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[urlwolf]

Hi,

I just imported ~2000 pdfs, and this looks really interesting. I have a question, though: Is there any view to index the text (not only the filenames) yet? Any plans to integrate MC with the scientific databases (e.g., ISI web of science)? This may take time, but would be totally worthwhile. With minor modifications, MC would be an incredible replacements of programs like endNote. THis is very popular, basically everyone I know in the academia uses it, and it is famous for being really bad software: buggy, pathetic search engine, etc. Jim, you may want to have a look and see if you find a niche there (or a possibility for collaboration). EndNote is owned by ISI I think, so the database formats should be well known for the endNote programmers (an advantage). However, there are plenty of problems with each new release, and they of course do not index your hard drive, or offer the possibility of linking the pdfs to their "tags": endNote only manages the tags (author, year, journal, etc), but doesn't offer you to automatically connect those with the content in your hard drive.

If you can imagine a collection of mp3s with no tags, and a collection of very well organized tags for those, but completely disconnected from the media, this is what the current state is in scientific texts management (at least, in my case, I may be ignoring a solution that is out there). Substitute mp3 with pdf, and the previous description applies to my HD : the tags are in endNote, the pdf files are independently stored. You can manually link them, but it is of course way too much work.

Maybe what I'm envisioning here requires a transformation in the PDF standard itself (to carry tags!), I ignore if this is currently possible. It so reminds me of my pre-tagged-mp3s days!

Anyway, PDF support is great, so much faster than using the search box in the explorer...

Thanks

[IlPadrino]

I use EndNote, too.  I tried to use MC for managing my media library that supports my thesis (mostly URLs, PDFs, Word, and XML/XSD/XSLT/XQuery files), but I gave up.  There was no way to store the tags inside the files themselves, so I was stuck if I ever gave up MC11.  Well, since then I've bought the license for MC11...  so maybe I made a mistake.

I was going to try and get MC11 to export the reference tags I need and then create my own XSLT to generate formatted references.  But there was no way to do inline references.  And that's the  big benefit I see to EndNote that I don't think MC can duplicate:  CiteWhileYouWrite - the ability to add inline references in Word from the database *while* you're in Word.

If JRiver could come up with something, it sounds like there'd be at least two customes :-)

[drb]

Adding to the above, but on a different note:
It would also help if J R folks can see www.biblioscape.com for biblioscape software. It is a very good reference manager, poorly recognized by people. Much much better than Endnote or Reference manager.

I have been using reference manager for 6 yrs and decided to switch to biblioscape-where the developers listen to customers and improve the software.

cheers,
drb

[urlwolf]

Hey Rdb,

Can you ellaborate on the advantages of citescape over endNote?
Can it handle online databases (ISI web of science)? Does it search them correctly? Did it take you very long to move from endNote to citeScape? For example, what do you do with the documents that are already formatted for endnote? Can you do a search and replace ({,[), etc, and be done with it?

Thanks

[drb]

for the sake of JR folks, I can't post more about it. Sorry. I have PM'd you. check your messages.

cheers,
drb

[Tolga]

I am glad to hear that there are other people thinking about bibliographical references and MC.

I once tried to write a procite output style, which could be imported by a carefully adjusted MC. (this was even before MC11). It was very shaky though.

The major problem is that there are some functionallities MC will never have (i.e. inserting citation in word, journal formatting), therefore you want your main database must be on procite/endnote/... . MC is obviously very good for browsing and organizing, but if it cannot be main database, what is the solution.

I think MC needs the functionally to link external databases, just as Excel can access, well Access. The user would define a filtering method, and MC would update its internal representation when it opens. Unfortunately Procite and EndNote probably does not use a nice database format accessible from external database applications. Maybe it may change with later versions.