Importing Comma Delimited Files

The CSV version of the Bible Import Wizard imports Bibles into openlp.org from comma delimited files. CSV or comma delimited files are plain text files in which each line in the file is a row of data, and the columns of data are separated by commas.

Since the structure of the Bible files has a few tables, you need to supply a few files to import. You need a file with all the actual Bible verses in it, a file with the list of books in it, and then a testaments file as well, although it's optional.

File Formats

Each of these comma delimited files has a specific format, which you will need to adhere to if you want to successfully import Bibles into openlp.org.

Testament File:

The testament file contains the list of testaments, in order. Currently testaments are not used, but we've put them in place in case they are used in future. The format of the file looks like this:

[TestamentId], [TestamentName]

[TestamentId]

This is the unique numeric identifier for each testament.

[TestamentName]

The name of the testament. This is where you would have the name of the testament in your langauge.

Books File:

The books file contains the names of the books of the bible, which testament they belong in, and the abbreviation of each book. The format of the books file looks like this:

[BookId], [TestamentId], [BookName], [Abbreviation]

[BookId]

The unique numeric identifier of the book. These need to be in the order that they appear in the bible, as the lists are ordered by these identifiers. If you simply have a 0 (zero) here, openlp.org will automatically create an identifier, in the order of the books in the file.

[TestamentId]

This is the unique numeric identifier of the testament. So for Genesis, this would be 1, and for Matthew, this would be 2.

[BookName]

This of course is the name of the book. In whatever language you want it in.

[Abbreviation]

This is used in the quick search, allowing you to simply enter the abbreviation of the book, rather than the whole book name. Traditionally, these abbreviations are 3 letters in length, although anything up to 5 will be accepted. All letters after the 5th will be discarded.

Verses File:

The verses file contains all the Bible verses and links to the books. This is the main file. The file format looks like this:

[BookId], [Chapter], [Verse], [Text]

[BookId]

This is the unique numeric identifier of the book. If you used 0's (zeroes) in the previous file, simply substitute the BookId with the name of the book, and openlp.org will do a lookup, and insert the book's BookId for you.

[Chapter]

This is the numeric chapter. If a book has no chapters, this needs to be 1.

[Verse]

This is, of course, the verse number.

[Text]

The text of the verse, surrounded by double quotes. Any double quotes within the text should be doubled up ("word" becomes ""word"").