Thoughts for the new trash category

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DrJJWMac
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Thoughts for the new trash category

Post by DrJJWMac »

Thank you again for continuing to add great features even as you also squash random, hard-to-find bugs.

WRT the new Trash group, I have one suggestion. The Move to Trash option for an attachment detaches the attachment and moves the attachment to the Trash *at the Finder level*. I'd prefer that this option would detach the attachment and move it to the _internal Trash_.
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Jon
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Re: Thoughts for the new trash category

Post by Jon »

Thank you. But I don't understand how that would work or what the goal is. In Bookend the attachment is not kept in the database, it is just a file on the HD. The Bookends database stores the name of the attachment as part of the reference information. So when a references is in the internal trash, so is the attachment (meaning, that the entire record is marked as in the trash, and that includes the attachment name). If/when you actually permanently delete the record, you'll delete name of the associated PDF, too, but the PDF will remain where it is on the HD unless, optionally, you tell Bookends to move it to the Finder trash.

Jon
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DrJJWMac
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Re: Thoughts for the new trash category

Post by DrJJWMac »

In my case, I had a reference with two attachments. I chose one of the attachments and chose to move only it to the trash. The reference and its one remaining attachment remained in the library.

Perhaps the confusion is this. Prior to the new Trash internal group, Move to Trash unambiguously meant Move to (Finder) Trash. With the new internal Trash group, I am expecting the Move to Trash to move the object to the internal trash. This is the approach taken in Curio. Move to Trash moves the object to the internal trash by default. IIRC, a preference setting in Curio gives the user the option to have the internal trash dumped when the project is closed or only manually. At that point, the objects in the internal trash are moved to the Finder trash.

So what I am suggesting is that Move to Trash for attachments no longer moves the attachment to the Finder trash by default. Instead, Move to Trash moves the attachment to the internal trash by default. Then we have a preference setting on how we can dump the internal trash -- e.g. only on close or only manually. This gives an added safety net, keeping even "deleted" attachments resident in the library (and its associated attachments folder) until the user really is done with the library (closes it) or manually empties the trash.
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Jon
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Re: Thoughts for the new trash category

Post by Jon »

I think there is a misunderstanding.

When you move a reference to the trash its attachments are not touched. They exist on the hard drive wherever they already are. When you permanently delete a reference from the trash you'll get a warning along the lines of "this cannot be undone". That dialog has a checkbox, too: Move Attachments to Finder Trash. If unchecked, only the metadata are deleted and the PDF is left alone. If checked, the metadata are deleted and the PDF is moved to the Finder Trash.

Remember, unlike Zotero (and maybe Curio) PDFs don't exist as distinct entities in Bookends -- they are not included in the database. They are only names in the Bookends attachments field. So there is no attachment object, and nothing to "move" in the database.

I hope that explains it.

Jon
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DrJJWMac
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Re: Thoughts for the new trash category

Post by DrJJWMac »

OK. Storing external versus internal to the database explains it.

My case is to click on the Gear icon select "Move to Trash...". With the new internal trash group, perhaps simply rename this menu option "Move to Finder Trash...".
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Jon
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Re: Thoughts for the new trash category

Post by Jon »

That's very reasonable.

Jon
Sonny Software
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