Import multiple PDFs and create new references

[gshenaut]

Ideally, I'd like to drag a bunch of PDF files from Finder into Bookends and have new a reference set up for each one automagically. If this can't be done for certain PDFs, or if such a reference already exists (I think I have already checked for this, but...), skip them with a message. Is that possible, or must I deal with them one by one?

[Jon]

You can do exactly that. Have you tried dropping more than one PDF on the library window (or a folder with multiple PDFs)? If so, what happened that you didn't expect?

Jon
Sonny Software

[gshenaut]

Thanks, it worked correctly. I was reluctant to proceed, since I hadn't been able to find anything in the manual that explicitly stated you could drag in multiple pdfs.

Also—and this is undoubtedly my fault—I was surprised when the pdfs were moved from the source folder to the attachments folder. I had that option checked, but assumed that it was a copy of the source pdf rather than the actual file itself that would be moved. No significant harm, though, since I was able to copy them back from the attachments folder (but perhaps it could be worth considering a dialog that distinguished among (1) simply using the pdf to create a new reference, if possible, but without an attachment; (2) creating a new reference and attaching and copying the pdf to the attachments folder; and (3) creating a new reference and attaching and moving the source pdf to the attachments folder). Or at least in the manual explaining the various things that happen when you drag pdfs into the the main Bookends window.

[Jon]

You asked Bookends to move, not copy, them. The dialog that appears after you tell Bookends to attach them to "new refs" has a checkbox next to a popup menu. If unchecked, the files are left where they are. When checked Bookends will do whatever you selected in that popup menu:

Move to Attachment Folder
Copy to Attachment Folder

Please look at pp. 145-147 in the User Guide.

Jon
Sonny Software

[gshenaut]

OK, you're right. Sorry for the confusion. I was using the Find function to search the user guide, and the keywords I looked for happened to miss the first page of that section for some reason, so I wasn't able to get a clear picture of what was going on. But the first page of that section would indeed have made it very clear, if I had been lucky enough to find it and read it. Thanks.

[Jon]

A good way to find what you want, or locate the area it is in, is to peruse the TOC. The section headings can be quite helpful.

Jon
Sonny Software