Transform your website with RefTagger!

RefTagger is an amazing, free new web tool that instantly makes all the Bible references on your site come alive! Bare references turn into hyperlinks to the full text of the passage at Bible.Logos.com, making it easy for your readers to access the text of Scripture with just a click. Even better, RefTagger brings the text right to your readers by generating a tooltip window that pops up instantly when they hover over the reference. You can also have RefTagger add an icon that is hyperlinked to the passage in Libronix—ideal if many of your readers use Logos. So if your website says, “One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Romans 8:28,” RefTagger will instantly turn it into this: “One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Romans 8:28.”

RefTagger takes citing Bible references to a whole new level. All you need to do is copy the customizable code that we provide for you below and paste it into your website’s template file(s), and it will instantly be applied to your entire site—all past and future content! It doesn’t matter how big or small your site is. RefTagger does it all instantly—saving you hours of time linking verses manually! Because RefTagger uses JavaScript, it doesn’t actually change the code on the content of your site’s pages. If you decide to remove RefTagger from your site, it’s as simple as deleting the code from your template file(s).

What does RefTagger tag?

RefTagger supports all of the Bible book names and their standard abbreviations. It will recognize and tag books with only one chapter whether you cite them with or without the chapter number (e.g., Jude 9 or Jude 1:9). To avoid false hits, RefTagger will not tag whole books like Luke or whole chapters of Scripture like John 10 unless you wrap them in the Bibleref markup (see below for instructions). It also handles multiple verses in a row (e.g., John 3:16-18, 22; 4:2-4), portions of verses (e.g., Ps. 1:1a; 1 Cor. 15:28c), and verses through the use of the f or ff abbreviations (e.g., Gen 3:15f; Job 2:1ff), and recognizes many other common abbreviations and formats (e.g., Lk 2:1; cf. 4:4; Gal 3:3; cf. vv. 8-10; Eph 3:1 and 4:2). Whether you use a hyphen (-) or an en dash (–), RefTagger will correctly recognize and tag your Bible references (e.g., Rom 5:1-10; Eph 2:8–9).

• Jude 9; Jude 1:9
• Luke (when wrapped in the Bibleref markup)
• John 10 (when wrapped in the Bibleref markup)
• John 3:16-18, 22; 4:2-4
• Ps. 1:1; 1 Cor. 15:28
• Gen 3:15f; Job 2:1ff
• Lk 2:1; cf. 4:4; Gal 3:3; cf. vv. 8-10; Eph 3:1 and 4:2
• Rom 5:1-10; Eph 2:8–9

Note: Bible references are case sensitive, so john 3:16 would not be tagged, nor would GEN 1:1.

RefTagger now also supports citing versions different from your default version. Simply add the version abbreviation after the reference in one of the following three formats, and RefTagger will properly identify and tag your references with the appropriate version.

• Heb 12:1-2 TNIV
• Deut 5:5, NLT
• Rev 21:1 (KJV)
  

RefTagger can also add an icon to any Libronix links that you create manually (i.e., links to most resources and reports). This allows your readers to know when you are pointing them to a Libronix link rather than a web link.

• “Trinity” in the New Bible Dictionary
• “Creation” in Hodge’s Systematic Theology
• Adam in the Biblical People report

For more examples of the types of links you can add to your site, see External Linking to Libronix Resources and Reports at the Logos Blog.

What kinds of sites does RefTagger work on?

RefTagger will work on just about any website or blog. It is easiest to set up on a site that uses one or more template files because this allows you to make global changes to your website by editing only one (or sometimes a couple of) file(s). If your site does not have a template file, see the FAQs below for help on setting up RefTagger most efficiently.

Here are sites that we have tested and are known to work well with RefTagger:

Blog Sites

• Blogger—Read the tutorial!
• ChristianBlog.com—Read the tutorial!
• Movable Type—Read the tutorial!
• WordPress.org—Read the tutorial!—Download the plugin!

Forum Sites

• bbPress
• phpBB—Read the tutorial!
• Simple Machines Forum (SMF)—Read the tutorial!
• vBulletin—Read the tutorial!

Content Management System (CMS) Sites

• Drupal—Read the tutorial!—Download the plugin!
• Joomla!—Read the tutorial!

Wiki Sites

• MediaWiki—Read the tutorial!

If you have any trouble or would like to see a tutorial for another platform, send an email to reftagger@logos.com.

See RefTagger in action!

Visit the Logos Blog to see how the RefTagger works. Here are some posts with lots of Scripture references:

• Who Cares About Participles? I Do!
• Why Use the Septuagint?
• Thanksgiving in the Bible Word Study Report

Here are some sites that are putting RefTagger to good use:

• Desiring God Ministries
• Grace to You
• GotQuestions.org
• Theopedia
• Compass Bible Church
• Park Street Church
• Baptist Seminary of the West Indies
• Blog and Mablog
• Book of Concord
• Flash Point
• Bible Places Blog
• Biblical Studies and Technological Tools

Send an email to reftagger@logos.com to let us know if you are using RefTagger on your site.

What are people saying about RefTagger?

RefTagger is getting some great reviews from users. Here’s what some have to say:

RefTagger is quick to implement, simple to customize, and adds instant value to a website. We have been very happy with the features of RefTagger, and highly recommend it.
—Josh Sowin, Website Manager of Desiring God

This is an awesome utility and if you blog and are a Christian, then I believe this is a must have.
—Jeff Brown, Pastor of Grace Pointe Baptist Church

RefTagger is fantastic! I hope you will check it out right away!
—Steve Hewitt, Christian Computing® Magazine

I love this! I just updated our blog/devotion page to include RefTagger. I used to manually create links to BibleGateway, but quickly grew tired of it. Now I don’t have to even think about it. What a wonderful tool!
—Ryan Gano, World Changers Youth Ministry

Get the RefTagger code.

If you manage a blog or another website, you can easily add RefTagger by putting a few lines of code into the footer of your template file(s). Use the form below to customize RefTagger to function the way you wish. The JavaScript code is automatically generated for you. Copy the code from the text box and put it right before the closing body tag: </body>. RefTagger will begin working immediately.

Online Bible version:	NIV NASB KJV ESV ASV MSG AMP NLT CEV NKJV NCV KJ21 YLT DARBY NLV HCSB NIRV NIVUK TNIV
Links open in:	Existing window New window
Insert Libronix links:	Insert an icon linking to the verse in Libronix DLS. Add an icon to previously existing Libronix links.
Libronix Bible version:	User’s Default NIV NASB95 NASB77 KJV ESV ASV MSG AMP NRSV NLT CEV NKJV NCV KJ21 YLT DARBY HCSB NIRV ANIV TNIV
Libronix link icon:	Dark (for sites with light backgrounds) Light (for sites with dark backgrounds)
Show ToolTips:	Show a tooltip containing verse text when the mouse hovers over a reference. (Your online Bible version will be used if available. Otherwise the NIV will be used. See the FAQs for a list of available tooltip versions.)
Formatting to exclude:	Do not search the following HTML tags: Bold Italic Underline Ordered list Unordered list Span Header 1 Header 2 Header 3 Header 4 Header 5 Header 6

Copy the JavaScript code from this textbox.
<!-- RefTagger from Logos. Visit http://www.logos.com/reftagger. This code should appear directly before the </body> tag. --> <script src="http://bible.logos.com/jsapi/referencetagging.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> Logos.ReferenceTagging.lbsBibleVersion = "ESV"; Logos.ReferenceTagging.lbsLinksOpenNewWindow = true; Logos.ReferenceTagging.lbsLibronixLinkIcon = "dark"; Logos.ReferenceTagging.lbsNoSearchTagNames = [ "h1", "h2", "h3" ]; Logos.ReferenceTagging.tag(); </script>

Customize RefTagger.

Are you an advanced user who wants even more control over how RefTagger looks and functions? These advanced customizations are for you.

How can I customize the look of the tooltips?
You can override the default CSS of the tooltips by following three simple steps:

1. Add the line
   
   Logos.ReferenceTagging.lbsCssOverride = true;
   
   somewhere between the line
   
   <script type="text/javascript">
   
   and
   
   </script>
   
   
2. Copy all of the styles from http://bible.logos.com/Content/ReferenceTagging.css and add them to your site’s stylesheet.
   
   
3. Make modifications to the default styles to adjust how the tooltips display.

See more examples in this blog post: RefTagger’s Got Style.

How can I further customize the search options?
You can prevent RefTagger from searching HTML tags with a specific class name. This can be accomplished by adding a line similar to

Logos.ReferenceTagging.lbsNoSearchClassNames = [ "myFirstClass", "mySecondClass" ];

to the JavaScript code. This line should appear directly before the line

Logos.ReferenceTagging.tag();

Adding this line would prevent RefTagger from searching any tag with a class name of "myFirstClass" or "mySecondClass".  

Get help! FAQs

• Which Bible versions are available for the tooltip windows?
  Currently the NIV, TNIV, NIrN, NLT, ESV, NASB, NKJV, and KJV are available. We are working to make more versions available. If you don’t see your favorite version, please let us know.
   
• How do I set my tooltip version?
  RefTagger will display the same version in the tooltip windows as you choose for your online Bible version. If your version is not yet available for the tooltips, RefTagger will default to the NIV.
   
• I created my site from scratch with an HTML editor. How do I get RefTagger to work on my entire site?
  Most sites use one or more template files, so adding the RefTagger script to those files will cause it to work on your entire site. If your site doesn’t have template files but is just a collection of individual HTML files, you will need to add the script code to every page. You may be able to perform a find and replace to apply it to all of your files at once. Most HTML editors like Dreamweaver and FrontPage support this operation.
   
• Which web browsers are supported?
  RefTagger will work in any modern browser, including Internet Explorer 6 and 7, Firefox 2 and 3, Safari 3, and Opera 9. Any browser that supports JavaScript 1.6 should work as well.
   
• What about older browsers?
  RefTagger is designed to check for browser support before running. If you are using an unsupported browser, no errors will be produced; it simply will not run.
   
• How do I know if it’s working?
  Any references to Bible verses on your web page will be turned into hyperlinks. If you are using the option to include Libronix DLS links, a small icon will also appear next to the hyperlink.
   
• Does RefTagger support the Bibleref markup?
  Yes. Though RefTagger will automatically pick up any standard Bible references like Matthew 5:1; Matt. 5:1; and Mt 5.1 without any special markup added, it will not tag an instance where you might later refer to verse 48 without specifying Mt 5:48. If you would like RefTagger to tag instances like these as well, you will have to manually apply the Bibleref markup. So “verse 48” would appear this way in the code: <cite class="bibleref" title="Mt 5:48">verse 48</cite>. (Note: the default formatting for the cite tag displays the text as italic. To override the default italics, add the style="font-style:normal" attribute to your cite tag: <cite class="bibleref" style="font-style:normal" title="Mt 5:48">verse 48</cite>.) To learn more about Bibleref, visit the Semantic Bible website.
   
• Why isn’t it working?
  1. Check to make sure that the JavaScript code is in the footer, preferably immediately before the closing </body> tag. RefTagger will only search for references in text that comes before the JavaScript code.
  
  2. Make sure your browser supports JavaScript, and that JavaScript is enabled in your browser settings.
  
  3. Check to see if you have restricted RefTagger from searching the HTML tag that the Bible reference appears in. For example, if the reference appears in a bold <b> tag, ensure that you did not select Bold from the list of tags in the preferences.
   
  Does RefTagger work with other languages?
  Currently, RefTagger supports only English. We are working on adding support for Spanish. If you’d like to see RefTagger support another language, please let us know.
   

Send your RefTagger feedback!

If you find a bug or want to make a suggestion, send an email to reftagger@logos.com and let us know.