Way to create/use HTML-style links within SAB

Does anyone know how I can create in-line (not footnotes, cross references, keyword links) HTML-style links to other locations within SAB? I thought maybe I could use \r (parallel passage marker) but this isn’t very flexible as it seems uniquely designed for parallel pages links and not a general link

I’m working with some discipleship/DBS apps and I’d like to be able to have in-line links to other places in the apps to help simplify and improve the user experience.

For example, it would be nice within the main text/passage to have a line that says “CLICK HERE to see a list of questions to help your group discuss how this week has gone for everyone and to review last week’s story” where CLICK HERE is an in-line link to another CHAPTER/VERSE or location within the app.

If this isn’t possible, I would like to request this type of feature.

Link possibilities within SAB were improved in version 4.5.

If you are using Word documents, you can create links to other books and chapters by selecting a word or phrase in the document and adding a hyperlink. The hyperlink format is “MAT.11.28” (Matthew, chapter 11, verse 28), or you can include the book collection code, e.g. “KJV/LUK.15” (Luke 15 in the KJV book collection).

If you are using SFM, you can create links using markdown format, e.g. [Click here to see chapter 11](MAT.11.28).

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Thanks for this input Richard. I have 2 follow-up questions:

  1. If I have non-Scripture books, does hyperlinking still work if I simply use the relevant BOOKID?
  2. If I have books without verse numbers, does the hyperlinking as you described still work if I only use the chapter number or simply the BOOKID? Would the link still work and the destination would be the top of the chapter or the top of the book?

I am interested in this too.
I experimented a bit and compared Picture Story Book SFM vs. Default Book SFM files (the difference being \page or \c). I only got it working with Default Books that had chapters, not with the other format. It would be nice if both would work.
Also, I haven’t been able to link to another book collection by using markdown in SFM files (Default Book). I added a link such as: [Иоанна]
(C02/MRK.3.12) and it didn’t work. Maybe this formatting is incorrect for use in SFM files?

Dear Friedo,
Have now been able to make those kind of links to another book collection?
I was looking for that question exactly.

No, as far as I remember I didn’t get this working. I have not tried recently, though, maybe in newer versions of SAB it works?

Thanks for the reply!

I am trying to create links from a story book called King of Glory to the C01 book collection. I have used the normal link feature in Word:


but the links appear in brackets (and don’t work as links) after the reference as seen on the top line here:

Should I try something different?

I have also been experimenting with the same book using usfm and .txt file.
I can’t get links to work this way either, worse still the YT video and image that worked fine with the .doc have disappeared.
Page 58 of the manual has some instructions and an example and I have tried to follow that.
Has anyone else has success with using usfm with links, images and video links for stories?

I found the problem with the links, I had these Changes enabled to make OT quotes in the NT look nicer.


Although I did not have square brackets in my Word document, they appear when I look at the Source in SAB (I’m assuming SAB converts the .doc to SFM which must use square brackets).