PDF pane display is limiting

[freney]

I can't tell you how much I'd love to be able to switch the PDF pane and the details pane (especially now with PDF tabs). My screen is much wider than it is tall, and seeing more of my attached file(s) to read them is so much more efficient.

Bookends-pane-switch.jpg (160.93 KiB) Viewed 7058 times

I know I can use the Attachments tab within the details, but it's not quite the same. And I'm sure it's a big hard thing to do, but I thought it's worth it to plant in your mind.

[Jon]

Why isn't it the same?

Jon
Sonny Software

[freney]

2 things:
- information density for editing information while looking at the document itself
- tabs for multiple different resources to switch back and forth. To my knowledge I can't add those alternative-reference-tabs to the right hand pane.

[Jon]

I'm not sure what you mean by #1. The PDF view is identical in the bottom pane and the right pane.

As for #2, that's correct, although it's something I might allow in a future update (the UI gets a bit tricky if you're looking at the PDF in both panes simultaneously and add a PDF tab).

Jon
Sonny Software

[freney]

What I mean by #1 is that it's possible, but it's just not nice: reading a long portrait-formatted PDF in a landscape window is less than pleasant. And having both panes open to the PDF, or having to switch between them, feels inefficient and frustrating.

If I keep the right pane open to the PDF, then clicking across to another reference I have to switch it back to the main details to check it's the one I'm after with the right details. Then flick back to reading.

The nice thing about the PDF view under the reference list is that it's always open to what I want to read while the reference details come up alongside it... it's just the wrong aspect for reading.

[freney]

Also FYI there seems to be a bug in the right-pane PDF view clicking the + button, but I've also submitted a bug report via email.

[Jon]

We may be talking at cross-purposes. You can open the PDF on the right (Attachments tab), which is what you want. The lower display pane can now be closed or used for another purpose (tag cloud, formatted reference, etc.). The PDF view on the bottom or on the right is identical.

The bug you reported is fixed in a silent update I'll make in a hour or two.

Jon
Sonny Software

[MattN]

Dear Jon,

I agree with freney. I think a full-height PDF view on the right is preferable to one below the reference list. However, I do recognise that the attachment view on the right provided by Bookends provides most of this functionality (great!), and this is the layout that I am currently testing Bookends with (I am currently hunting for a Sente replacement).

The two main deficiencies I see with the Attachment pane on the right are:

1. No tabbed viewing. This is rather critical when handling/comparing multiple PDFs
2. Very important (to me!): When switching between different references/PDFs, the attachment pane always refreshes to the FIRST page of the PDF. This is a disaster when flicking between two or more PDFs, and completely kills my workflow. Note: this doesn't happen when using the attachment window below the reference list.

For me, the best solution would appear to be to be an option to directly swap the functionality of the bottom and the right window panes. I think such a solution (if possible) would be preferable to adding more functionality to the the right pane (and it sounds simpler to code too...).

[Jon]

Both 1 and 2 are on the list of things that I'll probably address in a future update. Just swapping the displays brings up a bunch of other issues, for example you wouldn't have access to the note stream while working with your PDFs. And making every facet of the library window infinitely swappable isn't realistic.

Jon
Sonny Software

[MattN]

Thanks for your response Jon.

#2 is the most important for me!

Since I'm just exploring Bookends, I'm not yet familiar with notes and the notestream.
I assume it is one of the possible options for the panel on the right? If so, is there a reason that notes can't be typed in the window below the reference list?

[Jon]

Try it and see -- it would be a poor UI.

Jon
Sonny Software

[MattN]

OK - thanks Jon. I'll defer to your judgment on notes, but I also think that placing vertical PDFs in a horizontal window below the reference list is a les than optimal UI. My work screen is 1.8x as wide as it is tall. Although...I am now considering turning the second screen 90 degrees specifically for PDF viewing inside Bookends...

Nevertheless, if you are able to prioritise feature #2 I would be elated!

It's great to have a responsive developer onboard after the silence over at Third Street Software. Cheers!

[Jon]

In the next update I'll be adding scrolling memory for PDFs in the attachment pane (i.e. the PDF will scroll to it's last position when switching between references). Note that there is a bug in High Sierra (which I and others have reported to Apple) where the scroll isn't to the exact spot requested. But it's close, just like in the lower PDF display pane.

Jon
Sonny Software

[freney]

Thanks Jon, that's great news.