Sonny Software

it would be great imho if the "Replace repeated authors with" in the bibliography formats was able to be set in italic, bold etc.

I just realized that this feature request is still actual. But now I think a checkbox "use same format as for author" would be better.

But doesn't matter which solution for this problem will come hopefully, the more important is that a solution will come form my point of view.

Another important improvement for this feature would be more advanced settings because this setting is only usable in German language with dashes or something like that.

In German Your write "Derselbe" or "Ders." if the same male author occurs. But you wrote "Dieselbe" or "Dies." if the same female author occurs and "Dieselben" or also "Dies." if multiple authors occur (doesn't matter if male or female than.

Therefor I would appreciate it very much if more advanced settings would allow to insert different strings to be printed for male, female and multiple authors.

The problem to let Bookedns know the gender of the author could be solved easily with a checkbox near the author's field "female". While most authors in most fields of science are still male I would think this would be the most practical solution for this (this is not meant as any kind of political statement, just practical reasons). Great would be if Bookens would save the status of the female-checkbox with single author-names so that I have to check it only once for the same author.

Everyone who's language doesn't make this difference could ignore this little checkbox and be happy as before.

What do you think?

To be honest (which I try to be), I think this is far too specific and minor to add to Bookends. The amount of overhead required (in terms of new fields, new storage, interface bloat) is too great to justify it.

Jon
Sonny Software

Hi Jon,

thanks for you prompt answer. But I have three more notes:

1. You mean also the format thing? I can't believe. If you have authors italic and then there comes a "ders." in standard-text this looks ugly. And therfor no new field is needed. Just select the text in the existing field, use apple-I or apple-B and everybody would be happy.

2. Your decision sounds as if you haven't realized that the feature now is not really usable for German speakers. And that is as if the feature is not existant. I think this would justify an improvement.

3. An idea to mark if an author is female or not which I just had: No checkbox would be needed, if you insert a # or something like that directly after the name. That would be even easier to input new references though you would have not switch between keyboard and mouse. And in the formats manager just one line "female [field] multiple [field]" would be needed. I really can't see that this would bloat the interface. But I see that this feature would become usable by that initially. The use of Ders./Dies./Dies. is absolutely standard in German social sciences. (In small bibliographies you can change this manually after the bibliographie is made, but in big bibliographies this is not an adequat solution I think.)


At least I hope you rethink your decission. It would be really, really great and Bookends would reach one more standard.

Thanks and best regards, Reiner

Jon, that you don't answer my arguments I understand that you will not change your decision. Im not lucky about that but I have to accept it.

But why have you never answered the request with the formatting thing which I first requested in February 2006? It has to to with repeated authors, but is a different thing.

Would be nice to hear a few word from you about that or even better see the feature implemented.

All the best

I did give an answer for this request (which unfortunately is I don't plan to implement it). I don't know what February 2006 request you are talking about -- please post the link to that thread.

Jon
Sonny Software

Jon wrote:I did give an answer for this request (which unfortunately is I don't plan to implement it).

Yes, I already had noticed that.

Jon wrote:I don't know what February 2006 request you are talking about -- please post the link to that thread.

See first post in this thread.

All the best, Reiner

Oh that. When you asked for so much more I forgot about it. I don't know. Does anyone else need something like this?

Jon
Sonny Software

Dear Jon,

I have just come across this old feature request and I would like to hereby renew it. With leaving this feature (including the female/male/multiple author differentiation) out you give a great part of the German social science and legal science communities a reason not to purchase Bookends and stay with Endnote or Citavi. I think that would be a shame because your program is just so amazing!

Please reconsider!

Best, Hendrik

The initial request was to use styles for "replace repeated authors with", but was added quite a while ago if I recall correctly. I see no unobtrusive way to add gender to author names that wouldn't add quite a bit of overhead to the code and UI. Does EndNote really do this?

Jon
Sonny Software

Jon,

I am not an Endnote-expert, but it sure does, as my Colleagues quote it as one reason for not changing to Bookends...

Two small checkboxes next to the author field (female or multiple, if male is standard) and two additional text fields next to the "Replace repeated author with:"-checkbox (female or multiple) would absolutely do. Is the code behind it really that complicated?

I guess this applies not only to the German language. For French I know for sure that they have the same problem.

Best and thanks for reconsidering!

Hendrik

You mean you don't need to identify each author, just the group (male, female, mixed)?

I've never seen anything in EndNote like this. Please ask your friends how they do it in EndNote.

Jon
Sonny Software

yes, the group would be enough! We are sexist in that way. The French as well. Does that make it easier?

Best, Hendrik

Yes, it would. But I'm still not happy about the UI, in the reference pane and the format window, which would require quite a few more elements (in already complex option) for a feature that very few of our users would ever use (and it would confuse them as well). And I imagine that the Editors field would require the same treatment? I honestly don't see how they could fit in, and if they were shoehorned in it would look terrible.

Jon
Sonny Software

...how many non-english speaking social science users do you have? And do you want to start catering for them to increase their numbers?

Same treatment for the editors would be amazing but the authors are by far more important. I understand the your UI argument. You could stretch the UI a little bit vertically and make some pixels of space b/w authors and title. That would make space for the editor options as well. Only a suggestion.

I am sure that there would be a number of users really appreciating that feature and I am sure there is a smart solution for the UI problem.

Jon, I am really appreciating this direct conversation possibility with you.

Best, H