Sonny Software

Is it possible to sync a folder with its static groups so that I can create a shared, syncing set of references with other bookend users. I am part of an research project and I want the group to have a shared, synced bibliography so that we can all add references, tags etc.

Is this possible with bookends?

We're working on sharing. But you won't be able to sync just a specific folder or group, it would be the entire library.

Jon
Sonny Software

Will the sharing option that is in development allow sharing an individual library that has its own sub-folder in the main Attachments folder? Will it allow that this shared library contains its own set of local meta-characteristics about its own library?

I ask as someone who has documents across multiple fields to be shared with different research teams. Tags or searches or groups that I might want to share with one research team are not necessarily the same as those that I want to share with another research team.

I also ask because, as far as I would know from my tests with other comparable citation management apps, providing an in-built ability to share sub-sections of a (large) citation library while retaining appropriate meta-characteristics to each sub-section (e.g. tags, groups, searches) self-contained in its own distinct universe would seem to be a major selling point for BE compared with any other comparable citation manager (ReadCube, Zotero, Mendeley).

The answer to your first question is that you would be able to share a library-specific attachment folder that is not necessarily in your default attachment folder. This is something you asked for (not in the context of sharing, of course) earlier, and now you'll be able to do that.

Sharing would be per library, not some fraction of a library. But that shouldn't be a problem in your scenario. Each library would have its own library-specific attachment folder that you share, so the documents shared with one group wouldn't necessarily be the same as the documents shared with another.

Jon
Sonny Software

> Sharing would be per library, not some fraction of a library. But that shouldn't be a problem in your scenario. Each library would have its own library-specific attachment folder that you share, so the documents shared with one group wouldn't necessarily be the same as the documents shared with another.

I assume this means that searches and groups that are specific to the shared library will also be "sharable".

Briefly also ... How does your plan differ from simply suggesting that someone create a stand-alone library, store it in a cloud, and do the administrative overhead manually? Are you suggesting for example that you might incorporate security checks to avoid such things as two people trying to modify the same record at the same time?

You would share exactly the same things you do now when syncing your personal libraries. It's simply that others would be able to participate and contribute, too. I don't plan on discussing this in any detail now. If/when it is released you can see for yourself how it works, and I'll answer more questions then.

Jon
Sonny Software

> ... and I'll answer more questions then.

Fair enough.

BTW, I greatly appreciate the improvements you have made under the hood (e.g. in AppleScript) to work with split libraries. I do think this is one of the hidden gems in BE compared with any other citation managers. It shows when your library starts to span three or more different areas of research where the focus is improved by splitting.