Logos: How to install a subset of your resources on a tablet

Tablets are increasingly being adopted as an alternate to a hard copy bible.  They're light and bring all the benefits of having a bible on a digital platform:  convenient search, cross referencing and access to other resources such as original language dictionaries and commentaries. 

Often tablets don't come with much hard drive storage.  These days a meagre 64GB doesn't usually have much left over once the operating system and manufacturer "added value" applications have been loaded. 

And then Office 365 will take some space too.

It isn't long before conserving space on the Hard Drive is a top priority.

With Logos Bible Software, a typical user might have over a gigabyte of resources.  I have about 8GB myself and I started out with the Silver bundle.  Lots of others have more.  What to do?

Logos doesn't make it easy to only install a subset of resources.  Logos prides itself on giving their users access to a huge number of resources.

Once purchased, Logos allows automated searches of the entire oeuvre of resources which can help users to gain relatively broader perspectives on a particular biblical passage or topic.

In Logos' eyes this is one of the primary benefits of their software so provisions for installing a subset of resources have been overlooked.

The good thing is they don't mind how many instances of Logos are installed.

Anyway, here's a workaround for installing a subset of resources; it works in Logos 6 (update December 7, 2017: and 7) but I haven't tested it on earlier versions: 

1. Start a clean installation on the tablet 
2. Select Custom installation 
3. uncheck “Automatically Download Updates”
4. Copy required resources to a folder    ----> this assumes you already have a full installation
5. Sign in to Logos when installation has completed
6. Run scan command  i.e. scan the folder at step 4
7. Let it run and index
8. When using it, don't click download updates.
9. Use web link for software updates
10. Use Scan command for resource updates ----> get them from a full installation
11. Note that the books you choose will be files with the following extensions:-

*.logos4   ---->  Logos 4/5/6 format books incl. Vyrso
*.lbxlls     ---->  Logos 3 format books
*.lbspbb    ----> personal books
*.lbxclv     ---->  Clause Visualizers (if you want Syntax Search)
*.lbxtml     ---->  Logos 4 timelines
*.lbshtm    ---->  Interactive resources

Files with other extensions are your datasets that are all pretty much needed for your Logos to function e.g. reverse interlinears (NT/OT), pericopes, excerpts (Home Page), LCV (topics), morphology, lemmas, grammar, referents, events, ancient literature, pronunciation, preaching themes, etc. These can take up to 4 GB of space.

For future updates:

1. Resources:  Go to your full installation and copy across the new versions and then rescan.
2. Base program:  Run the newer setup on Windows:   https://www.logos.com/install
3. Don't click the download link otherwise you will trigger a full install of all your resources.

Update (Sept 10, 2016):  I bought a 32GB microSD card with the hope of doing a full installation. 

My target device was a ThinkPad 10 (2GB RAM, 64GB SSD).  After installation on the card, Logos wouldn't run reliably at all, with a full installation.  Worked fine the first time, then on after a while, it freezes and an error message says that there is a problem and the application has to be closed.  Subsequent program launches result in crash to desktop.  I have 9GB of resources.  The index takes it up to around 12GB in total. 

Retried by installing Logos on the C: drive and leaving resources on microSD card but worked same result. 

Went back to installing on C: drive with minimal resources (1GB), and it works fine.