Bookends for Mac
Reference management and bibliography software.
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Bookends overview
Bookends is a full-featured bibliography/reference and information-management system for students and professionals.
- Bookends uses the cloud to sync reference libraries on all the Macs you use. Access the power of Bookends directly from Mellel, Nisus Writer Pro, or MS Word (including Word 2016): Bookends allows you to scan your existing word-processor files and automatically generate finished manuscripts with properly formatted bibliographies. You can also scan Apple Pages '08, '09, and 5, Manuscripts.app, and LibreOffice/OpenOffice 4 files, or RTF files saved from any word processor.
- Bookends allows you to share your references over the Internet with anyone, on any platform. And with Bookends, you can directly search and import references from numerous sources:
- PubMed
- Web of Science
- JSTOR
- Google Scholar
- Amazon
- Library of Congress
- arXiv
- and hundreds of other online sources
- Bookends also offers a robust assortment of file attachment features:
- Attach any file (such as a PDF) to a reference and view or open it instantly.
- Automatically rename and organize PDF files on-the-fly.
- Automatically download and attach the PDF of an article from the Internet if you have access permission.
- Automatically locate and attach PDF's on your hard drive.
- Annotate and markup PDFs and have the information instantly accessible in notecards.
- Sync your library with Bookends for iOS on your iOS devices, so that you have your references and PDF's with you wherever you are.
What’s new in version 15.0.9
- Copy static groups and their contents to other libraries via drag and drop. Option-click on one or more static groups to initiate the drag, then drop them onto the group pane of another library. Groups dropped on a folder will be added to that folder. References belonging to the dragged groups that do not exist in the destination library will be copied as well.
- Colors can be assigned to groups when they are created or edited. Colors can be changed at any time with a right-click.
- In the Bookends Browser import sheet, right click on a reference you already have (displayed with a yellow background) to have Bookends show it in your library.
- Remove references from static groups with a keyboard shortcut. You can assign a number from 1-9 to static groups and add the selected references to those groups by pressing Command-#, where # is the intended group. Now you can remove the selected references from that group by pressing Shift-Command-#. When adding, the group will blink to indicate that the reference is now (or has been all along) in the group. When removing, the group will blink if the reference is found and removed, and will not if the reference was not present.
- Validating DOIs when attaching PDFs is faster in many cases.
- Menus for group and folder creation now have icons as well as word descriptors.
- The groups pane contextual menu for configuring how multiple selections are handled includes the current AND/OR setting in its text.
- Parentheses are now excluded from citekeys generated by Bookends.
- Use a right-click contextual menu in the reference list to generate citekeys for the selected references.
- Invoke Lookup Article From DOI via a keyboard shortcut (Shift-Control-Command-V).
- To eliminate ambiguity, "orphaned" attachments are now referred to as "missing" attachments.
- Fixed a bug where having a non-styled text field be the first in the edit pane caused an error when creating a new reference.
- Fixed a bug where dragging a group from one library to another could result in an error.
- Fixed a bug when scanning with CSL styles that resulted in an error and termination of the scan.
- References from one library can no longer be dragged into the trash of another.
- Fixed a problem with clicking on the PDF page indicator where the resulting popover window could be empty.
- Fixed various cosmetic issues with the PDF pane toolbar.
Bookends for Mac
$74.99
In English
Version 15.0.9
Write a detailed review about Bookends
(92 Reviews of Bookends)
Comments
User Ratings
Aug 11 2023
Version: 14.2.2
I am a journalist on a deadline, and I need to add a considerable number of footnotes and endnotes to a manuscript. I read the reviews and bought Bookends.
I have gone through the video tutorials and read through the users guide and these are my thoughts, take them for what they are:
My book is on an old espionage case that was extremely complex. I would say it's about half as difficult to figure out than Bookends. There is no step by step tutorial for someone unfamiliar with this type of software, no quick start guide to get you through the basics. The tutorial reads like it's written for people who already know how it works.
I don't know if there are better programs out there, but if you are on my level, good with tech but new when it comes to footnote/reference software you risk losing your sanity with this program. In thirty years on a Mac, I don't think I've ever seen a more obtuse application (Scrivener was a snap compared to this). This has me ready to take an Alzheimer's test.
I respect and admire anyone who finds Bookends to be easy. I feel the same way about the creators of it, good for them. For a lot of people this is terrific, but for me, on a deadline, it's a disaster. I keep thinking that according to the Bible, God created the Earth in Seven days. I think even he (or she or they) would be scratching his head after ten days with Bookends.
Jan 16 2022
Version: 14.0.4
I really wanted to use this in combo with Mellel. No dice. Bookends is a non-starter for serious doctoral academics. Pls correct me if this is factually inaccurate - but Bookends does not allow for any importation of necessary style guides - you get what's there, end of. Zotero has them all by default. (Bookends has one Harvard style, when at least 75 exist). If you need a specific style for your university.department, you are forced to suddenly become a code editor to tweak the one that's there --- if I were interested in doing all that, I'd just learn LaTex to begin with. Also: scanning workarounds for citations on a 250,000 word dissertation is not an option when Libre + Zotero do it seamlessly, albeit they are not as good for the word processing. --- When Mellel ("By academics for academics"), Bookends, or both choose to accomodate flexibility and realistic options, I'll gladly try again - and happily pay for the luxury. They are onto something here, I need a viable alternative to MS Word and the other litany of stuff out there - not headaches, endless forum searches, etc. completing my PhD. C'mon folks! There really is a market out there if you want us! peace.
May 24 2021
Version: 13.5.4
tried it recently with Microsoft Word, works seamlessly and make work so much easier 100% recommend
Apr 6 2021
Version: 13.5.3
Wow, finally "Set the font and font size for PDF comments in Preferences" Am legally blind so this is much valued fix.
May 27 2019
Version: 13.2.3
Great app. Use it with my Word docs and works flawlessly. Been around forever.
