Handbase on ipad

[Sue]

Has anyone tried Handbase on an ipad?

Would this be a way to carry Bookends references around?

Note, Sente are promising an ipad version of their software.

Thanks

[Jon]

This thread doesn't address your question about Handbase, but does deal with the iPad/iPhone/Touch:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2615

Jon
Sonny Software

[Rudi_Grams]

HanDBase is a capable program that can handle large databases. I tested it on an iPhone 3GS with a >10000 records Bookends database and it run smoothly and searches were very fast.

Keep in mind that the program has the following limitations:

No Unicode support

Field length limits: 254 characters in standard text fields (fast search!), 2000 characters in note fields (slower search)

Import is done through a tab-delimited format. So you must create and export from Bookends in such format. There is no need to include all Bookends fields. Authors, Title, Journal, Year, Abstract, Link to PubMed or other online database if applicable, Link to PDF on your iPhone/iPad (should open in GoodReader etc) is maybe a good start.

Take care that you have only a single paragraph in any field of a Bookends record as a new paragraph indicates a new record and your reference would end up split and in the wrong fields in HanDBase.

The same is true for tabs in any field in Bookends. You could test proper export in Numbers or Excel.

If you edit your Bookends database often you may find the synchronizing process a bit tedious.

[Sue]

Thanks - that's really helpful.

I have managed to successfully import a small number of refs, via a spreadsheet, deleting unwanted fields and then uploading into iphone Handbase running on ipad. It is possible to do this without first creating a database in Handbase on the ipad. There is an up-to-date Bookends template on the Handbase website, but written for Palm.

PubMed isn't the app for me; it's not my academic field and what I'm looking for is a way to carry around references, usually to check/consult when working in a library. It may be that for 200 or so refs, a spreadsheet via Numbers on the ipad would be adequate for this.

I downloaded a trail version of Sente (again!), and wasn't keen on it. Unless I've missed something you don’t seem to be able to edit import filters. I have my most used Bookends online searches edited to download shelf/call numbers - v handy in a library. I can see, though, that if you've been labouring with Endnote, it would be worth serious consideration. Investing in Sente, porting across Bookend refs, and then syncing with Sente on the ipad when it appears is probably expensive, as well as labour intensive.

In case it's of interest, the ipad is brilliant for reading PDF files of academic articles and so on. Because there's already a very good Papers for ipad, you can carry around a very large library. If you add iAnnotate PDF and even Goodreader for Ipad, all very cheap, you end up an excellent environment for doing your academic reading, note taking etc. anywhere you want.

Does Jon have a view? Should we invest time writing a Handbase template for the Ipad or is there a better way to do this?
Thanks
Sue

[Rudi_Grams]

Thanks for the info on the iPad, it is still not available here but I am interested in its use as a PDF reader. The iPhone screen is too small for this purpose.

In my opinion, reference format generation in Bookends and database generation in HanDBase are uncomplicated. Different users are likely to have different ideas about their preferred export format/HanDBase setup and as such this is best left as a small personal exercise.

[Jon]

Hi Sue, as I said in the other thread, a solution for the iOS is at the top of our to-do list. I can't give you a time frame, but be assured we're working on it.

Jon
Sonny Software

[Sue]

Which is brilliant!

Many thanks

Sue