JW Library Links
Hold ⌥ Option and click a scripture link in JW Library on your Mac. The verse opens in a second window, so you can read the article and the Bible side by side.
Download for MacVersion 2.0 · What's new
What it does
In JW Library, clicking a scripture link opens the verse in a small side panel. That is fine for a quick look, but when you study you often want the whole chapter next to the article. JW Library Links adds that: a normal click still works as before, and an Option-click sends the link to a second window.
Option-click opens a second window
Hold ⌥ Option while clicking a link in JW Library. The first time, the app opens a second JW Library window. After that, it reuses the same window, so you never end up with a pile of windows.
Useful for: reading the full context of a verse while keeping your place in the article.
Arrange windows side by side
When the second window is created, the article moves to the left half of the screen and the new window to the right.
You don't have to resize anything. If you rearrange the windows later, the app leaves your layout alone.
Return to edited note
JW Library stops editing a note as soon as another window gets focus. If you Option-click a link while writing a note, the app opens that note for editing again afterwards.
You can look up a verse and keep typing without clicking your way back.
Open links in notes
Links you typed or pasted into your notes become clickable with ⌥ Option. Articles and Bible chapters from jw.org and wol.jw.org open in the second window; other jw.org pages open in your browser.
Keep references from the Online Library in your notes and open them right in the app.
Open scriptures in notes
Scriptures you write in your notes become clickable with ⌥ Option. Write them the way you're used to, such as “Jeremia 18:6-8”, “Jer. 18:6” or “1Mo 1:1”, and the verse opens in the second window.
Look up the verses you noted without typing them into the search.
Open links when pasting
Copy a jw.org link (from an email, a message, a website), click into JW Library and press ⌘ V. The link opens in the second window.
While you are typing in a note or the search field, ⌘ V pastes normally.
Bible language
Choose the language Bible verses open in: English, Deutsch, Français, Italiano, Español, Português or Nederlands.
Pick the language of the Bible you have downloaded in JW Library.
Launch at login
The app starts automatically when you log in to your Mac, so Option-click always works.
Turn it off if you prefer to start the app by hand.
How to install
You need a Mac with macOS 13 Ventura or later and the JW Library app.
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Copy the app to your Applications folder
Download the app, open JW-Library-Links.dmg from your Downloads folder and drag JW Library Links onto the Applications folder.
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Open the app
Open JW Library Links from your Applications folder.
If macOS says it cannot verify the developer, open System Settings › Privacy & Security, scroll down and click Open Anyway. You only need to do this once. -
Allow Accessibility access
The app needs this permission to see which link you clicked in JW Library. When asked, open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Accessibility and turn on JW Library Links.
The app starts working a moment later. You don't need to restart it.
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Try it
Open an article with a scripture link in JW Library, hold ⌥ Option and click the link. A second window opens with the verse.
Questions
Option-click still opens the side panel
Click the link icon in the menu bar. If it says “Accessibility permission missing”, choose “Grant Accessibility…” and turn on JW Library Links in System Settings.
I don't see the link icon in the menu bar
The app is not running. Open it again from your Applications folder. On Macs with a notch, the icon may be hidden when the menu bar is full; close some other menu bar apps to make room.
Which version am I running?
Click the link icon in the menu bar. The line above “Quit” shows the version, for example “Version 2.0 (12, 4eaca7e)”. The version history shows the latest version.
How do I update?
Choose “Quit JW Library Links” in its menu, then install the new version the same way as before and replace the old app. Your settings are kept.
How do I uninstall?
Choose “Quit JW Library Links” in its menu and move the app from your Applications folder to the Trash.
Does the app collect any data?
No. It runs entirely on your Mac and only reacts to clicks and paste shortcuts inside JW Library. It makes no network connections of its own.
Something else isn't working
Write to ramonsutter@icloud.com. Please include the version line from the menu and describe what you clicked and what happened.
Version history
The download above is always the latest version. To see which version you have, click the link icon in the menu bar.
Version 2.0
CurrentNew
- Marginal references in the study pane (such as “Rö 3:24”) open in the second window with ⌥ Option-click.
- Scriptures you write in your notes open with ⌥ Option-click, such as “Jeremia 18:6-8”, “Jer. 18:6” or “1Mo 1:1”. This works in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch.
- The menu has separate switches for “Open links in notes” and “Open scriptures in notes”.
Fixed
- Cross-references in the study notes (such as “Anm. zu Rö 1:1”) opened in the study pane instead of the second window.
Version 1.0, build 10
Fixed
- Pasting a link with ⌘ V sometimes pasted it as text instead of opening it, after you had clicked into an article.
- ⌘ V in a note you are editing pastes normally again.
Version 1.0
First release
- Option-click a link in JW Library to open it in a second window, which is reused afterwards.
- Arrange the two windows side by side.
- Return to the note you were editing.
- Open jw.org links in notes, and open copied links with ⌘ V.
- Choose the Bible language, launch at login, and see the version in the menu.