Playing a selected selection by audio

It would be great if a section (selected text) e.g. 3 verses from the scriptures could be played back. I asked about this feature way back when the first version of GL was released. It could be introduced to the options wheel when right mouse or a hold tap (for touch screens) is performed against reference or as an option when selecting the play button on the options bar. Currently it just starts playing from the beginning of the chapter regardless or of wether or not verses are selected.
In our ward we have a disabled person and some nervous YM who don't like to read in front of the class and after teaching early morning seminary for 7 years, it would be great if a shy student could just play the reference to the class or even read along with the audio.

We have many multimedia features in our requested features list, including features very similar to that which you are suggesting. Right now, we're working through some of the higher priority features--most of which are simply catching up to the iOS and Android releases.

I forgot to say how much I appreciate your feedback! Very quick response too. For what I am most grateful, is that the Windows version is NOW getting better development.

I would love to see it as the leading rather than the trailing GL version given that Windows was and still is the first and best known OS globally (even though traction is slower) and given that there are lots of mobile device partners ODMs (Original Design Manufacturers) as well as the existing OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers - some of which are the same builders of PCs), developing around the Microsoft Windows platform, services and software - maybe it should have got more attention all along. I think it is simply wonderful that it is now but are curious about how these decisions are made?

The Windows team had a long and uphill battle to takeover development after the original team left development. (And that was just getting the reigns, getting to a point where we could push out a functional application to replace the disaster that was the old version was an even tougher fight.) You can read about a lot of it in the older posts here on the forum. The Windows team is quite the oddball--unlike the Android and iOS teams, it's done entirely by volunteers. We have a few members that are Church employees in other ways during the day that work as our primary leaders and help maintain our direction, but the project itself is entirely volunteer-driven.

As the developers of Gospel Library for Windows, we, too, would like the Windows version to be the shining star, the application everyone refers to when they send in their feedback with comments like "why doesn't your version do x or y like the Windows version does?" But we've got to play catchup first--and intelligently implementing features in a way that makes them easy to use, desirable to use, and easy to discover in the first place takes a bit of time.

How long has it been since you started work or taking over the team? I am surprised and dismayed that the Windows team is "only" volunteers. Doesn't the Church see what is happening now? With Windows 10 (yep I am one of the 1.5 million beta testers) WinGL needs the attention that is at lease equal to iOS and Android.

Given that the Church uses its revelatory framework to move the work of God forward, I would have thought that it would see what is coming with Windows (catch the vision of it) and prepare accordingly right from the get go.

IMHO, Windows is a very serious OS with by far more potential than iOS and Android - hands down!

The good people over at Microsoft are really creative types and my experience over the years has been extraordinary - not so much with Google and Apple! You can't even talk to them really.

Apple has achieved amazing things as they evolved the iPod into the iPhone and iPad and used music management software (iTunes) to manage it but I am not sure that all these pretty devices are what they should be by now e.g. Keyboards. I think Apple users are a rather odd crowd and very ideologically driven really! see http://winsupersite.com/article/mailbag ... may-9-2010 under Apple Ideology.

Google, the "don't be evil" company has done great work but paying royalties for use of other company's patents and the Gmail spying thing may raise questions about LDS member's alliances with them. The cost of these devices is ridiculous given that up until recently they were primarily consumptive devices.

Microsoft Surface, Lumia 2520 and various hybrids are quietly impressive and once Windows 10 is universally used over the 3 screens and our own OneDrive cloud it will be amazing. I have an Xbox One and can imagine having investigators in my home with the WinGL up on the screen working with FT missionaries and rich media and text content sharing information with them and interacting during the week also by email, Facebook and Mormon.org a universal app for Win 10 would make that happen!

Thank you for the excellent work so far. Let's hope you will get more resources but a serious discussion on the vision behind all this may be useful.

To be fair, as I understand it, most of the contributors to Gospel Library for iOS and Android are volunteers as well, though there are a couple of dedicated programmers.

The advantage we have as an all-volunteer team is that, like you, we are extremely passionate about the Windows platform. We're the sort that get called zealots, Microsofties, etc. This love of the Windows platform allows us to show just how great applications on the platform can be. We've taken great care to not just implement features for the Windows app, but to implement them in a smart, easily discoverable, and easy-to-use way. I don't remember specifically when I joined Gospel Library for Windows, but it would have been around March or April of this year.

The best thing anyone can do for Gospel Library for Windows is continue to show just how great Windows is. With more users comes more attention.

Thanks for that. Given that it is less than a year what has been achieved is remarkable compared with the old WinGL. 2015 is a bit year for Microsoft in so many areas and as the world is flooded by so much through implementation from Redmond, I think the attention will boom too. I am intrigued about the lack of a programmer? Does the Church feel that it would not help? Based on my comments about ideology the responses you get are on par but it would be nice to see the movers and shakers catch the vision of what we know - somehow. Keep up the good work...

pahollow wrote:Given that the Church uses its revelatory framework to move the work of God forward, I would have thought that it would see what is coming with Windows (catch the vision of it) and prepare accordingly right from the get go.

Careful. That's a two edged sword. How do you know they haven't seen the future? :rolleyes:

True but if my understanding of the systems of the Church is correct (had a bit of experience with that), they tend to run with groups and organisations of integrity and long term success. What I am not sure about is wether or not the Apple/Google cabal has that - popularity and ubiquity aside. The Brethren get that but if WinGL had the same attention as the others it would be so much better by now. The developmental neglect of such a noble project is disappointing and unfortunate. The Church policy systems do waste resources also sometimes. I would hope this is not one of them is all!