Inserting a keyword into multiple references

[tsharvey]

Perhaps I am overlooking the obvious, but I cannot find a way to insert a keyword into multiple references at once. Is this possible?

I use keywords to track references for specific projects. This way I can quickly pull up all references related to a particular paper I'm currently writing. A typical scenario is that I'll import 10 references from JSTOR and add them to my hits list. I then select the hits and would like to apply a keyword to all of the references in the hits list so that when that hits list is replaced by a search or the next group of references, I've already marked them as relevant to a particular project.

I'd be happy to hear any other workflow suggestions.

[Jon]

Perhaps I am overlooking the obvious, but I cannot find a way to insert a keyword into multiple references at once. Is this possible?

I use keywords to track references for specific projects. This way I can quickly pull up all references related to a particular paper I'm currently writing. A typical scenario is that I'll import 10 references from JSTOR and add them to my hits list. I then select the hits and would like to apply a keyword to all of the references in the hits list so that when that hits list is replaced by a search or the next group of references, I've already marked them as relevant to a particular project.

Easy.

Global Change -> Change Field (set to insert AFTER the Keywords Field for references in the Hits List).

Remember that ¬ (Option-L) is the symbol for the Return character.

I'd be happy to hear any other workflow suggestions.

If I were you, I'd create a static group for each project and keep the relevant references there. That's one of the prime uses for groups.

Jon
Sonny Software

[CTurner]

Jon,

I understand the above procedure for applying a keyword from the keyword list to a group of refs, however, I think it would be so much easier and Mac intuitive to drag and drop a term from the keyword list window over a selected group of references OR drag and drop the group of references over onto a term in the keyword list.

Would you consider such a procedure in a future version?

Much thanks,
Craig Turner

[Jon]

Hm, that doesn't sound like any Mac convention I've ever heard of.

May I suggest you consider other approaches to track references for specific projects? Static groups would seem ideal -- adding multiple references to a static group is as easy as drag and drop. Color coding might work as well, but there is a limit of 5 colors.

Jon
Sonny Software

[Indi]

<snip> I think it would be so much easier and Mac intuitive to drag and drop a term from the keyword list window over a selected group of references OR drag and drop the group of references over onto a term in the keyword list.

I'm used to that functionality in (whisper) BibDesk. You can drag & drop any number of references onto a keyword. You can also double-click the keyword in its list, and directly edit it, changing all instances of that keyword. Incredibly easy & useful, such as when you see 2 keywords that are similar and ought to be identical, or you want to make capitalization consistent, or somesuch. I know these edits can be done through Global Change in Bookends, but it's quite a few more clicks. Multiply that times 20 keyword edits and it adds up!

Static groups are certainly easy to use, but I myself find that having a large number of them becomes unmanageable, so adding keywords allows for finding groups of items more easily in the future.

I miss being able to do this so easily, but so far I'm trying to deal with it because of some other tradeoffs. Bookends has some very nice new features that have prompted my return. Although as I transfer my refs from BibDesk to Bookends as I'm doing now, I'm making sure to do all the keyword work I can think of BEFORE I do the transfer!

[Jon]

If you use the Keywords Term List, there is an option called Replace (Action menu). It lets you update whatever keyword is selected in all references that use it.

Jon
Sonny Software

[Indi]

If you use the Keywords Term List, there is an option called Replace (Action menu). It lets you update whatever keyword is selected in all references that use it.

Jon
Sonny Software

Hi, Jon,
I found that; it's just a bit slower than the "other" method. But thanks for mentioning it.

[reltm]

Hi Jon,

Is it possible to have the keywords entered apply to selected citations? In other words, I want to be able to select several citations (by either CMD + clicking, SHIFT + clicking, or CMD + A in a hits list), then have whatever I type in the keywords box apply to all of the selected citations.

As it currently stands, I can select multiple citations, but when I type in the keywords box, it only gets ambiguously added to one record among the multiple selections.

Thanks for being so responsive to everyone on here. I love using Bookends and have even given a presentation of it to colleagues.

Ariel

[Jon]

You can do this now. Open the Term List window and show Keywords. Now select the references in the list you want the keyword(s) added to. Drag and drop the keyword(s) onto the reference list and they will be added to the Keywords field all the references that were selected. Please try and see for yourself.

Jon
Sonny Software

[reltm]

So cool! I couldn't find it in the User's Guide (but I did look before bugging you about it!).

Capitalization doesn't really matter, but is there any reason why it seems to capitalize the first letter of the keyword in the Term List?

Really cool. Nice work, Jon.

Ariel

[Jon]

Hm, Bookends intentionally capitalizes the keyword. Bookends is-insensitive wrt keywords. So if it finds 5 references with the keyword "history", and it is capitalized in some but not others, it will list "history" in the term list with the capitalization of the first one it finds. Try this -enter a truly new keyword in a reference in lower case (e.g. "aasdfadfs"). It should appear in the same case in the term list.

Jon
Sonny Software

P.S. BTW, I know the user guide is long and it's easy to miss things. Here is a discussion of this feature on p. 317-318:

"You can add one or more terms to a group of references in the library in one step by drag and drop onto the library window or with the Add Term To Selected References menu option (see below) or a right-click contextual menu. When you do this, Bookends will offer to add those terms to the selected references. If the term is an author, editor, or keyword, Bookends will check to see if it is already in the corresponding field of each selected reference, skipping over it if the term is present."

And there's an option to do this in the action pop-up menu of the term list window, too:

"Add Term To Selected References: Adds the selected terms to the references selected in the library window, similar to drag and drop of the terms (see above). If the reference window is open, this option will be worded "Add Term To Open Reference", and it will place the the selected terms at the end of the corresponding field of a reference."