Sonny Software

In Mellel preferences you can just click a checkbox to activate smart quotes. Can this be made a preference in Bookends as well?

The quotation marks specified in my format are not the problem, it is the imported material from a myriad of databases, they are almost always straight quotes (and apostrophes).

I understand I can do a find and replace, but doing that before every time I create a bibliography can get a little tedious.

Danny

Hi Danny,

Bookends imports what is offered (as you saw). I don't have any plans to introduce automatic conversions between dumb/smart quotes/apostrophes/etc.

Jon
Sonny Software

I can understand not wanting to start converting imported material, but could it perhaps be a chosen preference in the format to make all straight quotes/apostrophes curly?

The solution that I would prefer is to solve this conversion in the interaction between Mellel and Bookends, i.e. change "generic" quotes to those that have been selected in Mellel. Already entered “curlyâ€

That's more reasonable, but I'm not sure the feature warrants adding more complexity to formatting than already exists.

Jon
Sonny Software

That is of course a valid argument. However, changing the quotes in the Mellel document afterwards is a troublesome process – especially because the bibliography is such a fleeting entity and has to be added anew each time the references change.

Because of that, having the option to change generic quotes on import into Mellel would be a real time saver for those of us who have to send out copies of the document or its bibliography not only when the whole product is completely finished…

Hi ozean,

Our posts crossed. My last reply was to Danny, actually. If you want a Mellel-specific feature, then I think this would best be implemented in Mellel as part of the API for citations/bibliographies. Mellel keeps very tight control over styles, and I think the smart quotes fall in that category.

Jon
Sonny Software

Ah, ok. I think this has been discussed in the Mellel forums already – there has been a lengthy thread on the handling of quotes a while ago. If I have picked up what the Redlers say correctly, there seems to be some goodness in store regarding the management of bibliographies soon – perhaps they can throw this in too… (If they haven’t done so already.)