PDF renaming in 9.0.8

niklas · Post by **niklas** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 8:24 am

I found the new automated PDF localization in 9.0.8 to be very nice. However, when Bookends finds and attaches a pdf in this way, it doesn't seem to do the fancy renaming of the file to the sensible "Author Year.pdf" format that it does when manually adding a pdf.

Is this meant to be this way, or is it a bug?

Post by **Jon** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 8:27 am

You mean finding/attaching local pdfs (as opposed to downloading from PubMed)? If so, Bookends assumes you are satisfied with the original name and doesn't change it.

Jon
Sonny Software

niklas · Post by **niklas** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 9:04 am

Jon wrote:You mean finding/attaching local pdfs (as opposed to downloading from PubMed)? If so, Bookends assumes you are satisfied with the original name and doesn't change it.

Well, actually, it was like this:
When it found a pdf from my hard drive it did rename it, but to something long and unwieldy like "Author Year and a long text string from the title.pdf".
When Bookends found a pdf by automatic search on PubMed, it did not rename it at all, and I got a file called something like "100234.pdf".

In any case, I find the renaming feature to be very nice, as it allows me to scan the attachments folder manually for a paper or author. So, at least I wouldn't mind Bookends to rename the files whichever way I attach them.

Post by **Jon** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 9:13 am

Ah, the PubMed search is different. First of all, the file has no name on the server, just a URL location. Second, Bookends names it with the PubMed ID. This is a unique identifier that will let you find the file yourself if you don't want to use Bookends to do it.

Jon
Sonny Software

tom · Post by **tom** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 9:41 am

Jon wrote:This is a unique identifier that will let you find the file yourself if you don't want to use Bookends to do it.

I would prefer "Author Year.pdf" like for the others attachments. I do not see the advantage of the PubMed ID.pdf

tom

Post by **Jon** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 10:37 am

A number of people were asking for this a year or more ago when we discussed better pdf downloads from PubMed. The advantage is that the file carries it's own identifier that follows it whereever it goes. What do other people think?

Jon
Sonny Software

niklas · Post by **niklas** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 12:43 pm

Jon wrote:A number of people were asking for this a year or more ago when we discussed better pdf downloads from PubMed. The advantage is that the file carries it's own identifier that follows it whereever it goes. What do other people think?

Jon
Sonny Software

Would it be possible to have both?

Post by **Jon** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 2:30 pm

Sure. But I don't like cluttering up Preferences with things for which there isn't much call. That's why I'm trying to gauge people's interest.

How about this -- both? As in

Smith et al., 2006 123948347.pdf

Jon
Sonny Software

tom · Post by **tom** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 3:30 am

Jon wrote: How about this -- both? As in

Smith et al., 2006 123948347.pdf

...a good solution for me (style is similar to multiple attachments)

tom

niklas · Post by **niklas** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 6:05 am

tom wrote:
Jon wrote: How about this -- both? As in

Smith et al., 2006 123948347.pdf
...a good solution for me (style is similar to multiple attachments)

tom

Same here. Looks fine to me.

Post by **Jon** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 7:49 am

OK. I'll implement this in the next update.

Jon
Sonny Software

kman42 · Post by **kman42** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 5:21 pm

Why can't it rename the file using the same format it uses when you drag a PDF onto a reference manually? I'm not sure if this is set in a preference or not, but whenever I drag a PDF to a reference it asks me how it should name the file? I always choose Author, year which seems to make the most sense to me, although I can see how others may have different ideas.

Why not pop-up the same dialog after it finishes downloading the PDF automatically? Then people could name it however they wanted. And if you are downloading multiple PDFs, then just have a check box that says "Apply to all" so people can set the names individually or (more likely) have them all named using the same scheme.

Kurt

Post by **Jon** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 5:24 pm

We could do that, but the less interactivity the better as far as I'm concerned. I think having the name-date and the PMID should satisfy most people. As noted above, the name-date is already followed by a number (random) if the name-date combo is already taken.

Jon
Sonny Software

mtauton · Post by **mtauton** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 12:40 am

Earlier some years ago when I was a grad student, I would file the pdf's I downloaded by creating long file names so that I could search for them effectively in the finder. The file name would look like the following.

Akerlof G, JACS v54(11) 1932, Dielectric constants of organic solvent-water mixtures.pdf

The along came spotlight and this filing method was not as useful. I now have some 800+ papers in pdf format with filenames formatted like the one above and I am wondering if this is becoming too cumbersome.

Jon, you mentioned a unique url identifier such as the PubMed ID that is traceable everywhere on the internet. But if you download a paper directly from journal website or from a subscription service like elseveir or science direct, your downloaded pdf filename is something generic like "sdarticle.pdf".

With all the digitization of journals throughout all fields of science and technology, what is being done about a universal filename format for the downloaded pdf's? Knowing this kind of information would be helpful to your automation of pdf downloads.

Additionally, are there any comments from others as to their preferred filenaming of pdf references and if so, what are the reasons for your preference.

Thanks,
Matt

PDF renaming in 9.0.8

PDF renaming in 9.0.8

What is the best way to file pdf's of your papers these days