Recent changes to 366: Opensong freezes

#366 Opensong freezes

Heloise Watsica — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 07:48:40 -0000

That's impressive. Sharing information about suitable programs is really important and something to look forward to. Scratch Games #356 Linux deb libwebkit2gtk dependency was really helpful.

#366 Opensong freezes

SvA — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 09:47:22 -0000

Thamks, SvA, will wait for a while, as I have other projects needing attention right now.

#366 Opensong freezes

SvA — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 12:00:17 -0000

Another question: will Opensong ever by made available for Linux?

Yes, sure! You can download a copy from Sourceforge. it is available as a .tar.gz archive and as a .deb package for both x64 and armhf (intended for Raspberry Pi).

Even the latest binary version is rather old by now and has dependencies to libraries, that are no longer available in the most recent distros. There is a discussion on how to still make it work on those systems in this forum: #356 Linux deb libwebkit2gtk dependency.

On the other hand, you can compile your own from the sources. Xojo, the development environment used, is free on Linux systems for compiling linux binaries.

There is currently no write-up how to go about this. So, if you are interested, I can try to assist you with this. I am fairly new to linux, but I have a system up and running.

On the other hand, we are planning to release a new version soon.

#366 Opensong freezes

SvA — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 04:52:04 -0000

For some strange reason, the installation went into another 'Opensong' folder: D:\Nextcloud\Opensong\Opensong on the new machine. That would obviously have caused a syncing problem.
Another question: will Opensong ever by made available for Linux? Microsuck is really ripping the lake from underneath the ducks and the soone I can get my machines free from all the bloatware and other nonsense, the better. Blessings in the name of Yeshua to all concerned with this project.

#366 Opensong freezes

Ed Palmer — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 09:51:19 -0000

Thanks for your reply. I've found an anomaly and will check that after everything has synced.

#366 Opensong freezes

SvA — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 12:59:26 -0000

I installed Opensong on a cloud server, thinking it would make things easier. ...
Checking the information from an explorer window, the files are all there, but trying to open them via Opensong is impossible.

I am not sure how your installation / setup looks like exactly now.

If you installed OpenSong on the remote (cloud) server, you will access OpenSong using a remote desktop connection. OpenSong does not know about this. From it's perspecivem everything is local.
If instead you have a local installation and pointed the OpenSong Document folder to a location related to the cloud, several scenarios are possible
1. You use a local folder that gets synchronized with the cloud
2. You access the remote files through a link of some type. This is comparable to a network drive (or is one proper).
3. Windows Explorer has a cloud extension, that shows you the remote content, but there is no true representation of it in the file system.
4. some combination of the above.

OpenSong needs to be able to see and access the files, so 1. and 2. will work. Any partial synchronization (e.g. transfer on demand) will likely not work, and some explorer extension, that makes your cloud files visible by some non-files-ystem protocol will not work.

So, as long as OpenSong can access files as if they were local, OpenSong will work ok. If this condition is not met, there is likely no way to make OpenSong work.
I would expect this to be the case for any program that is not equipped to use some particular cloud service or at least access files over url links.

I have little experience with this myself, as I use cloud storage rarely, and if so, for backup purposes only. But I would expect from any decent cloud storage with windows integration, to provide true synchronization services, which will lead to a local storage folder that satisfies OpenSong's demands..

#366 Opensong freezes

Ed Palmer — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 09:06:47 -0000

Hi Ed, thanks for your contribution and the barebones file. I will certainly see if I can get the translation I would like to use going.

In the meanwhile I had an entire dozen eggs over my face... 🤢

As mentioned above, I installed Opensong on a cloud server, thinking it would make things easier. All our admin files, playlists and other documents for our radio station are on the same server, facilitating people from different locations. I assumed this would work for Opensong, but for some strange reason, Opensong refuses to see the latest additions - the latest set as well as a new song added. Checking the information from an explorer window, the files are all there, but trying to open them via Opensong is impossible. Maybe someone can shed light on this. Alternatively I'll have to do a local installation on the other machine and use a flash drive every time to convey the necessary files. 😵‍💫

#366 Opensong freezes

Ed Palmer — Sat, 27 Dec 2025 22:26:57 -0000

Odd...I was logged in when I responded, or so I thought.

#366 Opensong freezes

Ed Palmer — Sat, 27 Dec 2025 21:21:59 -0000

Thanks for tagging me, SvA.

The modified OpenSong format that I developed to support Bibles that do not conform to the KJV book/chapter/verse structure was, in retrospect, very poorly described in FR #216. To the best of my knowledge, no one has created a Bible XML file in that format other than me. I have not created a DTD or other formal description, though perhaps I should since it provides a middle level between the simple OpenSong format and the Zefania 2005 format that is somewhat more complex than my format. (It is described as the "NAB" format in the OpenSong source code.

I am attaching an XML file that is "documentation by example" for the NAB format. I created this by removing all the text of the Bible (for readability and to avoid copyright infringement). The testament/book/chapter/verse structure matches the New American Bible with Apocrypha, but, as you can see by examination, it is easily adaptable for other structures. Of course, that's why I created it in the first place. 😀

N.B.: the added attributes are, in fact, in UPPERCASE even though the original OpenSong structure uses lowercase, and XML is case-sensitive. I regret that design decision, but I don't see a compelling reason to make an effort to alter it at this time.

#366 Opensong freezes

SvA — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 13:25:57 -0000

OpenSong's own format is simpler, as it supports only the bare necessity for it to work in OpenSong.
Bibles in this format should adhere to the versification of the King James Bible, i.e. use the same number of chapters for each book, and use the same number of verses for each chapter respectively. There is a file format extension to overcome this restriction, but as far as I know there's no public example and no public documentation for it. I would have to reverse engineer it (or maybe @swampcat knows).

I happend to stumble upon a description of this format extension on this site:
Feature Request #216 Scripture files