On Mar 18, 2008, at 11:39 AM, P Kishor wrote: > ...where it really shines is its > built-in, no headache support for a bazillion citation styles. So, you > don't like Chicago, but want to go to Harvard, no problem. Wait, to > hell with Harvard, let's do APA, clickety-click. That part is really > sweet.
I admit, this is a lot of the value you pay for when you use a commercial reference manager. Of course, BibDesk can do this with its templating system, but at the moment there are a limited number of templates available. In the future, users may share more BibDesk templates, or BibDesk might acquire the ability to read Zotero's XML reference template format, which would immediately make a large number of journal formats available. Either eventuality would make BibDesk more similar to current reference managers, but of course that doesn't help for the next manuscript. BibDesk's template system isn't too hard to learn so if you like other aspects of BibDesk, I'd encourage you to take advantage of it. > Zotero works with NeoOffice. Now, that combo is way more sophisticated > and interesting. NeoOffice installs an "extension" which appears in > the NeoOffice Writer toolbar. Click on the extension and your library > shows up right within the word processor. None of that "switch to the > other program" nonsense. Once you are done writing, just create your > biblio. I've thought about this some, and I'm still not convinced that having everything in one program yields a better workflow than two programs that are good at their respective tasks and well-integrated. I don't find switching to the other program any more difficult than clicking a button to show the reference list. If you're using one screen, click the other program in the Dock (I put the Dock vertically on the right and size it small to keep it out of the way) or hit command-tab and use the arrow key. If you're using Spaces, just hit command-arrow. If you're using CiteInPages with its citation insertion script, in both cases you get the return trip for free as I mentioned before. With BibDesk, you also get integration with Skim, and your Skim notes can show up in the BibDesk preview pane, which means they're easily available while you're working on your manuscript. The current BibDesk nightlies add even more flexibility by making rapid switching between various viewing options available for both the bottom and right panes. I don't know any other reference manager that will show you quotes and your comments from a PDF while you're in the reference list environment, and I think this in combination with change tracking in Pages (or LyX, if you roll that way) provides the best currently available (though not perfect) support for the science writing workflow. Jim Harrison ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2008. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse0120000070mrt/direct/01/ _______________________________________________ Bibdesk-users mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/bibdesk-users
