STEP Library
Encyclopedia
STEP is a standard file format
used to distribute Biblical software from various publishers to consumers wanting integrated text and reference works. STEP was conceived in 1995 by Craig Rairdin of Parsons Technology and Jim VanDuzer of Loizeaux Brothers Publishers. Rairdin and VanDuzer formed a consortium of Biblical software publishers called the Bible Software Industry Standards Group (BSISG) to oversee the development of the STEP specification and to develop common tools to be used by developers and publishers interested in implementing STEP compatibility in their programs or publishing books in the STEP format.
The STEP logo was originally a trademark of Parsons Technology, Inc., now of FindEx, Inc., the current publisher of QuickVerse
Bible Software.
While not fully open format
, as was sometimes claimed, the specifications have been publicly released, enabling third parties to write their own tools to create, edit, or view STEP resources. Restrictions are in effect for use of the Logo and commercial use of the term "STEP Compatible". Findex distributed The STEP Publisher's Toolkit as part of their license. It is similar to The Libronix Digital Library, for users of biblical software wanting integration of various reference works, using a common application to access and cross-reference
various works from various publishers.
The following companies also issued resources in STEP format:
File format
A file format is a particular way that information is encoded for storage in a computer file.Since a disk drive, or indeed any computer storage, can store only bits, the computer must have some way of converting information to 0s and 1s and vice-versa. There are different kinds of formats for...
used to distribute Biblical software from various publishers to consumers wanting integrated text and reference works. STEP was conceived in 1995 by Craig Rairdin of Parsons Technology and Jim VanDuzer of Loizeaux Brothers Publishers. Rairdin and VanDuzer formed a consortium of Biblical software publishers called the Bible Software Industry Standards Group (BSISG) to oversee the development of the STEP specification and to develop common tools to be used by developers and publishers interested in implementing STEP compatibility in their programs or publishing books in the STEP format.
The STEP logo was originally a trademark of Parsons Technology, Inc., now of FindEx, Inc., the current publisher of QuickVerse
QuickVerse
QuickVerse is a Bible Reference software package that runs on Windows and Mac OS and has a large selection of Bibles and Books....
Bible Software.
Format Specifications
The format uses "Microsoft’s Rich Text Format (RTF) with special STEP tags added".While not fully open format
Open format
An open file format is a published specification for storing digital data, usually maintained by a standards organization, which can therefore be used and implemented by anyone. For example, an open format can be implementable by both proprietary and free and open source software, using the typical...
, as was sometimes claimed, the specifications have been publicly released, enabling third parties to write their own tools to create, edit, or view STEP resources. Restrictions are in effect for use of the Logo and commercial use of the term "STEP Compatible". Findex distributed The STEP Publisher's Toolkit as part of their license. It is similar to The Libronix Digital Library, for users of biblical software wanting integration of various reference works, using a common application to access and cross-reference
Cross-reference
A cross-reference is an instance within a document which refers to related or synonymous information elsewhere, usually within the same work. To cross-reference or to cross-refer is to make such connections. The term "cross-reference" is often abbreviated as x-ref, xref, or, in computer science,...
various works from various publishers.
Bible Study Software
The following biblical software can read STEP files:- e-SwordE-Sworde-Sword is a Bible study computer software package created by Rick Meyers and developed for Microsoft Windows and Pocket PC. Development started in January 2000. Since that time, it has continually grown in popularity, reaching 15,000,000 downloads in January 2011. The user interface is available...
; - QuickVerseQuickVerseQuickVerse is a Bible Reference software package that runs on Windows and Mac OS and has a large selection of Bibles and Books....
5.0 through 2009; - WORDsearchWORDsearchWORDsearch is a Bible Reference software package that runs on Windows and Macintosh and has a large selection of Bibles and books both for free and for additional purchase. Hebrew, Greek and other languages are searchable...
4.0 and 5.0;
The following companies also issued resources in STEP format:
- Ages Library from 1997 to 2000;
- Bible Companion from 1995 to 2002;
- Ephesians Four Group (current issuer);
- Light By Design (current issuer);
- NavPress from 1995 to 2003;
- Certain of ZondervanZondervanZondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Zondervan is a founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association .- History :...
's software titles from 1995 - 2001, including their own STEP Reader (which was in fact a rebranded Quickverse Library) which ran independently of their own Reference Software suite;