Newbie Question: Import PDF Library

[emm]

I apologize if this is covered somewhere; I searched the forums and read the manual, but I still seem to have missed this key information. I'm trying to decide whether Bookends is the right program for me, but I'm having trouble understanding the ramifications. So:

What is the best way to import my citations/pdfs into Bookends if:
1) I want to leave all my pdfs exactly where they are in my folder hierarchy, AND leave them titled exactly as they are already. (i.e. to leave my Finder organization completely untouched, but still have the pdfs linked to their citations in Bookends).

2) If I accomplish # 1, how would I add new items to Bookends later? i.e. if I sort pdfs into my finder organization later, is there an easy way to get them imported, or would I need to re-import all of the items in a folder? Or am I just stuck with the possibility that there will be un-noticed pdfs on occasion? (I saw that Jon told someone in the forums that Bookends doesn't actually "link" to the pdfs but merely knows what folders to look in. Does this mean that new pdfs I add to a folder will automatically get imported?)

Thanks!

[Jon]

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "imported". You import metadata. You *attach* pdfs (and in some cases you can have Bookends import the metadata when you do that). But I'll try to answer your questions (with that in mind).

When you attach a pdf you can have Bookends move it to the default folder (or subfolder) or leave it where it is, which preserves your current setup. Note that there are advantages to having the pdfs in the default folder, however, such as being able to do Spotlight searches for them from within Bookends, and syncing them with another database. So an alternative to consider is having Bookends *copy* the pdf to the default folder. It increases the amount of disk space used by the (2) pdfs, but with today's HDs that will probably be negligible.

If you want Bookends to automatically find a pdf for an attachment if it's placed in a folder, you should attach the folder (not the pdf) to the reference. Note that the pdfs are not really attached -- the folder is. But it looks like they are, because Bookends will display any file in that folder (assuming Bookends can read the file, which it can for pdfs of course).

Jon
Sonny Software

[emm]

Thanks! I used the wrong terminology - I definitely meant attach and not import.

Just a quick clarification: If I attach a folder, would the pdf have to be only one deep to be found by Bookends? Or could, for example, the relevant pdf be two or three folders down in the hierarchy from the attached folder? (or more?)

i.e. say I have a folder "Sources" that I attached to Smith 2000.
Would Bookends still find Smith 2000 if the folder hierarchy were as follows:
>Sources (folder)
>>Academic Journal (folder)
>>>2000 (folder)
>>>>Smith 2000 (pdf)
Or would I have to attach "2000" for Bookends to be able to find that pdf?

Thanks!

[emm]

Another follow up question:

If I wanted to "import" all of the references that I have in a folder, and "attach" the pdfs (in the folder) to those references, is there a simple trick to do that without having Bookends move or duplicate the items?

Thanks again!

[Jon]

Thanks! I used the wrong terminology - I definitely meant attach and not import.

Just a quick clarification: If I attach a folder, would the pdf have to be only one deep to be found by Bookends? Or could, for example, the relevant pdf be two or three folders down in the hierarchy from the attached folder? (or more?)

Bookends will find pdfs or other files in the attached folder, not in any subfolders.

Jon
Sonny Software

[Jon]

Another follow up question:

If I wanted to "import" all of the references that I have in a folder, and "attach" the pdfs (in the folder) to those references, is there a simple trick to do that without having Bookends move or duplicate the items?

The folder attachments aren't really attached -- think of them as virtual attachments. If you move them out of the folder (to which Bookends *is* attached) Bookends forgets about them.

So to really attach them, drag the pdfs onto the Bookends window (with the Command key held down) and Bookends will offer to create new references for each of them and fill out the metadata if it can (and move the pdfs, too).

Jon
Sonny Software