Sonny Software

Hi,

Is there any way to resize the window panes for various fields, and--more useful, at least to me--any way to customize the reference display? There are a number of fields I never use, and therefore do not wish to display all the time, especially when displaying them means less room for some fields that I do wish to display.

As for resizing individual field panes, this would be useful as some fields (title, etc.) are sometimes 2-3 lines long in my case, and unless I can resize individual field panes, I cannot display these even on a 20" screen.

Any advice would be most appreciated.

Kindest regards,
Shayne

I agree it would be very useful to have some flexibility with the display size of the fields in the reference window. The particular problem in my database is the small size of the Journal field - many, many journal names flow on to a second line [I know you can click on the field name to get an expanded view in a window, but that's a time-wasting extra step and not suitable for quick browsing and viewing of the database]. As far as I can tell, the only way to make more space is to expand the whole window sideways, but that eats up a huge amount of screen space that I'd prefer to use for the list view alongside the reference view. Assuming making the field sizes user-configurable isn't possible as things stand, I'd vote to either:

1) make dragging the references window vertically expand the height of all the fields, rather than just the bottom Abstract field, or if that's not possible with the current interface

2) reorganize a little so that the Journal field gets either full-width space similar to the Title field or at least more vertical space. I'd much rather have the vertical space, for example, that is used in the Publisher and URL fields available in the Journal field, which typically needs to have more characters stored in it.

Best,
Jonathan

Jonathan Adrain wrote:...reorganize a little so that the Journal field gets either full-width space similar to the Title field or at least more vertical space.

Too late for 8.0.1, but this can be done for 8.0.2.

Jon
Sonny Software

Hi,

Does this mean that "making the field sizes user-configurable isn't possible"?
This, I think, would be the best option in the long run. Some, like Jonathan, may need a larger Journal field--I do too; but some may need a larger author field; some may not need an abstract field at all (this is one that I feel could be closed and only accessible after clicking on it for an expanded view). But I do not think one (or even many) user's needs should dictate how a program is configured. That is why I would like to see user-configurablity in this and other features.

Kindest regards,
Shayne

Hi Shayne,

Making the layout of the reference window configurable (presumably by actually dragging the edges of the fields, moving the fields around the window, etc.) as if you were moving objects in a drawing program is feasible, but would be difficult to implement. And I think it would be unsatisfactory in many ways. For example, the index order of the fields is tied into many aspects of the application's functions, and can't be changed. There is currently some flexibility in the view via the disclosure triangles (hide/show the toolbar and/or rarely used fields).

Jon
Sonny Software

Shayne wrote:
But I do not think one (or even many) user's needs should dictate how a program is configured. That is why I would like to see user-configurablity in this and other features.

Kindest regards,
Shayne

Hi - I agree, but my sense was that the Reference interface is probably going to have to remain more or less fixed in the near future. The Journal field as it stands is the smallest in the interface - half the area of the adjacent Volume field. I don't think it's going to inconvenience anyone just to double its size to be the same as Volume, as currently this is just empty space between Journal and Pages. EndNote doesn't offer user-configurable field sizes, either, but does expand the size of the field as necessary depending on what you type into it (which is a better solution than Bookends' scrolling [for some fields] and clicking for an expanded window which must then be dismissed). Down the road I would welcome this flexibility in Bookends, but my sense is that this is a major undertaking.

Best,
Jonathan

Hi,

I agree about the size of the volume field, but would also like to point out that pages, date, and the 4 user-definable fields are also far too small. I take full advantage of Bookends' ability to user a 24 point font (to save my eye-sight), but even a simple date in 24 point font is illegible with the current window sizes.

Although I am not keen on scrolling in fields (I would prefer user-definable resizing), I think that this should be added to the title, journal, book title, fields, etc., as well.

Kindest regards,
Shayne

You can't add scrollbars to these field -- in OS X the minimum height of a field that allows usable scrollbars is 58 pixels, which (not coincidently) is the height of the authors/editors/keywords/notes fields.

If you don't want to use the field label buttons to enlarge the fields for viewing, you might consider using the OS X Universal Access Control Panel, which lets you zoom in and out with a keyboard combination.

The Bookends reference window is designed to show all (or most of, at least) the data at a glance. EndNote, on the other hand shows everything in every field at a glance, but you often have to do a lot of scrolling to find the field you want (e.g. Abstract). Obviously there is no right or wrong way to do this, but I prefer the former (of course).

Jon
Sonny Software

You know, I neglected to mention something very important.

The View Formatted field was expressly designed to display the output in very large type, if you want. You can completely mimic the EndNote-style interface there, by creating a format that displays all fields, each on a different line. Then make the text as large as you like (the + and - buttons are relative to the bibliography default size).

I can send you such a format if you like...you could start with that and spruce it up to suit your taste.

Jon
Sonny Software

Thanks Jon,

I will not bother with the EndNote-style format; I actually like the way Bookends shows me exactly how my references are formatted in the View formatted window. I like to be able to see the data in a large font while entering or editing it, and also in the output format.
Thanks for the offer, anyway.

Thanks,
Shayne