Accordance Updates: March 24, 2023

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

Hi Accordance User Family,

 

In light of recent events on the forums, I also wanted to take an extended moment to provide numerous updates concerning various projects at Accordance, as well as take a moment to clarify some ongoing questions I’ve seen asked by users across various threads. Some of these questions I’ve already addressed in their respective threads, but I wanted to consolidate my answers in a single place. If you find this format beneficial, please let me know, and I can periodically provide such regular updates on the forms as I have new information to share. In the event you have additional questions concerning this message, feel free to send me a DM, or email me at nparker[at]accordancebible[dot]com (replace bracketed text with punctuation). 

 

Accordance Staff Family

 

The majority of our Accordance Staff Family are long-time Bible software and long-time Accordance users. I have personally been using Bible software since I was a child (and many of you have virtually “watched me grow up” over the years across numerous Bible forums), and I’ve been a long-time Accordance user before joining the Accordance Staff Family. I have personally invested thousands of dollars and countless hours of training into my own personal Accordance library and use of Accordance in my personal Bible study. I am first and foremost a fellow Accordance user myself. I joined the Accordance Staff Family this year because I love Accordance, I love the app, and I believe in the mission of Accordance. I truly believe that I can make a positive impact at Accordance, not only as an Accordance user, but also serving other Accordance users as a member of the Accordance Staff Family. I’m sure all my fellow colleagues feel exactly the way I do.

 

Accordance Leadership

 

I have personally met with Accordance’s leadership multiple times since I began working at Accordance. They are some of the finest individuals that I have had the opportunity to work with, and it is an honor to work with each of them daily. There is a wonderful blend of Accordance staff members who have been with the company probably before I was even born (or at least a toddler) and newer faces. Accordance’s founder still periodically collaborates on feature designs as well. Accordance is in great hands, and our future is as bright as the lamp the lights our logo.

 

Accordance Company Update

 

While the entire biblical studies publishing industry has felt an economic “pinch”, (I’m not sure that Erasmus would make his statement today concerning buying books vs food!) Accordance is doing well as a company. We’re in this for the long haul. Accordance has made numerous hires in 2023, not just me and sales, but we have also expanded our programming team. The best days of Accordance are ahead of us, and we’re excited to have you, our Accordance User Family, along the journey.

 

Accordance 14 Desktop

 

The main issue that occurred with Accordance 14 Desktop is our goal was to release it at SBL so that we would time the release along with a major academic conference, a solid part of our user base. Unfortunately, the release timing, coupled with some last-minute programming changes, caused Accordance 14 to have a share of launch day issues more than previous Accordance releases. We’ve admitted our mistakes, apologized for them, and have learned from them. 

 

Our programmers have already delivered four bug fix updates, 14.0.1-14.0.4, and we’ll be releasing 14.0.5 to resolve additional issues shortly. Some of our bug fix updates are released on rapid schedules if they resolve smaller issues. Some of our bug fix updates (such as 14.0.5) include deeper-level enhancements (such as improvements to the Internet connectivity between Accordance Desktop and Accordance’s servers) and need to take a little longer to develop. Since I began working here, I have been in multiple meetings with our programmers, and they have been hard at work on enhancements to both Accordance 14 as well as Accordance’s overall roadmap.

 

For the majority of our users, Accordance 14 is running well for everyday use, and Accordance 14 is an exciting upgrade with some major new enhancements to your personal Bible study (Dynamic Word Study being my favorite new feature). I personally solely run Accordance 14 on my computers, and it is solid for both my everyday Bible study, as well as I have been using it to finish up my PhD dissertation research, which is mission critical work.

 

For users who are experiencing any issues with Accordance 14, please use one of the “Bug Swatters” forums to submit a bug report. Include the specific version number of Accordance and your operating system version. I am personally examining all incoming bug reports on the forums. Once I can reproduce the issue, I file it along with the steps to reproduce the issue to our teams, so we can address the issue in a future update.

 

For users who are uncertain if they are experiencing a bug with Accordance or need additional tech support with Accordance 14, please reach out to our tech support team via phone or email by clicking here. Accordance has some of the best tech support in the industry. I have personally always enjoyed Accordance’s tech support for years even before I became a member of the Accordance Staff Family. Our tech support teams will personally work with you to determine if the issue can be resolved in your Accordance installation, or if it warrants filing a bug report with our programming team.

 

Additionally, Accordance users who wish to make a positive difference concerning the programming of Accordance can join our Accordance Beta Test program. It’s free to join, and the Accordance beta version installs alongside the public version of Accordance, so it doesn’t replace the public version of Accordance on your computer. The Accordance Beta Test program allows you to test and provide feedback to updates of Accordance before we release them to the public. To join the Accordance Beta Test program, DM me, and I’ll be glad to add some of you to it.

 

Enhanced Syncing and Accordance Cloud

 

We’re making great progress with both enhanced syncing and Accordance Cloud while we work on additional updates to Accordance 14 Desktop. Accordance 14.0.5 will be one great step closer to enhanced syncing, and we’re working hard to deliver both of these major features to our customers. Stay tuned for future announcements as we get closer to releasing these features to our users or as we release beta versions of each feature.

 

Accordance Desktop Roadmap

 

Not only are we working hard on Accordance 14 itself, we’re also working on future enhancements to Accordance Desktop. We’re looking at areas in which we can refine the user experience, as well as other features and enhancements we can provide to our customers. While we don’t have any specific announcements to share at the moment, continue to stay tuned for future announcements. In the meantime, continue to post your feature and enhancement requests to the “Feature Requests” section of our forums. We’re collecting and listening to your feedback so we can consider it for future versions of Accordance, and we’re already discussing some of the feedback you’ve submitted. 

 

Sunsetting of Accordance 12 and Earlier

 

Some of our Accordance users have expressed concerns about our sunsetting support for Accordance 12 and earlier. We recently made some enhancements to the Internet connectivity between Accordance Desktop and Accordance’s servers that are incompatible with Accordance 12 and earlier. For customers affected by this change who are still running Accordance 12 or earlier, please reach out to our Customer Service team, and we will ensure you are set with our minimum-supported version of Accordance so that you can continue to download new module purchases and updates through Easy Install. We have received customer feedback via the forums concerning alternative forms of module installation, but we don’t have anything to announce at the moment beyond ensuring our customers are on a minimally-supported version of Accordance.

 

Some BibleWorks users who have crossgraded to Accordance have expressed concerns that due to the sunsetting of support for Accordance 12 or earlier, there was a potential for them to “lose” modules from their Accordance 12 purchase. You will not lose your module purchases (even modules we no longer offer for sale due to publisher changes). Unlike BibleWorks where the engine and module purchases were specific to a particular BibleWorks release, Accordance module purchases are distinct from the Accordance version purchase. In the event we sunset a legacy version of Accordance, we will offer some form of upgrade path for affected customers so that affected users can continue to access their Accordance purchases on a minimally-supported version of Accordance. Accordance users can also access their module purchases in the Accordance Mobile apps, and in the future, Accordance Cloud. 

 

Accordance Mobile

 

A major focus for Accordance moving forward and part of the expansion to our programming team concerns bringing additional desktop-class enhancements to Accordance Mobile across iOS, iPadOS, and Android. While we don’t have specific major announcements on this front at the moment, continue to stay tuned for future announcements. Feel free to continue sending us feedback concerning which major features you wish to see in Accordance Mobile as we prioritize our mobile programming roadmap.

 

Short-term, we will be releasing updates to Accordance Mobile that will offer support for Accordance 14 User Tools, as well as some additional under-the-hood enhancements to Accordance Mobile.

 

Weekly Sales

 

Accordance offers regular, weekly sales to our customers, and we will continue to do so alongside programming enhancements or updates to Accordance. Our weekly sales are a win-win for everyone. Our customers are able to purchase the modules they need the most at an excellent, affordable price. Module purchases also continue to fund programming of Accordance (in addition to major upgrade purchases). You’re ultimately in the driver’s seat of which sales you wish to participate in, and if there are any particular modules or collections you’d like to see featured in future sales, let us know! 

 

Conclusion

 

Thank you for being the best part of the Accordance family and for providing us the opportunity to serve you. Accordance has a bright and exciting future in store, and we look forward to continuing to provide our customers with the finest, first-class Bible study experience you expect from Accordance.