Is there a way to stop the library window resetting the selected reference after inserting into a document?

[BlattnerRef]

When I have a reference selected in the library window and use either the Copy Citation command (⌘-Y) or the Copy Citation and Modifiers command (⌘^-Y), the selection in the library window resets to the topmost reference in whichever list is displayed (hits, all references, etc.). Is there a way to stop this behavior? I will often want to insert references to the same reference several times in a row. Having to re-select the reference becomes an extra step that can sometimes take real time.

Thanks,

Bill Blattner

[Jon]

We seem to be having a rash of bizarre behavior today. Copy Citation does not change the selected reference. It could conceivably do that if there were references synced when the window was deactivated, but obviously that wouldn't happen every time. In any case, if you're syncing via the cloud, suspend it and see if this behavior is affected.

Jon
Sonny Software

[BlattnerRef]

Thanks for the quick response, Jon. I'll try suspending for a day and see what happens. If the behavior continues or resumed once I start syncing again (syncing is important to me), I'll try to take notes on the conditions under which it happens. It doesn't happen all of the time.

[BlattnerRef]

Jon, I tested this out both with syncing paused and syncing active. I got the same results both ways, and they're narrower than I first reported. The behavior of resetting to the topmost reference only happens in the Hits list. It doesn't happen in the All list, a filtered list, or smart groups. It does happen every single time in the Hits list, however.

[Jon]

Thanks for the followup information.

I just did this:

1. Created 8 hits
2. Selected hit #8
3. Command-Y -> the temp citation was pasted into Word
4. Clicked on the title bar of the Bookends window to bring it back to the front.

Selection #8 was still selected.

If you reproduce the steps above (you just need more than one hit, and select the last one), what happens?

Jon
Sonny Software

[BlattnerRef]

Jon,

I started from scratch on a new document, but I got the same behavior: resetting to the topmost reference in the hits list.

Here's something that might be relevant: I'm using the "live bibliography" option in Mellel 5.1.0.r12.

[Jon]

Yes, that explains it. When a document is scanned the references used are made hits in Bookends -- a very useful feature. With Live Bibliography turned on, every time you make a change that affects a reference the equivalent of a scan occurs (in the background, you don't see it happening). When the updates have finished Bookends is refreshed and the hits group is updated to reflect the addition or loss of citations. Normally you don't see this, but if the hits list is open you will. The solution is to either (1) not Copy Citation from the hits group, or (2) turn off Live Bibliography.

Jon
Sonny Software

[BlattnerRef]

Thanks, Jon! It's good to know what's going on. I'll think about which approach fits better in my work flow. (I set up a temporary work-around with a Better Touch Tool workflow that did the hard work for me. It's a bit clumsy and slow, however.)

Related question: I use Text Expander, and I considered setting up a text expansion protocol for the one or two references I use over and over. I tried by this means to create temporary citations, but they didn't "take." They showed up in the (Mellel) document as just text. They weren't highlighted, like they are when I insert from Bookends, and a subsequent scan wouldn't catch them. Are there invisible characters I would need to use? (I was using the curly brackets that are the default citation delimiter in my set-up.)

[Jon]

In Mellel citations are objects, not text like in other word processors. Bookends and Mellel work together so it's seamless for the user. If you want can enter them into Mellel as text yourself (with curly brackets), but then you'll have to run Edit -> Bibliography -> Convert Text To Citations (in Mellel) afterward to make them useful.

Jon
Sonny Software

[BlattnerRef]

Thanks for the tip, Jon!