Sonny Software

Hi
I've been looking around in BE but can't see any way of sorting the database (db) list into the date the references were added. I was wondering if I've missed the menu where to do so. If it isn't there, it would definately be a nice feat, as I often add a lot of references at once but they "disappear" into the vast amount of entries in my db and I can't remember the name of them all, just that there were some articles I know I want to read first.

Anyone with a suggestion to some workaround, etc.?

Thanks in advance,
Dan

You can see the refs in order they were added in a number of ways. One is to turn of list view sorting in preferences. Another is to open a reference window and use the navigation tools to look through them (their order is by reference number, which is in general the date added). There are also sql smart groups that can show you the last X entered references (the sql commands are listed in the User Guide). Finally, you can added an "Added" column to the list view (preferences) and click on its header to sort by that.

Jon
Sonny Software

Jon wrote: Finally, you can added an "Added" column to the list view (preferences) and click on its header to sort by that.

Just what I needed – thanks so much, Jon. And sorry for not seeing that myself; BE is so filled with all these genious options that is is sometimes hard to find them or imagine them being there.

Thanks,
Dan

Jon, this is very helpful information! Thanks! Joel

Could BE at its shutdown store by which field the list view is sorted, so it could reproduce its appearance when it is started the next time? I would like to see the newly added or recently changed references at the top, when BE is fired up. (For the latter option, I guess, there would have to be a Changed field corresponding to the Added field.)

Bookends initially sorts by the first column, so in Preference set the first column to Reference Number and it will open sorted newest (on top) to oldest. You can't make a recently modified column at this time, but if there was interest in that I could probably implement it.

Jon
Sonny Software

Sorting. From a user's perspective, I would prefer the most flexible solution: dragging columns around, control-clicking on columns to select the ones to show and to hide, settings are stored at exit and factored in at startup.

Changed field . With it, one could have a smart group showing all the titles you've dealt with, say, within the last two weeks or so. Could occasionally be nice and useful.

Fields in general. What I really do miss in BE with regards to fields, are "User"-fields in the very sense of their name: fields that Bookends' features never use to store any bibliographic data and will never be occupied by a new BE feature or a new reference type. So, some four very User-fields in the drawer would be nice.

andreas wrote:Changed field . With it, one could have a smart group showing all the titles you've dealt with, say, within the last two weeks or so. Could occasionally be nice and useful

Hi,

That's been discussed on this forum, and the code for such a smart group is actually provided in the User Guide. Here's the relevant bit on how to create a smart SQL group that shows you the last-modified references:

Search for references that were edited within the last 2 weeks

dateModified > datediff( now(), '01/01/1904 00:00:00', 'second' ) - (14 * 24 * 60 * 60)

• Change 14 to the number of days you want as the interval since last edited.


You can copy/paste the line beginning "dateModified > dateDiff..." into a smart SQL search window and save it.

Jon
Sonny Software

andreas wrote:Fields in general. What I really do miss in BE with regards to fields, are "User"-fields in the very sense of their name: fields that Bookends' features never use to store any bibliographic data and will never be occupied by a new BE feature or a new reference type. So, some four very User-fields in the drawer would be nice.

Although I can't promise never to usurp user-fields for another purpose as Bookends' capabilities increase, note that for most people you can take quite a few fields that you will never otherwise use and rename them as you like. For example, if you'll never use BibTeX, User1 is available. Likewise, if you're in the sciences, you can take fields like Trans Auth, Trans Title, Orig Pub, and others for any purpose you like.

Jon
Sonny Software

That's cool, thanks.

Jon wrote: dateModified > datediff( now(), '01/01/1904 00:00:00', 'second' ) - (14 * 24 * 60 * 60)

• Change 14 to the number of days you want as the interval since last edited.

..and change "01/01/1904" to your local date-time-format, e.g. "01.01.1904" for most European language settings.

Hi,

If you mean change the time in the search, don't. That's SQL time, and has nothing to do with your system settings.

Jon
Sonny Software

For whatever reason, 01.01.1904 works, 01/01/1904 not.

This is the running: