ReadingPlan for
iPhone/iPad

ReadingPlan File Format

ReadingPlan files are simple text files with an '.ini' extension. They are easy to create and/or modify using a simple text editor. The example below (between the dashed lines) shows everything required for a one-day reading plan. 
[plan]
title=A Short Plan

[description]
This is a very short example plan.

[readings]
John 1-3, Psalm 23
Several other pieces of information can be included in the [plan] section, including copyright, email, web site, and number of readings, but only the title is required. See the default plans for examples of including additional information.

The [description] section is required, and should contain a short description of the plan, in plain text.

Each line in the [readings] section contains the readings for a single day. (So, a one-year plan would have 365 lines in the [readings] section.) Multiple readings in a day are separted by a comma followed by a space. (So, the example above consists of two readings, one from John and one from Psalms.)

A 'reading' can be any piece of text, though of course it is usually a scripture reference. If the plan will be used in conjunction with an online bible-reading site, the scripture reference should follow a format recognized by the site. The default plan files always spell out the book names in full, but most sites are very flexible and recognize a wide variety of abbreviations.

UPDATE: The 'Progress' screen introduced in version 2.3 is very particular about the names of the books -- if you will want to use that feature, use the full names of the books. If the screen doesn't seem to pick up all of your progress, check the spelling of the books' names (they should match the names in the Progress screen.) If the problem persists, please send me your plan -- I'll be happy to troubleshoot it.

UPDATE: Beginning with version 4.5, plans can specify alternate links for selected readings, for example, a link to a Hebrew bible for OT readings, and a separate link to a Greek bible for NT readings. To indicate that a reading should go to an alternate link, simply append " >2", " >3", etc. after the reading itself. Finally, arrange your 'Bible Link' entries so that the alternate links are below your primary link, in specified order. So, suppose a plan covered the bible and the Westminster Larger Catechism in a year; the plan might have entries as follows -- 

Genesis 1-3, WLC 1-3 >2
Genesis 4-6, WLC 4-6 >2
The link indicators do not display in the app itself.

UPDATE: Beginning with version 4.5, plans that use the deuterocanonical books can indicate such by adding the following to [header] section: 

usedc=1
If this is present in the plan file, the Progress screen in ReadingPlan will display and track progress in the deuterocanonical books recognized by the Catholic Church.

UPDATE: Beginning with version 4.5.2, plans that use books from the Orthodox canon indicate such by adding the following to [header] section: 

usedc=2
If this is present in the plan file, the Progress screen in ReadingPlan will display and track progress in the deuterocanonical books recognized by Orthdox churches (using the books names and ordering found in the "Orthodox Study Bible" published by Thomas Nelson.)

The book of Esther presents special problems, since there is no consistency between web sites or bible apps on the what to call the additional chapters or how to link to them. One plan alerts users to the problem this way: 

Esther 11:2-12:6 (Esther A), Esther 1-2
Esther 3:1-13, Esther 13:1-7 (Esther B), Esther 3:14-15, Esther 4, Esther 13:14:19 (Esther C)
Esther 15:1-16 (Esther D), Esther 5:1-8:12, Esther 16 (Esther E), Esther 8:13-17
Esther 9:1-10:3, Esther 10:4-Esther 11:1 (Esther F)
By including the Vulgate's chapter numbers (1-14), the plan ensures that progress is correctly calculated by ReadingPlan; by including Esther A-F in parenthesis, the plan alerts users of (say) the NABRE or NRSV what they should look for in their bibles, in lieu of the Vulgate's numbering.

UPDATE: Beginning with version 4.5.2, ReadingPlan treats Esther as having 10 books, regardless of canon, with additions A-F treated as extensions to those chapters. This allows consistent calculation of progress and linking behavior across the greatest number of web sites and bible apps.

Accordingly, the plan mentioned above can be rewritten more simply as follows: 

Esther 1-2 (with Esther A)
Esther 3-4 (with Esther B-C)
Esther 5-8 (with Esther D-E)
Esther 9-10 (with Esther F)
Note that the parenthetical text is purely advisory, ReadingPlan ignores it when linking or calculating progress.

Likewise, the book of Daniel presents some special problems. Using the NRSVCE as a guide for the Catholic canon (usedc=1), ReadingPlan treats Daniel as having 14 chapters. No special attention is paid to linking. In this translation

Using Thomas Nelson's "Orthodox Study Bible" as a guide for the Orthodox canon (usedc=2), Daniel is treated as having 12 chapters. Again, no special attention is paid to linking. In this translation:

The treatment of Baruch also differs slightly from the Catholic canon -- what is Baruch 6 in the Catholic canon appears as a separate book, the Epistle of Jeremiah (so that Baruch has only five chapters in the Orthodox canon.)

Finally, ReadingPlan offers a third option for Deuterocanonical books (usedc=3) -- the "canon" as defined by the NRSV translation, which includes additional books not found not found in other canons. For book names and chapter counts, see the "Book List" for the NRSV translation on the BibleGateway site. (Note that Esther also appears as Greek Esther, with only the latter containing the Greek additions.)

Notes