antonycorbett / jwlmerge

Utility to merge jwlibrary backup files

JWLMerge

NOW ARCHIVED

Note that this project is no longer compatible with the latest version of the JW Library. In July 2023 the database schema was changed from v8 to v13 and I will not be updating JWLMerge to support the new version. In Jan 2023, the JW Library licence agreement was strengthened, but it also gave opportunity for 3rd party developers to apply for official permission to do the sort of work that is present in JWLMerge. I made an application in January but have not received permission, and in these circumstances feel it best to archive the project at this juncture. Thank you for your understanding, and for your valuable input and feedback on the project over the last 6 years.

Introduction

JWLMerge is a utility to merge 2 or more .jwlibrary backup files. These backup files are created using the JW Library® backup command, and contain your personal notes, highlighting, etc.

At time of writing, JW Library has backup and restore commands, but no merge command. This means you can add personal annotations in JW Library on several devices and transfer these between devices, but cannot combine them into a single set. JWLMerge is a Windows application that allows you to merge 2 or more .jwlibrary files into a single backup file that can then be restored onto any device.

Usage

Download the JWLMergeSetup.exe file from the latest release and run it. There is also a "portable" version (so you can just copy files to a folder).

https://github.com/AntonyCorbett/JWLMerge/releases/latest

Please see the wiki for further information:

https://github.com/AntonyCorbett/JWLMerge/wiki

Command-line

JWLMergeCLI.exe is a command-line version of the application. Run in at a command prompt to display a description of usage.

Wine

If you are interested in running JWLMerge on Wine, please see these notes: https://github.com/SuperJC710e/JWLMerge/wiki/Running-Under-Wine

Important Notes

Please use at your own risk! It is possible to crash JW Library by attempting to restore a corrupt backup file, and sometimes the only solution is to reinstall JW Library and reset its data. (This hasn't happened yet with a JWLMerge-generated file.)

The format of your data in the backup files may change with future JW Library releases and I will try to keep the code up-to-date. If you receive an error stating that the backup file version is not supported then please come back here to see if an update is available.

It is possible that JW Library will eventually feature a merge command or similar functionality, in which case this project will be archived.

Please review the JW Library terms and conditions of use. Some view the backup data files as their own data and not subject to the conditions; others feel differently. Please make your own decision on this matter.

There is no guarantee of software support. However, if you find a bug or other problem, please feel free to create an issue in this project.

Log files are stored in your Documents\JWLMerge\Logs folder.

"JW Library" is a registered trademark of Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.

jwlmerge's Issues

Tagging imported Bible notes

Is there any way to tag the imported notes?

For example, you could implement a title line for each note enclosed in {{}}, which could in addition include a comma-separated list of tags? Something like: {{Title|Tag1,Tag2}}

Merge Error - Object Cannot be cast from DBNull to other types.

I encountered the following error while trying to merge two backups.
At first i though that my backup's were old ( which they were, like 5-6 months ), but then again i tried with backups made today. Still the same error.

Let me know if I can provide anything else except this error log

log-20180122.txt

Specify JWLMergeCLI output folder

Hi there

To automate the merger of files from various devices I'm writing a powershell script to run the merge but I can't specify the output folder as CLI only writes to the program folder and needs elevated rights.

I want to specify the output folder so that my devices can get the latest file from the merge output. The source and output files are all on OneDrive.

Cannot drag files with drag and drop. Can with older files but not new ones

File not visible in ios

After updating program (April version) then merging my ios files in JWL on my desktop I uploaded it to icloud
The file does not show up in JW library restore a backup list.

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:
After merging files in windows 10

1. Upload merged file to icloud
2. Click on restore a backup in JW library
3. List of all backup files including the one made for recent merge appears but not the uploaded file.
   log-20200615.txt

Expected behavior
Once uploaded to icloud, hit restore a backup in JW library and uploaded file should be present then click it to initiate backup.

Screenshots
Last Merged file named Merge#5 not on list in JW Library

(bottom shows image of file in icloud drive)
Desktop (Lenovo ideapad s145):

• Windows version 10
• Icloud
• IOS Ipad/iphone

CLI documentation is needed

Hi Antony!

I'm very happy with your project. Thank you for all the effort on this. It really helped me a lot. That's why I want to create a web version of it (for linux/mac users for ex.) Could you please provide some documentation on CLI and how to use it?

I'm not really C# guy. I've tried to go through code but did not understand how should it work.

I also saw you wanted to add a few new options to CLI. But for this issue I'd just document what you already have, without implementing new functionality.

If you need any help with that, please let me know. I can try to help on my own or find someone who knows C# better than me 🙂

Export to excel

Hi,

Thanks for creating this useful application.

Would it be possible to view the notes individually and be able to export them to excel, or also to have a feature wherein we can import specific notes/bookmarks?

For example, a table having the below columns can be designed:
Publication | Chapter | Verse/Para | Note | Tags

Thanks

.jwlibrary file

Hello,

Sorry for posting here, but i didn't see where i can pm you personnlay.

I'm wondering what structure are the .jwlibrary files
Maybe you can tell me ? how can i open it, and read it ?

I test your program, it's amazing !
Thanks a lot,
And sorry if it is not the place....

Jordan

Run JWLMerge under Wine

I know this has been requested a couple of times, and closed, however, I've been able to get JWLMerge to run under wine. I created a wiki page with some brief instructions should you care to merge it into your wiki...

They are here: https://github.com/SuperJC710e/JWLMerge/wiki/Running-Under-Wine (This is the URL to clone it: https://github.com/SuperJC710e/JWLMerge.wiki.git )

The full forked repo is here: https://github.com/SuperJC710e/JWLMerge

I think you could use the instructions provided here to pull the changes: https://stackoverflow.com/a/56810747

InputField is never instantiated

The class InputField is never instantiated.

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. In Visual Studio, search for references to InputField.
2. See that the no input fields are ever read from the database, the list will stay empty.

Expected behavior
I'm not sure what the meaning is of InputField, but it should not get lost during merging. Some code like this could be added:

result.InputFields.AddRange(ReadAllRows(connection, ReadInputField));

Version
Git ref 2644a34

Thanks for this useful project!

Bible notes titles limited to 50 chars

Is the 50-character limit for the titles set in stone (limited by the field size in the JWLibrary file), or is there a possibility you could remove/increase it, perhaps taking every first line as note title?

Bookmarks not in right order

I have merged 2 jwlibrary files with bookmarks not being present for one of the two. The one with bookmarks was the iPad and the bookmarks for my Bible look like this:

On my Pixel 2 XL, which was the source of the other backup file and where there were no bookmarks for my Bible, this is the result of restoring that merged backup:

So it looks like perhaps the way of calculating the slot number for the bookmarks needs a bit of tweaking as it almost seems random. The slot numbers seem ok in the iPad's backup:

JW Library Sign Language

Hi!

Thank you very much for your hard work in developing and maintaining this app so useful to us!

I would like to know if it would be possible to adapt or create an application that merges the backup files of the JW Library Sign Language. It would be very useful for us!

Thanks for listening!

Favorites items are buggy after a merge

After merging two JW Library backup files, it seems that my favorites have a little bug. I am not able to remove a favorite that was added prior to the merge (on any device). Not sure if this is a known issue? Using a windows 10 PC, iPad Pro 5 12.9, iPad Mini 5, iPhone 11 Pro.

Will not start in Windows 10 Ent 20H2

Will not start in Windows 10 Ent 20H2
No window for the app open and no error messages either.

Missing signing certificate

When attempting to build this project the following output is produced:

Error		Unable to find manifest signing certificate in the certificate store.	JWLMergeCLI
Warning		Unable to find code signing certificate in the current user’s Windows certificate store. To correct this, either disable signing of the ClickOnce manifest or install the certificate into the certificate store.	JWLMergeCLI

To get around this I'm having to go into the JWLMergeCLI project properties and uncheck the Sign the ClickOnce manifests option under the Signing tab. So either the certificate needs to be added to the repo or this option needs to be disabled, not sure which route you want to go.

Selective Tags to Merge

Dear Anthony. Fantastic work as always.
This is not an issue at all but just an idea that others may find useful. If we could selectively merge notes with only certain tags that would be fantastic.
Feel free to delete as I mentioned this is not a "bug"
Many thanks,
Your brother,
Luke

Import Bible Notes from Excel

Hi Anthony. Great work. Nice to see the portable download in the latest prerelease. Sorry to check but it still isnt possible to import from the excel Bible notes that JWLMerge produces. Only from a text file.

If you meant it was solved because you implemented the selective publication removal then again excellent work. I did notice this behaviour though is a note is not accompanied by an underline:

@AntonyCorbett . Good work as always. UI works well. Seems to work well with one exception. It does as described and removes the note if associated with an underlining. But it leaves notes for publications if it is not associated with an underline. For example a note on a paragraph, heading etc. If you need screenshots please let me know.

@lukefarr please see the latest pre-release. Marking as closed, but please reopen if needed

Originally posted by @AntonyCorbett in #45 (comment)

Problems with Creating Backup File

Hello, I'm having problems creating backup files using the application. When the program creates the file it no longer exists or is unreadable and shows up in my recent files as having no data. I don't understand why.

I follow the main steps:

1. I open the application
2. Drag the files I wish to merge
3. Click merge
   4 Choose filename and also place to save file
4. When I go to find the file it's not there
5. When I find the name of the file in my recent files it's not openable or has 0 bytes.

Can you help me please? Thank you so much!

Windows 10 version 1809
Lenovo 720 Yoga

Linux/Apple Wine

The program doesn't seem to want to work within the wine environment.....Bummer

Merge JW Sign Language playlists?

Hello my brother! Thank you so much for an amazing tool!

Would it be possible to do the same merge function for the playlists in the JW Sign Language app (JWSL)?

They are still .jwlibrary files but instead of Notes, Bookmarks, Underlining, and Tags the JWSL app only has playlists containing media entries with start/stop times and a end of file functionality (continue, stop, freeze, repeat). I've attached an example of an exported file containing 2 such playlists.

JWSL_UserdataBackup_2021-03-25.jwlibrary.txt

I tried importing JWSL into JWLmerge but it threw an error as I'm sure there are some significant differences in the content of the exported files. Just an idea that would probably benefit plenty of those involved in sign language groups and congregations.

Thank you!

JWLMerge crashes when importing Bible notes

So, I've tried to import some notes on Genesis and the app crashes. I limited to file to only a handful of notes (see attachment), thinking that maybe the file was too large (my Genesis notes are over 2,000 lines).

Any idea what is wrong? Are the notes too long? Do the lines have to have a line-break after x number of characters?

This is my notes file:

[BibleKeySymbol=Rbi8]
[MepsLanguageId=1]

[1:1:1]
Dios

en las Escrituras Hebreas la palabra *’elóh·ah* (dios) tiene dos formas plurales, a saber, *’elo·hím* (dioses) y *’elo·héh* (dioses de); por lo general estas formas plurales aluden a Jehová, y en ese caso se traducen en singular, "Dios"; en *A Dictionary of the Bible*, William Smith dice: "La caprichosa idea de que [*’elo·hím*] se refería a la trinidad de personas en la Deidad difícilmente cuenta ahora con apoyo entre los eruditos. Es o lo que los gramáticos llaman el plural mayestático, o denota la plenitud de fortaleza divina, la suma de los poderes que Dios despliega"; *The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures* dice de *’elo·hím*: "Se construye casi invariablemente con un predicado verbal en singular, y toma un atributo adjetival en singular"; para ilustrar esto, el título *’elo·hím* aparece 35 veces por sí solo en el relato de la creación, y en cada ocasión el verbo que describe lo que Dios dijo e hizo está en singular; por eso, esa revista llega a esta conclusión: "[*’Elo·hím*] tiene que ser explicado más bien como un plural intensivo, que denota grandeza y majestad";

el griego no tiene un ‘plural de majestad o excelencia’; por consiguiente, en Gén 1:1 los traductores de la LXX usaron *ho The·os´* (Dios, en singular) como el equivalente de *’Elo·him´*

[1:1:1]
principio

el universo fue creado mucho antes del primer día

[1:1:2]
la fuerza activa de Dios se movía

los vocablos bíblicos (en griego y hebreo) que se traducen por "espíritu" pueden verterse en otros contextos "viento", "ráfaga", "soplo" y "aliento"; según los lexicógrafos, estos términos originales transmiten la idea de una fuerza dinámica invisible; el espíritu santo, igual que el aire en movimiento, escapa al ojo humano, pero sus efectos son reales y perceptibles;

en 1879, el biblista Charles L. Ives ilustró con maestría la capacidad que Dios tiene de ejercer su poder desde el lugar que ocupa: "Por ejemplo, nosotros decimos: ‘Abre las contraventanas para que entre el sol en la habitación’. No nos referimos al cuerpo celeste, el Sol, sino a la radiación solar, los rayos procedentes del Sol"; así mismo, Dios no tiene que viajar a cada sitio donde va a usar su fuerza activa; sencillamente se vale de su espíritu santo, con el que puede alcanzar hasta los puntos más lejanos de su creación

[1:1:2]
oscuridad

algo, quizá una mezcla de vapor de agua, otros gases y polvo volcánico, debió impedir que la luz del Sol llegara hasta la superficie de la Tierra

[1:1:3]
llegó a haber luz

esta luz provenía del Sol, pero el Sol mismo no podría divisarse a través de la nubosidad; por eso, la luz que llegaba a la Tierra era "luz difusa"; la intensidad de la luz que penetró hasta la superficie terrestre fue aumentando, y ese proceso continuó en el futuro; "gradualmente llegó a" - expresión que refleja con exactitud un estado del verbo hebreo que denota una acción progresiva que tarda un tiempo en completarse; todo el que lea el primer capítulo de Génesis en hebreo puede hallar unas cuarenta veces esta forma, la cual es un factor clave para la comprensión de dicho capítulo; lo que Dios empezó en la tarde figurativa de un período creativo se hizo progresivamente claro o evidente en la mañana de ese "día"; por otra parte, lo que se empezaba en un período no tenía que estar completamente terminado antes de comenzar el siguiente período; así que, el primer día, una luz opaca llegó a la superficie terrestre; la atmósfera de la Tierra debió aclararse en el cuarto "día", de modo que llegaría más luz del Sol y de otros cuerpos celestes a la Tierra

Favoriten Anzeige fehlerhaft

Hallo,
leider ist mein Englisch sehr schlecht und ich hoffe dennoch euf eine kleine Hilfe von Euch.
Ich habe seit Monaten das Problem, dass in der Favoritenanzeige meiner JW Library die Bibel (Rbi8) angezeig wird und sich nicht löschen/ausblenden lässt. (Fragt mich bitte nicht, wie sie dahin gekommen ist. Ich weiß es nicht)

Auch wenn ich den Download der Bibel als ganzes gelöscht hatte, wurde sie nach dem erneuten Download wieder unter Favoriten angezeigt.

Das gleiche Problem tritt auf, wenn ich bei einem Neuen Gerät (Android oder Windows) die Library komplett neu installiere und danach meine Sicherung einspiele. Danach wird die Rbi8 wieder in meinen Favoriten angezeigt.

Gibt es eine Möglichkeit die Sicherungsdatei zu bearbeiten und die importierten Favoriten zu bearbeiten?

Kann mir jemand helfen diesen Bug zu lösen?
Aktuelle Ansicht meiner Favoriten

Vielen Dank vorab

Import personal notes

Cool idea.

What possibility is there of a similar project where one can import personal notes? Here is what I mean:

I have hundreds of Bible notes (with exact verse, phrase and comment) that are in text files. I would love to have them in the JW Library app, but redoing them one by one would be soooo tedious. I need a tool to import them automatically at the appropriate verse. Is something like that possible?

Older Import Files

I have a lot of files that I wanted to merge and it seems that files older than January 2020 don't merge. Is it possible to add or enable capability for older files?

Losing Highlights

When highlighting my current study WT on my iPhone and then saving both it and my iPad data files, merging them and then restoring that new singular file, I'm keeping all my notes, and tabs but losing my highlights. Looking back, I see that I've lost a bit of my highlights in my Bible and study publications, but all the person study notes are there.

I'm not using the JW Library Windows app, just between my two devices.

Convert 11.5 backup file to a pre 11.5 file?

Hello brother Colbett.

I'm having an issue with two Android tablets from two brothers in my congregation. The tablets have been force closing since the new 11.5 version update. I've tried everything but this new version definitely doesn't work so I created a backup file of their notes and rolled back the app to version 11.4.2. However, because of the new v7 database, I can't restore it. I would need to "downgrade" the backup file. Do you have any ideas on how I can do this?

I'm an advanced user so feel free to guide me on how I could do this.

Backup File Format Error

Describe the bug
I have four different devices, three Win10 and one Android 9. All four have current versions of JW Library. The backup file for one of the Win10 devices, "Vision" is not being accepted by JWL. JWL was updated at the date of writing this report. Each Win10 device is up to date with Microsoft updates and have no issues.

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Drag all four JW Library backups into JWL
2. See error " Backup File Format Error" (See screenshot)
3. Drag individual "problem" backup into JWL
4. Same issue. (See screenshot)

Expected behavior
To see all four backups indicated in JWL ready to be merged.

Screenshots
Screenshot provided.

Desktop (please complete the following information):

• "Vision" Windows 10 (ver 2004, OS build 19041.508)
• JWL Merge 1.1.05
• JW Library 1.1.6.1 (67449)

Thank you for considering my problem.

Graham.

Drag and Drop not working

I just installed JWLMerge, and the application opens fine. But every time I try to drag and drop the JWLibrary files nothing happens, it never copies over. Any ideas?

Tags not associated

Describe the bug
Thanks for this nice software.
when I import a .txt file with Bible notes and choose a tag, this tag is then not associated with any notes in JWL.

To Reproduce

Expected behavior

each note should have the tag chosen when importing

Screenshots

Desktop (please complete the following information):

• Windows10

thank you

virustotal.com 4 engines rate the installer.exe as possible malware

hello antony,

while searching for a solution how to migrate jw library metro app from one windows machine to a different one i found jwlmerge. whenever i am about to try out a new (windows) software first step is to upload the file at virustotal. a quick check brought 4 (not that common known) av-enginges to drop an alarm. so i am a little concerned about installing it. can you comment on this?

https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/cef9900cfdc318b253f06b45ac139080d54700a7cee7fa7e09412e188638098e/detection

thanks a lot and greetings to the uk :-)
peter

Merging Incomplete

Describe the bug
Three files from iPhone 7, iPad pro 10.5 and Windows JWLibrary… did not completely merge apparently...

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Go to '...'
2. Click on '....'
3. See error
   In troubleshooting, it appears that these highlights are not being brought into the Windows version. Tried on both the iPhone and iPads and they all imported fine... except for the tag.

Expected behavior
expected all three to merge into one file... it shows that is has with merge but tested first on Windows JWLibrary and, for ex: all the highlights from Jn 20 & 21 were not available... also, tag number in Windows was 73 not 74 as shown in Merged...

Screenshots
If applicable, add screenshots to help explain your problem.

Desktop (please complete the following information):

• Windows version 10... latest update...
• Other important information about your environment
  Running on Mac in Parallels
  Would have uploaded the jwpub backup files so you could examine them but GitHub doesn't allow that type of file for upload...

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions....

Gerätewechsel - Download Literatur

Gibt es die Möglichkeit bei einem Gerätewechsel sich den umständlichen Download aller Bücher, Broschüren usw. zu sparen?

Kann man ein bestimmtes Verzeichnis kopieren und JW Library erkennt es und installiert damit auromatisch die bereits installierte Literatur?

Hat jemand schon mal Erfahrungen damit gemacht?

Aktuell mal geht es um ein Windows Gerät. Vielleicht wäre es auch interessant für ein Android oder Apple.

Vielen Dank vorab.

Peter

JW Library 11.5 issue

328/5000
The files generated by the new version of JW Library (11.5) are not loaded into the program. The files generated by the previous version (11.4.2) work correctly. The problem may be caused by the fact that 2 new colors of highlighters have been added in the new version.
Sorry for my bad English
Thank you!

How can I select where I would attach my note

Hi.

I have to take many notes in next 2 months because I attend a theocratic school and I think that I can't attach every note where exactly I desire, because I have not a lot of time between one answer and other.

I think that I will create many notes without attaching it to a specific text or paragraph. If I will do it maybe my notes will not be very useful.

My question is:

It's possible to enter in the backup code and insert a part of code to declare the "place" (a Bible text or paragraph of some pubblication...) where I desire to visualize my note?

Thanks a lot

Error Installing JWLMerge

I was trying to setup JWLMerge on Parallels and somehow selected the wrong program to associate with the install (accidentally selected Adobe) and can't go back to the page where I select programs. Adobe just errors out. I've deleted, uninstalled JWLMerge several times and restarted the computer but I still get the error. Please Help?

Also, can you direct me to directions on the correct way to install the program?

Thanks!

Import Bible Notes Exported from JWLMerge

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
If you add a note on a confidential publication, text from the confidential document will be included in the note. If this note is merged although the confidential publication may not be accessed, text can still be read. Selective tags to merge would filter out any notes that have been tagged but this is unlikely to catch everything.

Describe the solution you'd like
Exporting Bible Notes is fantastic. The only notes exported in the Bible itself. If the excel exported could be imported this would enable me to have a backup that only contains notes in my Bible.

Describe alternatives you've considered
Selective tags to merge would work to a certain extent but you would need to have a tag that you would remember to add everytime you make a note in a confidential publication.
Selective publication merges is another possiblilty but I would imagine this far more complex (similar to the other current enhancement request.

Additional context
Add any other context or screenshots about the feature request here.

Port to Android / IOS / Linux

Would like to know if there is already a version for Android available or if there are plans / knowledge to do so in future?

My thoughts are that with Virtualbox and Android all 3 Operating systems could be served already today. And maybe it would accelerate a sync function itself in JWL?

If someone knows already other projects who achieve the same as JWLMerge please let me know.
I am also on Twitter with the same nickname.

Can't Drag and Drop With version 1.1.0.2

Dear Brother Corbett,

I Have an issue with the JWLMerge, that i can't drag and drop any .jwlibrary files. old and new files (before and after jw library have 2 new color of highlighters)
please help me.

I am using Win10 64
JW Library 11.5

Thank you in advance

Alfred

Lost underlining and bookmarks in merge between JWL Apps on Windows and Android

Describe the bug
When merging between Windows and Android, following things are lost:

• underlining in the Pure Worship book
• bookmarks in the Bible

Configuration of the merge

Expected behavior
Until recently the underlining have been merged too.

Version information

• JWL App Windows version: 12.3.114
• JWL App Android version: 12.3.2
• The publication Pure Worship is up-to-date on both platforms

With Tags ticked file merge files fails to create

1. Exported from each device .jwlibrary backup
2. Load JW Merge (great tool thanks)
3. Drop in 3 files to merge
   
   As shown in image when Tags is ticked, but no merge files is created.

As shown in image when Tags is not ticked, the merge files is created.

It seems to be an issue with my Tags, but unsure how I can fix this.

Delete Tag

When using the Remove Notes by Tag command, add an option to also remove the tag. (From GW by email, 21/05/21)

ausstehende Updates - Publikation aktualisiert nicht

Ein ausstehendes Update (eines älteren Arbeitsheftes-Dez 2019) will sich einfach nicht aktualisieren.
Immer und immer wieder lädt er es herunter. Am Ende steht es aber immer wieder als Update drinnen?

Hat jemand eine Lösung?

Import Notes for any publication

Hi Antony,
could an excel file be used to import notes into other publications and the Bible?

Or use the same procedure as the .txt file to import notes into other publications?

thanks for your help.

Backup File Format Error

In the past, dragging and dropping the JW Library backup files onto the JWLMerge window has always worked as expected.
Each one appears as a box within the program window, and I could merge them successfully.

However, this latest version appears to be broken on my system.

I cannot drag and drop the JW Library backup files from either my Android phone or my iPad.
Both, the Android and the iPad files consistently cause an error as shown in the attached screenshot.

I can only drag and drop the backup made from the Windows version of JW Library.

Android and iPad JW Library versions are both latest updates, version 12.3.4 (98062)
The Windows JW Library is 12.3.118 (96175)

I've tried dragging the backups onto the JWLMerge window in various orders, (iPad first, phone first, Windows first...), and it makes no difference to the outcome.
I've also tried creating brand new backups in the iPad and the Android devices, just in case they might have been corrupted in some way.
The error message persists.
The error popup claims that details follow, but there's nothing.

I've tried completely uninstalling JWLMerge, including registry entries, and reinstalling. The same issue persists.

Windows10 Home 1909
OS Build 18363.1441

CLI so I can automate the process?

Thanks for the tool :)

I would like to set something up so my dropbox / onedrive folder account can be monitored and "wait" for new files, it will then process those files into a specified output.

Something like this would be good:

jwlmerge.exe --files="pcFile.jwlibrary,ipadfile.jwlibrary" --output="mergedFile.jwlibrary"

I know this would lack the choosing of options but that could be factored in or just use this when you want a complete merge.

I could then write something to monitor my folder and run the merge automatically.

New Pre-Release

Hi Antony,

after installing .NET I keep getting the message that I need to install it and JWLMerge doesn’t start.

Tested on 2 machines with window 10
Thanks.

Remove Highlights from Specific Publications

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
No

Describe the solution you'd like
I'd like an interface (or property file option) to remove yellow user marks from a specific publication type, such as "w", but not "nwt" or "nwtsty".

The use case is that once I study a WT, I don't want the clutter of old user marks in those older WT's and study publications. However, I DO want to retain marks in bibles and books where they are associated with notes.

Another related request is that I wish to delete all YELLOW user marks not associated with a note in a publication type. The reasoning here is that I may mark an answer in yellow (and not make a note) or I may create a note with a BLUE user mark, which I want to keep. I want to remove all YELLOW user marks in this case. Color can be a configurable option.

Describe alternatives you've considered
I went into the JWLMerge code base and performed the operation to remove yellow user marks not attached to notes but I did it outside your structure. I merged and everything resulted as I wanted it. I am proposing a declarative solution for various publications. The code I used for my purposes is here:

    private HashSet<int> GetUserMarkIdsInUse()
    {
        var newUserMarkList = new List<UserMark>();
        var result = new HashSet<int>();

        //ADDED WW 3/28/2021 to remove yellow highlighting in bible not attached to notes
        var userMarkIdsWithNotes = _database.Notes.Where(n => n.UserMarkId.HasValue).Select(n => n.UserMarkId.Value).ToHashSet();
        var publicationByLocationId = _database.Locations.ToDictionary(l => l.LocationId, l => l.KeySymbol);

        foreach (var userMark in _database.UserMarks)
        {
            // if not yellow, keep it
            if (userMark.ColorIndex != 1)
            {
                result.Add(userMark.UserMarkId);
                newUserMarkList.Add(userMark);
                continue;
            }

            // if it has a note, keep it
            if (userMarkIdsWithNotes.Contains(userMark.UserMarkId))
            {
                result.Add(userMark.UserMarkId);
                newUserMarkList.Add(userMark);
                continue;
            }

            // if it is not in a bible, keep it. 
            var pub = publicationByLocationId[userMark.LocationId];
            if (!(pub == "nwt" || pub == "nwtsty"))
            {
                result.Add(userMark.UserMarkId);
                newUserMarkList.Add(userMark);
                continue;
            }
        }

        // you're not going to like this but it's fine for my purposes
        _database.UserMarks = newUserMarkList;
        return result;
    }

Additional context
A UI idea here might be a page that lists the set of all key symbols in all Locations in the DB. Let the user check which symbols (i.e. publication types) they want to target.

Backup Full JW Library

Hi,

Thanks a lot for your work!
Would you consider making a full backup of JW Library to transfer for another PC? Let's say I want to get all the publications on the new pc (some of the publications are not public and are time consuming to get. Talks for example are 180 plus...)
It would be nice to get all the publications transferable to a new pc (or a way to backup!)

Thanks

Remove Favourites from the Merge file to prevent overwriting the JWL Favorites

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

I use JW Library on my Samsung phone (Android 9), Samsung tablet (Android 11) and laptop (Windows 10). On each device, I have configured a different set of Favourites. I have found that once the JWL backup files are in JWL Merge, using the Remove Favourites options worked well (see screenshot below).

However, because the Favourites section of the resulting merge file is blank, when I import the merged file into the JWL app, my Favourites configuration is wiped out.

Describe the solution you'd like

Add a setting to JWL Merge to remove the Favourites section from the resulting merged file to preventing overwriting the Favourites configuration within the JWL app.

Describe alternatives you've considered

Any other option to prevent the merge file overwriting the Favourites configuration upon restoring the merge file

Additional context

If I do not use the Remove Favourites function, all the Favourites get merged and I end up with a colossal collection of Favourites across all devices. This undoes the work that I have gone to individualise the Favourites section of the app per device.