E-Sword on Android – Finally!
March 3, 2022
Rick Meyers finally published e-Sword for Android! This is so exciting! I hate paying for any apps, but I shelled out the $1.99 and downloaded e-Sword from the Google Play Store. It uses the standard e-Sword modules that also work for Apple devices, i.e. the Bible modules end in .bbli. Here’s Rick’s words for making/converting your own e-Sword modules for Android:
“HOW DO I GET MY PC E-SWORD MODULES INTO E-SWORD ?
There is a lot to it, but hopefully we can make it easy for you. The following steps should assist you in this endeavor:
STEP #1 — e-Sword. You need to have a PC with e-Sword 12+ installed on it. You can download that from here: https://www.e-sword.net/downloads.html
STEP #2 — Content. There are thousands of user-made modules already available for e-Sword which can easily be converted for e-Sword . Join the e-Sword User Group where you may find what you are looking for, or if it doesn't already exist there are also tools by which you can create them! The e-Sword User Group is here: http://www.biblesupport.com/
STEP #3 — Convert. After you have downloaded the e-Sword module(s) you wish to convert for use in e-Sword you will need to run them through the e-Sword PC to iOS User Module Conversion Utility. You can download that from here: https://www.e-sword.net/extras.html
STEP #4 — Transfer. The final step is to copy the new module(s) onto your Android device. Open e-Sword , tap the menu button on the Bible view's top toolbar, then select the "Import" menu item. Browse to the directory where you copied the converted modules into and select them. The modules will be imported, but if there are any problems with a module it will be ignored.”
The only thing negative that I’ve noticed so far is that e-Sword Android messes with my fonts. It seems to kill my bold font, except in verses where Yeshua speaks, which I have set to a red bold font. I’ve found that using bold font makes text much easier to read on my PC and Android phones. I now process the Android SOMB.bbli file to make a NO red letter edition for Android and Apple devices, but the module seems to be readable now.
E-Sword on a Moto e5 Supra
Now I’m going to try to install e-Sword Android on an old Android tablet I have. Pray for me.
I’ve already uploaded my Son Of Man Bible to my downloads page on our ministry website: https://www.fmcmi.org/downloads
e-Sword Android is listed right below e-Sword for PC on the left side of the page. Try it out, download my SOMB module for Android, copy it to your downloads folder on your Android phone, then from inside e-Sword Android, import the file from your Downloads folder. It works smoothly and quickly. I update my modules 6 days a week. It imported my latest module right over my module from yesterday, no problems updating content modules. I’m going to use e-Sword Android beside the MySword app, which I install my .bblx module into for the bold font. The bold remains, but MySword has trouble with searching my .bblx module. I tried the .bbli module in MySword, and the search works better, but the font is so hard to read – too light. So far, I like MySword better for readability.
Stay tuned. I’ll update this blog post, or write a new one to let you all know how it turns out putting e-Sword Android onto an Android tablet.
Wow, since my Android tablet is registered under my email address, I was able to download e-Sword for free this time and installed it on the Android tablet. I imported my Son Of Man Bible easily, and it works well, just not very readable with the light font. I will have to look into e-Sword Android for font settings.
I also went to the Google Play Store on Marner’s phone. She would have to buy e-Sword Android again for another $1.99. Not bad, but too bad. So far, I like the way MySword works better, easier for me, but I’ve been using MySword for many years now, so that’s probably not a fair assessment. But many people may find side-loading MySword onto an Android phone too much trouble. It takes a little Android knowhow.
e-Sword on an Android tablet
Gene Benjamin II
Editor
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