Sonny Software

I'm looking for examples of workflows that allow working on one PDF (in this case, a thesis I'm marking) whilst being able to search, view and read other PDF's in my library.

As I'm marking the thesis - I'm making use of the notecards feature to prepare my examiners report. I need to be able to check the 'works cited'. The student has provided some of their reference list (which is in my Bookends Library), but not all. This means nearly every sentence I'm having to search for the works cited and then navigate back to the thesis.

Is there a way to keep the thesis PDF pinned or open in another floating window?(I'm thinking similar to Scrivener's Quick Reference window) ?

I know I can open the PDF separately in preview- but I quite like the Bookends notecards feature (and I'm using headers/tags features), so I would prefer being able to access the notecards feature.
The quickest way I've found is to use PDF tabs, but its still alot of clicking around.

This sounds like PDF tabs are a good solution. Why do you say they require a lot of clicking around? It should be a single click. Let's explore why you think that's not a good option.

There is another option, which I'm not particularly keen on but I think will do what you want. Make a copy of the library and switch between them (click on the window, use the Windows menu, or Command-`). Show the PDF and the note stream in the "main" library, do any exploration work you need in the other library.

Jon
Sonny Software\

P.S. It is also possible to show the PDF in a standalone reference window (an option in Settings), but the note stream won't know about it.

Hi Jon,
Thanks for the response, I definitely don't want to make a second library!

Here's some of my use cases to explain what I need.

1. Thesis Marking/Examination: I like to mark thesis/dissertation in PDF form, and I love Bookends for being able to keep my notes with the original document. In thesis, students often claim " author x said this..." or "this is supported by author y argument...." - and often, I need to go back and check the original source. If the original source in my library, I want to have the student PDF open so I can write my comment directly whilst also reading the text the stuent is referring to. Especially if its a complex academic argument, I need to be able to see both PDF's at the same time as I might be referencing/summarising/paraphrasing whilst ensuring I'm engaging with what the student has written. I've worked around this a bit by pinning the student thesis in PDF tabs and then opening the other PDF in finder to have both side by side. I've been using the inspector reference links to make this easier.


2. Systematic Literature Review: A slightly difference case is my current literature review. I'm using an online platform (Covidence) <https://www.covidence.org/> as this is a team research project and I need to extract data within the app and my colleagues review it. However, the covidence app doesn't allow me to make my own notes or markup to the PDF (it's read-only PDF with a separate panel for extracting data), so I want to be able to open the Bookends PDF to ensure that as I'm extracting, I can keep my notes on the article that will populate in my Bookends Notes section. As far as I can see, there is no option to have only a Bookends-PDF pane that allows annotation. I've worked around this as the moment, by resizing the Bookends window next to the Covidence window, but it's a bit crowded and not 'neat'

1. It sounds like you've found a good solution. I don't know if it's any better than opening the other PDF in a different app, but note that you can have more than one PDF open in Bookends, too. To do this, go to Settings and tell Bookends to use a standalone window for editing, and to allow multiple windows. When you open a reference for editing (e.g. a double click or pressing Return), select the Attachments tab. You read/annotate/etc. just as if it was showing the dedicated PDF display view.

2. I'm not sure what you mean by no option to have only a Bookends-PDF pane that allows annotation. Bookends has very good PDF annotation tools. And you may or may not be aware that it has detailed PDF annotation extraction options, too. And please see above for how to have multiple PDFs open in Bookends at the same time.

Jon
Sonny Software

This is what I was looking for as a Bookends-PDF pane that allows annotation. I had to change a few things in my settings. Settings -> Refs - > Editing References - > In: Standalone window Use: One Window per reference AND Settings-> Lists -> Double click: Toggle edit pane/window. Now when I double-click a whole new window pops up with the options to select between Main - Notes- Attachments, and when I navigate to attachments I can mark-up & get the notes/highlights in Bookends. Thank you Jon.

To do this, go to Settings and tell Bookends to use a standalone window for editing, and to allow multiple windows. When you open a reference for editing (e.g. a double click or pressing Return), select the Attachments tab. You read/annotate/etc. just as if it was showing the dedicated PDF display viewTo do this, go to Settings and tell Bookends to use a standalone window for editing, and to allow multiple windows. When you open a reference for editing (e.g. a double click or pressing Return), select the Attachments tab. You read/annotate/etc. just as if it was showing the dedicated PDF display view.

Very good. I must point out to anyone else reading this thread, though, that the PDF display pane integrated in the library window has the exact same annotation tools as the standalone window. This is extensively covered in the User Guide (Help menu), starting on p. 35, Working with PDFs.

Jon
Sonny Software