suggestion for handling "local links"

[danzac]

I made this suggestion in the Devonthink forum, the Sente forum, and want to suggest it here too.

I'm always looking for better integration with Devonthink and I've thought of something that could be a really good means of integration.

I'd like to see BE be able to handle "local links" as if they were attachments. Devonthink (like BE's links to citations) has a link to all items in the databases. If a user could plug in that link to BE and it be treated somewhat like an attachment, then this would allow users to house their PDF's in Devonthink and move it anywhere they want (since the DT link always stays the same).

This would mean that a linked PDF could be viewed in the BE viewer for note-taking, or it could be launched from BE quickly to open the item in Devonthink.

[Jon]

Bookends can do something kind of like this now. If you copy the link in DT (Edit menu) and paste into a Bookends reference field (e.g. Notes), the link will be shown (and live) in the concise view. Clicking on it will open the pdf in DT.

Jon
Sonny Software

[danzac]

Yep, I've seen this and make use of it.

Perhaps I/we want to have our cake and eat it too simple note-taking is best in the bibliographic manager (for me anyway) so to see the PDF in BE is desired. But major searches and research is done in DT and I'd prefer to manage my PDF's in DT, making full use of its auto-classifying and harnessing its AI.

Theoretically, the feature would reach beyond DT to any other file types that have been assigned a local link by other applications (assuming the BE viewed can view the file type).

[Jon]

It's a nice thought, but the hyperlink doesn't mean anything to Bookends (or the Finder). It's an internal DT link that only makes sense to DT. So Bookends can tell DT to open it, but can't open it itself. If DT had a mechanism for revealing the pathname to the pdfs to other applications (like Bookends), then something like what you suggest would be feasible.

Jon
Sonny Software

[danzac]

Okay Jon, I'm getting somewhere. DT is scriptable, and someone on the DT forum provided me with a simple script that hands the path of the file to the clipboard, I'm going to update the script so that it grabs both the path and the DT internal link. When I'm done, I'll give it to you and perhaps it can utilized.

My thought is that the mechanism would take the path and use it as the attachment, and take the internal link and add it to the URL field, so that the PDF can be launched in DT when necessary.

Also, assuming this type of thing can come to fruition, I'm wondering about the "drop pdf and autocomplete" feature. Instead of dropping a PDF, can the path be dropped and it used for the autocomplete?

[Jon]

No, the pdf url won't help. I think what you're looking for is Autofill From Internet. If the reference has a PMID, DOI, or ISBN there's a good chance that will work.

Jon
Sonny Software

[danzac]

I think we mean the same thing. I'm assuming BE looks at the dropped PDF for a DOI and then searches the internet for autofill, right? Instead of "making a new reference" when dropping a pdf to BE, can a URL path be dropped and that PDF looked at for its DOI?

[Jon]

No, that won't work. Bookends doesn't actually know any url you drop on it is a pdf (links don't have to end in .pdf). And Bookends won't download a pdf, anyway, unless you instruct it to. Now, if you drop a doi (not a link containing the doi, but the doi) on the database window, Bookends will autofill that reference if it can.

Jon
Sonny Software

[danzac]

Ah, I see.

I've emailed you an applescript. The script grabs the path of the DT file as well as its DT link, and places them on the clipboard (with a return in between them).

Would BE be able to use the path as the attachment, and add the DT link to the URL field?

[Jon]

No, it wouldn't. You can of course simply paste the path to the pdf in the Bookends URL field and get to it that way (it will open in your browser).

If you want Bookends to use the pdf as an attachment, you'd have to go through the usual attachment process (locating the pdf in whatever folder DT puts it in).

Jon
Sonny Software

[danzac]

I had assumed that Devonthink's internal structure stayed consistent, but I was informed that I was wrong—paths to files can change internally. So using paths as potential attachments would not work. Sorry for bringing up a dead end.

[philosopher_dog]

I had assumed that Devonthink's internal structure stayed consistent, but I was informed that I was wrong—paths to files can change internally. So using paths as potential attachments would not work. Sorry for bringing up a dead end.

Hi,
I realize this is a bit late to add to this thread, but it might help someone. The above point is not correct. You should have no trouble linking to DT notes from BE. Here's a forum thread of relevance to the discussion http://www.devon-technologies.com/scrip ... ink#p33936

[danzac]

I had assumed that Devonthink's internal structure stayed consistent, but I was informed that I was wrong—paths to files can change internally. So using paths as potential attachments would not work. Sorry for bringing up a dead end.

Hi,
I realize this is a bit late to add to this thread, but it might help someone. The above point is not correct. You should have no trouble linking to DT notes from BE. Here's a forum thread of relevance to the discussion http://www.devon-technologies.com/scrip ... ink#p33936

Yes, it is correct, at least that is what Christian from DT told me by email. Do note, though, that I am NOT talking about the links which DT creates— I was talking about actual Finder file paths to pdf's in a DT database.