STEP (Standard Template for Electronic Publishing) is a standard
file format
A file format is a standard way that information is encoded for storage in a computer file. It specifies how bits are used to encode information in a digital storage medium. File formats may be either proprietary or free.
Some file formats ...
used to distribute
Biblical software from various publishers. 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.
Format specification
The files use Microsoft's
Rich Text Format
)
As an example, the following RTF code
would be rendered as follows:
This is some bold text.
Character encoding
A standard RTF file can only consist of 7-bit ASCII characters, but can use escape sequences to encode other characters. Th ...
(RTF) with special STEP tags added.
While not fully
open format
An open file format is a file format for storing digital data, defined by an openly published specification usually maintained by a standards organization, and which can be used and implemented by anyone. Open file format is licensed with open lic ...
, 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. There are restrictions on the 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
The term cross-reference (abbreviation: xref) can refer to either:
* An instance within a document which refers to related information elsewhere in the same document. In both printed and online dictionaries cross-references are important because ...
various works from various publishers.
Bible Study Software
The following
biblical software can read STEP files:
* e-Sword;
*
QuickVerse 5.0 through 2009;
*
WORDsearch
A word search, word find, word seek, word sleuth or mystery word puzzle is a word game that consists of the letters of words placed in a grid, which usually has a rectangular or square shape. The objective of this puzzle is to find and mark all ...
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
The Navigators is a worldwide Christianity, Christian Parachurch organization, para-church organization based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Its purpose is the Disciple (Christianity), discipling (training) of Christi ...
from 1995 to 2003;
* Certain of
Zondervan
Zondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Zondervan is a founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). They are a part of HarperCollins Christian Publ ...
's software titles 1995–2001, including their own STEP Reader (which was in fact a rebranded Quickverse Library) which ran independently of their own Reference Software suite;
References
{{reflist
External links
FindEx Corporate Websitee-Sword WebsiteSTEP Site mirrored by crosswire.orgEphesians 4 Website
Electronic Bibles
Electronic publishing