Fixing Module Topics Problems

Fixing Module Topics Problems is a class on how to fix certain module topics problems when creating or moving modules from some other format into theWord.

I have worked with modules created in e-Sword ad converted to theWord, as well as many other formats (html, pdf, doc, docx, rtf, etc.). So let me begin here by saying the stuff coming over from e-Sword has problems. These problems are not unique to theWord but within esword itself, these are poorly created modules. When I worked in eSword extensively, I came across these all the time. One wonders how these people even made these modules, using Microsoft Access or what? Since the help program of NT Tool Tips came about, much of these malformed modules have disappeared, although some old ones that still have problems are still out there.

I am not a program developer even though I have written programs for my own needs way back when… But what I see (and can remember) is that some of the internal tables are messed up in them modules, and the ordering of the modules are just wrong. They are not even correct as by eSword standards. I fixed them back then, and immediately they jump back to scrambled eggs even after you fix them. Here is an example that is in theWord and as it has come over to me.

Brown The Devil's Mission of Amusement 7 page article from 1889. Hollywood in the church and her ministries. Brown was a student of C.H Spurgeon.
Excerpts:
Different days demand their own special testimony. The watchman who would be faithful to his Lord and to the city of his God needs to carefully note the signs of the times and to emphasize his witness accordingly. Concerning the testimony needed now, there can be little if any doubt. An evil is in the professed camp of the Lord, that is so gross, so brazen in its impudence, that the most shortsighted of spiritual men can hardly fail to notice it.... Amusement for the people is the leading article advertised by each... until the hideous fact has been proved up to the hilt, that "amusement" is ousting "the preaching of the Gospel" as the great attraction... The Concert is fast becoming as much a recognized part of church life as the Prayer Meeting; and it is already, in most places, far better attended.

"Providing recreation for the people" will soon be looked upon as a necessary part of Christian work, and as binding upon the Church of God, as though it were a Divine command, unless some strong voices are raised which will make themselves heard.
Read the 7-page article: Brown, The Devil's Mission of Amusement.

In eSword, if you order the chapters correctly, they re scramble immediately.

The good news is that you are using theWord, and once you fix this ordering problem, it sticks.

As a side note, either in eSword or theWord, you fix this, and it re scrambles when you leave the module and then come back (go to another module), the only way I know of to fix this is to make a new module and copy the topics over. In a new module, the table of topics is correctly made and works correctly.

Now the same module with its scrambled eggs fixed.

I would add an additional note here. e-Sword has a limit as to the size of each topic. So people creating eSword modules had to break up long topics in a,b,c,d, or continued if it would fit into two topics. theWord does not have this problem.

Another good reason to be using theWord instead of eSword.

Take a look at this module, Gill Cause of God and Truth…

The problem with the topics in this module is that they tell you zero about what is in the chapter. If you search on a keyword in the topic titles, nothing will appear from this module in your search results. We are trying to provide usable and well craft copies of works for Bible study. This topic naming goes against this principle 100%.

Studying the actual title of this Section 47, it is not easy to put all that in the topic title either. You just exchange one bad thing for another. So you need to read the title and condense to an optimal chapter title.

Denying all ungodliness and living soberly righteously and godly

That would be a good short title for this chapter. Since the work has 260+ topics, I can see why whoever made this topic took the easy route.

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