, and then share the notebook, it does include highlighted text (specifying color), notes on the annotation, and tags. I'm not sure if it includes links as I've never tried to share one with annotations that have links, but I suspect it would.

4) If you know how to hack, you could back up the SQLite database used to store the GL on your app - that database includes all your annotations. You'll have to reverse engineer the database structure to figure out how to make the data useful to you. (Unless the new 4.x version of GL has changed matters, the database is not encrypted.)

Hope that helps,
Liz

[samspoors]

Hi there, thanks for the reply. The problem we are looking at here are the notes to scriptural verses being unavailable to export. Do you have any experience with this? If not, what would you recommend as being the best way to go about getting this issue/feature seen by the developers of the app? (Due to the nature of your reply, is there any wording that you would change in the original post so as to better communicate the subject at hand?) Thanks in advance.

[lmcguire]

The best way I know to get feedback to the developers is via the in-app feedback.

As for how to express your request... The following three lines are to illustrate the remainder of my answer:

The download option (using XML) from the Notes tool on LDS.org _is_ an export. (I'm a database application developer, so I'm using that term the way a computer person uses that term.)

Options 1 & 3 are not exports, but serve the purpose of recording your data in an alternate format for archival and emergency access (e.g. to re-key into another app).

Option 4 is better than an export, it's a copy of the database which you can use to your heart's content. Make regular backups, and you're gold. All you need is a SQLite DB editor (many free).

So, since none of that is what you want, my recommendations are: remove the word "print" - my #1 above is exactly what you said you wanted ("print a chapter of scripture complete with annotations"), but apparently you would prefer something else, so don't mention it. Leave out "archiving" (multiple of my replies will allow you to archive, but that's apparently not sufficient, so don't even mention it). Stick with the term "export", but you'll need to define what that means to you, because developers are going to think what I thought (there's already a way to export and one way to back up which is as good as export).

I recommend using another app which already does this as an example. Given your reply, I'm guessing you want an in-app feature (as opposed to the web or database backup feature), and that you want this export to be in one of the common export formats - CSV, TXT, XML, spreadsheet... (Whether that's accurate or not, you'll need to specify that sort of thing.) Give them details and an example sufficient that they can interpret what you want. Draw pictures and email them, if needed. Pictures are worth a thousand words...

I would leave out mention of why you want this. Any programmer can imagine all kinds of uses, and I suspect they'll think like I do, that your data is safer backed up on church servers than anything the average private individual can do (unless you're into engraving gold plates). (Even if every now and then someone's profile has to be restored from backup.) The point being, this part wouldn't impact the requirements for building the feature and is a distraction, so don't mention it.

NOTE: If you want a format that some future version of GL, you'd better mention you want them to build a corresponding import feature. If you want a format some similar app by a third party can import, they can't give you that, so don't even mention it (the third party would have to design an import that reads GL's export (should such a thing ever get built)).

[robmerrill]

Any chance an api to export/import my annotations (notes, tags, links, highlights) of library content is or would be or has been developed?

[robmerrill]

Oh. The SQLite db you mentioned—I’m guessing that’s part of the app? And I use iOS, is that only accessible on android/other more “open” platforms?