Create a database

When Biblioscape is installed, it comes with a sample database to get you started. You can use the sample database to learn how to use Biblioscape. When you are ready, you can create a new blank database to work on your own data.

1. Go to menu command "File | Database | New Database".
2. Browse to the folder where you want to create the new database and give the new database a name. A new folder will be created under the selected folder. 

Biblioscape database is not a single file database. Many database table files are created under the database folder. You should treat all the tables as a whole. You cannot move individual table files between different databases. When a new database is created, Biblioscape creates two sub-folders under the database folder.

• Attachments folder: It is recommended you put all the attachment files under this folder. When you add a link to files under this folder, relative path will be used. If your database is moved from one computer to another, relative path will not be broken.
• Backup folder: You should regularly backup your database by zipping all the files under your database. You can keep all the zip files under this folder.

Note: When you create a new database for personal use, you should put it on your local drive. In a work place, your computer is likely to be on a Local Area Network. You may have several drive letters mapped to network file server. If you put Biblioscape on a network drive, the performance will be degraded significantly when your database becomes large. So make sure your database files are on the drive of your own computer. "C" drive is the local drive by default. If your hard disk is partitioned into more than one partitions, you will have more than one local drive.

Backup a database

You should backup all files under your database folder regularly. Each Biblioscape database have files under its own folder. For example, the "Sample" database that comes with Biblioscape installation have all its files under the "Sample" folder below Biblioscape installation folder. The best way to backup a Biblioscape database is to zip all files under your database folder. After compression by zip software (like WinZip), the file size can be 10-20% of its original size. You can find many free compression (zip) software for Windows on the Web.

Delete and rename a database

Delete a database

If you have a database that is no longer needed, you can delete it by deleting the database folder using the file manager. Make sure the database is not currently opened by Biblioscape. Biblioscape will automatically open the last opened database at the startup. If the last opened database is deleted or moved, the template database will be opened instead. You can then go to "File | Database | Open Database" to open another Biblioscape database.

Rename a database

Biblioscape database can be renamed. For example, if you added some records into the Biblioscape sample database and want to keep using it, you can change its name easily by the following steps.

1. Quit Biblioscape and BiblioWeb.
2. Change the database folder name. For example, change "C:\Program Files\Biblioscape x\Sample" into "C:\Program Files\Biblioscape x\MyNewDatabase".
3. Change the *.bsl file name. For example, change "C:\Program Files\Biblioscape x\Sample\Sample.bsl" into "C:\Program Files\Biblioscape x\MyNewDatabase\MyNewDatabase.bsl".
4. Open the *.bsl file with a plain text editor like NotePad. Then Change the database paths and backup path listed in the first and second line correspondingly.
5. Open the file "C:\Program Files\Biblioscape x\Global\dbReOpen.txt", and change the *.bsl file path and backup path in the first and second line correspondingly.

 

ODBC driver

What Is an ODBC Driver

ODBC stands for Open DataBase Connectivity. ODBC provides a standardized set of rules for getting information to and from a database. An ODBC driver is a software interface that accepts ODBC standard queries and then passes them through to the specific application, modifying where necessary to account for application specific database structure and format. The functions of a driver are invisible to users and third party applications. From a third party perspective, a standardized ODBC query or update is presented to the database, and a standardized ODBC response is returned.

How Do I Benefit from My ODBC Driver?

Many software applications (such as Biblioscape) use databases to store and retrieve information. The database design is often specific to the application associated with the database. Before the introduction of ODBC, important information might only be accessible through one application, or via export solutions. The immediate benefit of ODBC is that those applications that support the ODBC standards can access Biblioscape directly through ODBC. They can search and read the data in Biblioscape, even update records in Biblioscape without starting Biblioscape. With the ODBC driver, you can make Biblioscape database part of a bigger solution in your organization.

More About the Driver

The Biblioscape ODBC driver is an ODBC 3 driver and we've used it successfully with MDAC 2.7 and the following applications:

Crystal Reports 8.5
MS Query (and subsequently mail-merge in Word and external data in Excel) (Office 2000)
MS Access 2000
MS Visio 2000
BDE 5.01
ODBCExpress 5.06/7 (Delphi 5)
ADOExpress (Delphi 5 with update packs)
IIS5 ASP scripts
Visual Basic 6
Visual Studio .NET

The driver can completely handle all updating of data via SQL statements and the SQLExecute or SQLExecDirect calls, including BLOB data. Parameters are also completely supported, including BLOB parameters.

The driver provides scrollable cursor support via SQLFetchScroll and SQLExtendedFetch. The only two types of scrollable cursors supported are Static and Dynamic. Keyset-Driven cursors are not supported.

The driver cannot performe positioned updates using the SQL syntax WHERE CURRENT OF and using the SQLSetCursorName and SQLGetCursorName calls. This functionality is not supported in the database engine.

Even though the driver supports parameter arrays, you still cannot request multiple result sets with the SQLMoreResults call. This is not supported in the database engine. You will, however, be able to execute multiple INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE statements.

How to Get it

You can purchase the ODBC driver for $49. Click here to purchase it online. A separate help file is included in the ODBC installation.

 

Organizing treeview items

In Biblioscape, items in several of the modules can be organized in a treeview. For example, folders, notes, tasks, charts, and categories all include a treeview.

Ordering treeview items

Hold down the Ctrl key first, then drag and drop selected item to another item. The selected item will be moved just below the other item. This allows you can manually sort items manually at the same level in a desired order. Manual sorting is very important in some cases. For example, when you write a book using the notes module, you will almost certainly want to sort chapters in a particular order using manual sorting.

Sort items by a column

Instead of manually sorting items, you can click a column header to sort all items by that column. For example, you can click the Priority column in the notes module to sort all notes by priority. Click the header column again to sort in reverse order. Hold down the Ctrl key and click the column header to remove sorting.

Move an item left

Drag and drop selected items to another item; the selected items will become children items of the other item. But this will not work if you want to move an item to the root level because there is no parent item of root items. To do that, select an item first, click the right mouse button and select "Move item left".

Preview

Show or hide preview pane

In Biblioscape, you can preview the content of the currently selected reference without opening it in the record editor. To toggle the preview pane, click menu command "View | Preview Pane | Hide".

Preview header

Preview header displays the currently selected record's type, ID, when and who created it, when and who last modified it. You can toggle it on and off by going to "View | Preview | Preview Header".

Preview position

You can choose to show the preview pane on the bottom or the right of the list pane by going to "View | Preview | Bottom" or "View | Preview | Right". By default the preview pane is shown below the list pane. If you have a high resolution monitor and the width over height ratio is 16:9 instead of the older 4:3, you may prefer to display the preview pane on the right. This allows more text to be shown in the preview pane, which is especially useful for the notes module.

Live Preview

Any text typed in the live preview pane will be saved to the database when you browse to another record. If you have a large screen, it is more convenient to make changes to a record than opening the record in a separate window.

Read Only

Although you can make changes in the read only pane, the changes will not be saved. The read only pane is very useful for displaying records after a search, because search words are highlighted.

Links

All linked records, web URLs, and files are shown in the links pane. You can open a linked record by double clicking. By clicking the right mouse button, you can chose to edit the links, remove selected links, or create more links.

Formatted

This preview tab is only available in the references module. Under formatted preview, the record is formatted according to the current Output Style selected on the main toolbar. Although you can make changes to the formatted display, those changes won't be saved.

All Fields

This preview tab is only available in the notes module. All data fields of a notes record are displayed. You can make changes, and the changes will be saved. In notes module, the Live Preview tab only displays the Notes field. All other fields are displayed under the All Fields tab.

 

Recycle bin

Deleted records in Biblioscape are not permanently deleted, they are moved into the recycle bin. You can always restore deleted records. However, when you delete a record from the recycle bin, it is permanently deleted. To go to the recycle bin, click the Deleted icon in the folder tree or go to the menu command "Go | Deleted". Once in the recycle bin, you can search deleted records. The search words will be highlighted in the preview pane. To restore a record, select it and click the Restore button on the toolbar. Click the "Delete Selected" toolbar button to permanently delete a selected record.

Selecting records

Single record selection

To work with a record, you must first select it. Selection can be easily done using the mouse. The selected record is shown highlighted.

Multiple records selection

Hold down the Ctrl key to select and de-select more than one record. To select multiple continuous records, select the first one with a single click, hold down the Shift key and click the last record. A range of records from the first to last will be selected.

Select a reference by typing

In References module, you can type the first few letters of the first author's last name to select the desired reference. This process is case insensitive. You should not pause for too long between typing each letter.

Views

Views give you different ways of looking at information in a table by arranging it differently and selecting different formats. Each module in Biblioscape comes with a set of pre-defined views. You can make changes to a view, for example, by changing the way items are grouped or sorted. You can also create custom views.

Change the view

To change the view of a module, go to the menu command "View | Current View". Select the desired view from the combo box "Current View".

• Add or remove fields in a view
  You can easily add or remove fields in a view. Click the menu command "View | Current View | Field Chooser". Then drag-and-drop columns between the table and the field list box. For the References module, not all fields are listed in the field list box. To make more fields available for display, go to the menu command "Tools | Options". On the "General Display" tab, check the field name in the list box "Fields to be included".
• Group records by a field
  A group is a set of items with something in common, such as references from the same journal. Group items to see related items together, in much the same way as an outline. For example, grouping references by year makes all references published in the same year appear together. You can expand or collapse the group headings to display or hide the items they contain. To group items, click the menu command "View | Current View | Group By". The Group By panel will be shown. Drag a column header to the Group By panel to group by that column. You can group by more than one column. Drag and drop a second column under the first one in the Group By panel. To ungroup items, drag a column button in the Group By panel back to the column header row. To hide the Group By panel, click menu command "View | Current View | Group By".
• Change column width
  The width of any column in a view can be changed. Move the cursor to the column header. When the cursor is on top of the column separator line, the cursor icon will change to a divider. Hold down the left mouse key and drag the cursor left or right to change the column width.
• Change column order
  Drag the column header until it is over the border between the column headers where you want the column to appear. When a double-arrow green marker appears, release the mouse button.
• Sort by column
  You can sort records by column by clicking the column's header. Clicking it again will reverse the sorting order. The sorting order will be remembered for that view. If you do not want the sorting order to be remembered between sessions, hold down the Ctrl key and click the column's header.

Save the current view

When you quit Biblioscape, the current view will be updated according to the current display settings. These include column width, column order, sorting, grouping, etc.

Folders vs categories

In older versions of Biblioscape, the relationship between folders and references was many-to-many. That meant a folder contained many references and a reference could reside in more than one folder. Starting from version 7, the relationship between folders and references has become one-to-many. That means a folder contains many references, but a reference can only reside in one folder. In version 7, Categories have replaced folders to handle the many-to-many relationship between subjects and references. Some users may ask: if categories have replaced folders to handle the many-to-many relationship, why are folders still needed?

File cabinet analogy 

Think of your Biblioscape database as a file cabinet: there are 5 kinds of folder in this cabinet. Each kind of folder is made of different material that corresponds to references, notes, tasks, charts, and categories. Think of your references, notes, tasks, and charts as documents inside a folder. In the categories folder there are many labels of different colors. When collecting references, notes, etc. you first put them into a folder. That is the place where the record belongs. Next, you may want to put a label on the reference or note record to remind you about something. Later, you may put more labels about different things on a record. When needed, you may pull out all references that are labeled, for example, "green" and read them. This corresponds to a search in Biblioscape based on category. At other times, you may simply take a folder out and go through each record in that folder. This corresponds to folder browsing in Biblioscape. 

Project, subject and classification

Now you have an idea about how records are organized in a Biblioscape database. The next question might be: what information should be organized by folder and what information should be organized by category. The general rule is to organize your projects with folders, while using categories to classify your records by different subjects. For example, if you are a professor of life sciences and you have to manage 3 projects, namely (a) about HIV protease inhibitor, (b) a NIH grant about anti-cancer nucleosides, and (c) a NSF grant about boronic acid, you should create 3 references folders called something like "HIV Protease", "Nucleosides", and "Boronic Acid". Later on, you can tag references in each folder with categories. For example, you can create a group of category items about the different types of HIV protease inhibitors, and another group of category items about HIV protease sub-types. All these category items can be used to tag your references in the "HIV Protease" folder. You can use categories to classify records in many different dimensions.

Pick the right tool

Folders and categories are designed for different purposes. Since they are both organizing tools with a tree-like structure, it can be confusing for a new user to decide which one to use. Here are some general rules:

• Big vs small: Folders are used to organize records according to the big picture. For example, you can create several references folders, each for a big project of yours. Categories, however, are used for fine-grained classification of your records in many dimensions. For example, under each big project, you may want to sub-divide records by person, location, subject, event, etc.
• Exclusive vs inclusive: A folder holds records that do not appear in another folder. A category can be used to tag a record that has already been tagged by other categories.
• Single module vs cross module: A folder can only contain records from a single module, i.e. references, notes, tasks, or charts. A category can be used to tag records from any module. For example, you can create a category called "@home" and use it to tag references, notes, and tasks that needs to be done when you are at home.
• Formal vs informal: Folders should be in a well-thought-out structure. It is the backbone of information organization in Biblioscape. Tags are informal, spontaneous, and personal. This is especially true for a shared database. All users should follow rules agreed upon by the whole group when creating folders. But users should be allowed to tag records the way they see fit. Eash user can store personal tags in their own category folder.

 

Organizing by folders

All your information objects in Biblioscape are organized under a single folder tree. There are several kinds of folders for organizing different types of information objects. They are Domain folders, References folders, Notes folders, Tasks folders, Charts folders, Categories folders

Domain folders

The yellow domain folders are usually at the top level. You may have two domain folders one called Work and the other one called Personal. All your references folders and notes folders about your work are under one domain folder, while all references and notes folders about your hobby projects are under the personal domain folder. Some users may have one domain folder about research and another one about teaching. Domain folders should not be used to specify research projects, they are best organized by categories. Domain folders should be created with caution. In a physical world, a domain folder is like the file cabinet. A file cabinet can have many subject folders. You may only have a few file cabinets designated to store totally unrelated things.

Folders and search folders

All other folder types are designed to store only one type of information objects. For example, you can not put a note under a references folder. Different kinds of folders may reside under a single domain folder. For example, under the Teaching domain folder, there may be a references folder about one class and another notes folder about a different class. For references, notes, and tasks, etc. a folder represents a physical location. A place where an object belongs. An information object like a reference or a note may have many functions, properties, and uses which can be best managed by categories. But it has only one place it resides which is a folder. The folder name is actually one of the properties of an information object. But there is another type of folder which its name is not part of an information object's properties. They are called search folders. When you define a frequently used query, you may want to keep it. So you won't have to re-define the query next time you use it. You can then save the query as a search folder. So a search folder is just a query. It will includes any information objects that satisfy the saved query. For example, you can have a search folders that include all references about a certain subject published by a certain publisher. When there is a new reference added to your database that satisfy the query condition, it will automatically show up in that search folder. You don't have to put it there. Search folders are indicated by a special icon in the search folder column.

Folders and link folders

As your records collection grows, there may be a need to put a record in more than one folder. This is not possible with a regular folder because a record can only reside in one folder. But you can create a virtual folder called link folder. A link folder doesn't contain any records. It only contains links to your records. When you click on a link folder, all the records linked to it will be retrieved and it looks just like a regular folder. On the folder pane, a link icon will be displayed in the last column. Link folder can be used as a handy tool to organize your records. For example, if you need to create a list of all the references for a new report, you can just create a link folder. Then drag and drop references from other places to this link folder. The references you dragged are not moved to this link folder. Biblioscape just create a link. So all those records can be retrieved easily.

PIM structures - hierarchies or tags

Hierarchies or tags 

I found this article at zoot forum http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ZootForum/message/10195. There are some interesting points made about information management. I will first copy part of this post. I will then explain how Biblioscape is designed to meet the challenge.

Benefits of Hierarchical Structure

• People like hierarchical structures (items within files within folders) because they give information a sense of location and sequence.
• Hierarchies tend to work best when tailored to an individual's personal needs.

Problems with Hierachies

• Complex hierarchies are hard to construct (takes time and thought), and are dependent on purpose.
• The appropriateness of hierarchies and sequence of items can both matter (year/month/day and Sunday, Monday, ...)
• They break down semantically as they grow more complex.
• Different people use different terms for similar things (Tasks, Actions, and ToDos; Notes, Memos, Items).
• Hierarchies tend to grow messy, with too many layers and folders, too many "random" or "misc" folders, and too many items stuffed into folders that poorly match the item.
• Difficult to quickly reorganize for an ad hoc purpose (takes lots of time)
• Require placing items into appropriate locations (takes time)
• Rigidity of the parent/child model (many items could usefully go more than one folder)

Benefits of Tags (Categories, Keywords, Attributes, Facets)

• Tags allow searches to locate items anywhere in the database
• Tags allow searches to group items together quickly based on the tags.

Problems with Tags (Categories, Keywords, Attributes, Facets)

• By themselves tags provide little sense of location or sequence relative to the larger pool of data. (The databases feel chaotic.)
• Tags have to be added if not inherent in the data (takes time).
• Data thrown into a non-hierarchical structure with tags omitted is like throwing items into a giant bin. You forget what's in there, and, unless you get lucky with search terms, you never see it again unless you go through the bin item by item (which takes time, especially if useless items are in the bin). So ideally, tags should be added to the item early on, such as when the item is placed in the database (takes time).
• Hard to create good tags (issues of consistency, synonyms, etc., so takes thought)
• Tags multiple and become chaotic.

An ideal PIM might:

• Allow both a hierarchical structure and ways of tagging individual items.
• Allow items to be assigned (linked, cloned) to multiple folders in a hierarchy.
• Allow items found in a search to easily be assigned (linked, cloned) to a new folder.
• Allow for the automation of certain tasks, such as folder assignments and keyword indexing.

Biblioscape is designed to do both

From my personal experience, a sense of location is very important in information management. I guess this comes from our real world experiences. Every physical thing around us all belong to some place. When I use an information manager that uses tagging system alone, I quickly feel lost. A piece of information I put into the system no longer has an anchor and I start to have a hard time remember it and find it. I have one big problem with hierarchies, that is the need to organize items for a different purpose. Sometimes, a piece of information is valuable in more than one situations. For example, I collected an article about president Bush's visit to New Orleans after the hurricane. I put it under a folder called "Katrina". But later, I start to work on another project about Louisiana politics and this article mentions corruption in New Orleans. Obviously, we find the limitation of folders because an item can only be in one folder. It is the time to use categories. You can create a category called "Louisiana politics" and drag that item to this category. In Biblioscape, categories are organizaed in hierarchies too. So you get the benefit of both methods. When there is a need to organize existing pieces of information in another dimension, you can do it by creating new categories.

It all depends on the amount of information you need to handle

For most people, folders alone are good enough to handle their collections. When you have only a few hundred records, you pretty much remember their places. Flexibility produces confusion and learning curve for new users. That's why I recommend new users just stick with folders and not be bothered with categories. When your database becomes large with thousands of records, or you start to have the needs to organize items in more than one way, you should then look into the categories module.

Folder properties

When you create a new folder, or go to "File | Folders | Folder Properties", the folder properties window will be shown.

• Name: Enter the folder name here. For an existing folder, you can change its name.
• Type: You can only select a folder type when creating a new folder. For an existing folder, this control will be disabled.
• ID: The folder ID number will be shown.
• Location: The current folder's full path will be displayed here.
• Description: You can enter any text to this field about the current folder. It could be a summary, a comment, or a reminder about this folder.
• Mark: Check this box will allow you to select a color flag to mark the current folder.
• Link Folder: This check box is only displayed when creating a new folder. Check it to create a new link folder. If unchecked, a regular folder will be created. For an existing regular folder, this check box is not displayed. For an existing link folder, this check box is displayed but disabled.
• Created by: It will list the user who created this folder, and when this folder was created.
• Modified by: It will list the user who last modifed this folder, and the date it was last modified.
• Web post hide: This check box is not displayed for a virtual folder (search folder and link folder). For a regular folder, if you check this box, all records under this folder will be marked "Web post hide". When you add new records to this folder, the records will also be marked as "Web post hide". If you uncheck this box, "Web post mark" will be removed from all records under this folder. But you can still mark individual records under this folder as "Web post hide" in the future.

Link folders

Like search folders, link folders are virtual folder. It doesn't contain records. A link folder just contain links pointing to the records. In the folder tree, there will be a link icon in the search folder column to indicate that it is a link folder. Unlike search folders, you can drag and drop records into a link folder. Biblioscape will automatically create a link between the link folder and the dropped records. Next time you click on the link folder, all those linked records will be retrieved. So it can be used as a tool to organize records for different purposes.

To create a link folder, go to "File | Folders | New Folder", check the box "Link Folder". Once a link folder is created, you cannot change it to a regular folder. To add records to a link folder, select records and drag drop it to the link folder. To remove records from a link folder, select records and click the right mouse button and select "Remove from Folder".

Link folder vs tagging with categories

They both can be used to organize records in a tree structure. For most people tagging with categories is the best option. The same category can be used to tag records across different modules. Only in cases when you need to use the same in tree strcuture for organizing, link folder will have the advantage. For example, if you need to create two items "Japan" and "Korea" at the top level, then add "History" and "Education" under both "Japan" and "Korea". This scheme will not work with tagging. Because tagging requres each entry must have a unique name. So you have to change "History" under "Japan" to "History Japan". If you want to keep the original scheme, you have to use link folder. Link folder doesn't require the use of unique names.

Quick Find

Biblioscape supports Quick Find by typing letters when a listview or a treeview of records is active. The current record will jump to the one that best match what you have typed within 2 seconds. For example, if there are 200 records in the categories pane and you want to select the category "UN", you can type letter "u". Biblioscape will jump to the category "UN". If there is another category "US" and you want to jump to it, you have to type letter "u" and then letter "s" within 2 seconds you typed letter "u". Otherwise, Biblioscape will jump to the first category that start with letter "S". The searching in Quick Find is case insensitive.

Quick Find is supported in the categories pane, as well as the main treeview or listview in all modules. To use Quick Find, please make sure the listview or treeview control has the focus. If not, select any record in the list to to make it the currently focused control and then start typing.

Search folders

Search folders are saved queries. In the folder tree, there will be a search icon in the search folder column to indicate that it is a search folder. Since a search folder is not a true folder, you cannot drag and drop records into it. When you click on a search folder, Biblioscape will run the query and display the results. Search folders cannot be used to organize your records, they are designed to make your often-used queries easier to access.

You can turn any query into a search folder easily by clicking the "Add search to folder" button at the top of the search pane. Once clicked, select a folder in the prompt window. The new search folder will be created next to the selected folder. Biblioscape will then prompt you to enter a name for the newly-created search folder.

Inherit parent search properties

Biblioscape can make a search folder inherit search properties of its parent. For example, you have a search folder to retrieve all references that are published in 1998. If you drag this search folder under another folder, only references published in 1998 from that folder will be retrieved. A search folder will not only inherit from its immediatly parent, the inheritance goes all the way to the top level folder. With this feature, you can build complicated queries very easily by just drag and drop of search folders. This feature is turned on by default. If you want to disable it, please go to the "Tools | Options" window. On the "General Display" tab, check off the box "Search folder inherits parent properties".

Searching for records

All searching tools are grouped under the search pane in Biblioscape. The followings 3 tabs are available to all modules: Search, Lookup, and Categories. The search tab is likely to be the most often-used one, because your search words will be highlighted in the preview box on the search tab. The Lookup tab gives you an overview of your database records makeup. The Categories tab functions not only as a tagging tool, but also can be used to find relevant records easily.

Fast search

Fast search is a full text search. You enter search words or phrases to find records containing the words entered into the search box. Search words will be highlighted in different colors (other text is underlined and hyperlinked, but at present the hyperlinks are inactive). Since fast search is based on indexed words, it can return search results instantly even when your database becomes very large with tens of thousands of records. Biblioscape searches the entire database. If there are too many hits, you can click the "Refine fast search" button and add additional conditions. For example, you can limit hits to be from certain folders, tagged with certain categories, etc.

Advanced search

Advanced search is an SQL query builder. You can limit searching to a field and combine several searches with logical operators. For example, you can define a query to find references with "boron" in the keywords field and created before 2007-01-01.

Lookup

Lookup lists all references by field. In the drop-down box, select the field you are interested in. Lookup lists all values of that field; for example, if you select "Authors", all authors are listed. Double-clicking on any of the values shows the references with that value. For example, double-clicking "Einstein, A." lists all references with that author.

Categories

Categories are used to classify your records. You can use it to organize your references, notes, etc. in many dimensions. You can simply drag and drop records into a category to tag it. The next time you click on that category, all those records that are tagged before will be automatically retrieved in the main display. So categories can be seen as a searching tool as well. When you hold down the Ctrl key while selecting categories, all the records tagged by selected categories will be displayed. You can also hold down Alt key first, then the Ctrl key, as you select several categories, only those records that have been tagged by those selected categories will be displayed. This is a very convenient way to retrieve relevant records.

Search across modules

In rare occasions, you may want to search across all modules. There are two ways to do this. First, you can use the cross module search. Simply type your search string in the "Look for:" box next to the main menu. Biblioscape will run Fast Search across all modules including references, notes, tasks, charts, categories, deleted, and links. All the hits will be displayed in the same window on different tabs. Second, you can use the same categories to tag records from different modules. When you go to the categories module, all the tagged records from different modules, will be displayed together. This is a really convenient way to find relevant records across modules.

Using categories

Categories is used as a tagging tool in Biblioscape. Although folders is the primary organizing tool in Biblioscape, categories is more flexible. Since a record can only exist in one folder, folders is best used to divide your records into big domains. There is no such limitation for categories. You can use categories to organize your records in many dimensions. The same record can be tagged by many categories. Click here to see a detailed comparison between folders and categories. All the basic features in categories module can be accessed from the categories pane on the right of each module. To ogranize your records by categories, you don't need the categories module. The categories pane on the right is all what you need to create, delete, edit, search, organize categories and tag records in other modules.

Create a category

Go to the categories pane by clicking on the Categories tab on the right. Click the right mouse button and select "New Category". Start typing to enter the category name, and press the Enter key once you are finished.

To create a child category, first select the category where the new child category will be created under. Click the right mouse button and select "New Child Category".

Delete a category

On the categories pane, select the category you want to delete, then click the right mouse button and select "Delete Category". You will be prompted "Do you want to remove the deleted category from all the records that are tagged with it?". If you click Yes, this category will be removed from all the records that have been tagged with it. If you click No, only the category itself will be put into the Recycle bin, while it will still remain as a tag in all those records. You can delete more than one category at once by selecting multiple categories first.

Rename a category

To rename an existing category, select the category you want to rename, and click the category again. The selected category’s name will be changed into edit mode; you can then type in the new name and press the Enter key.

Move category left

You can select a category item and drag it around, but it is not possible to move it to the root level in this way. To do this, click the right mouse button and select 'Move Folder Left".

Set category color

You can assign a color to the select category by clicking the right mouse button and select "Color". A sub-menu will appear. You can then chose a color from the list.

Once you have assigned a color to a category, all the records that have been tagged with this category will be shown in this color in the colored category column.

Expand and collapse the categories tree

You can expand a categories tree by clicking on the "+" button, or by pressing the right arrow key. You can collapse a categories tree by clicking on the "-" button, or by pressing the left arrow key. To expland all the sub-trees, click the right mouse button and select "Expand All". To collapse all the sub-trees, click the right mouse button and select "Collapse All".

Search tagged records

• Single selection: When you click on a category item, all records that have been tagged with this category will be automatically retrieved.
• Multiple selection with OR: When you hold down the Ctrl key and select more than one categories, Biblioscape will retrieve all records that are tagged with each selected category. In other words, the "OR" operator is applied between each selection.
• Multiple selection with AND: When you hold down the Alt key first, then hold down the Ctrl key, and select more than one categories, Biblioscape will retrieve only those records are tagged by all selected categories. In other words, the "AND" operator is applied between each selection.

Using folders

In Biblioscape, all records are stored in folders. A folder may contain many records, but a record can only be in one folder. Folders can be named and organized for different purposes. For example, references are usually collected for a specific project, task, topic, or interest, so it is only natural to organize them this way. Biblioscape allows you to organize your references into different folders. When you add a new reference, it is put into the currently opened folder. Folders are the easiest way to get your references organized. You can create sub-folders, rearrange the folder tree by drag and drop, rename a folder, etc. There are also other ways to organize references such as search folders, and categories. Click here to see the difference between folders and categories.

Create a folder

To create a new folder, click the menu command “File | Folder | New Folder”. You can also create a folder with the right mouse button. First select a folder where you want to create a new folder at the same level. Click the right mouse button to bring up a popup menu, and click "New Folder". The folder properties window will be shown. First enter your folder name. By default the folder type is set according to the last selected folder. You can change the type now. However, once a folder is created, you can no longer change its type. A references folder can only contain reference records; it cannot contain records from other modules (e.g. notes or tasks). You can add a short description about your folder if needed. A folder can also be marked with a color flag. If the box "Web post hide" is checked, none of the records under this folder will be shown on the Web when your database is published on the Web using BiblioWeb.

To create a child folder, first select the folder where the new child folder will be created under. Click the menu command “File | Folder | New Child Folder”. You can also create a child folder with the right mouse button. First select a folder where the new child folder will be created. Click the right mouse button to bring up a popup menu, click "New Child Folder".

Delete a folder

On the folder view, select the folder you want to delete, then click the menu command “File | Folder | Delete Folder”. If the folder is not empty, Biblioscape will ask you if you want to delete all the records under that folder. If you answer “Yes”, all the records under that folder will be moved into the Recycle Bin. The folder itself will not be put into the recycle bin. It will be permanently deleted.

Rename a folder

To rename an existing folder, select the folder you want to rename, and click the menu command “File | Folder | Rename Folder”. The selected folder’s name will be changed into edit mode; you can then type in the new name and press the Enter key. You can also click the folder twice to change it into the edit mode, then edit the folder name and press the Enter key.

Change folder properties

The folder properties window can be brought up by selecting the menu command "File | Folder | Folder Properties". Or you can select a folder, click the right mouse button and select "Properties". You can then make changes and click the OK button to save.

Move records into a folder

First, you can only move records to a folder of the same module. For example, you can only move tasks records to a tasks folder. Select the records you want to move, then drag and drop them to the folder of the same module.

Sort folders

By default, folders at the same level are sorted by their date of creation. This order of display can be changed by dragging and dropping while holding down the Alt key. If you drag record A on top of record B, A will become the child of B. But if you drag A to B while holding down the Alt Key, A will be moved above B in the same tree level. If you need to sort the folders in other than the default order, just click the column header. When folders are sorted, a check mark will be displayed in the column header. Clicking it again will reverse the alphabetical sorting. To remove the sorting, you can go to the menu command "File | Folder | Remove Sorting".

Move folder left to root level

You can select an folder item and drag it around, but it is not possible to move it to the root level in this way. To do this, go to the menu command "File | Folder | Move Folder Left".

Customize folder view

By default, only two columns (folder name and search folder icon) are displayed in the folder tree. If you want to display more columns, go to "File | Folder | Field Chooser...". Then drag and drop a column from the box to the folder tree. If you want to remove a column from the folder tree, just drag and drop it in the opposite direction.

Filter folders

Biblioscape comes with several filters you can apply to the folders view. Go to the menu command "File | Folder | Show Filter Pane". You can select the filter "References only" if you want to display references folders only. Click the Edit filters button if you want to define your own filter or edit an existing one. Click the cross icon button to hide the filter pane.

Select more than one folder

You can hold down the Ctrl key and select more than one folder of the same module. Biblioscape will retrieve all the records from selected folders. If you hold down the Alt key first, then hold down the Ctrl key and select more than one folder, Biblioscape will retrieve records that satisfy all the search conditions. This operation will yield 0 record if two regular folders are selected. If you select two search folders, or one search folder plus one regular folder, you can retrieve records that can satisfy both search conditions.

Add to a toolbar

Add a built in menu to a toolbar

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize, and then click the Commands tab.
2. In the Categories box, click Menu Bar.
3. Drag a menu button to a toolbar and drop it there.

Add a button to a toolbar

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize, and then click the Commands tab.
2. In the Categories box, click a category of menus.
3. Drag a menu button to a toolbar and drop it there.

Do one of the following if you just want to customize buttons pre-defined for a toolbar:

To add a built-in button to a built-in docked toolbar, click More Buttons, click Add or Remove Buttons, and then select the check box next to the button you want to add.

To add a built-in button to a built-in floating toolbar, click the arrow in the upper-left corner of the toolbar, click Add or Remove Buttons, and then select the check box next to the button you want to add.

Add a command to a menu

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize, and then click the Commands tab.
2. In the Categories box, click a category for the command.
3. Drag the command you want from the Commands box over the menu you want to change. When the menu displays a list of commands, point to where you want the command to appear, and then release the mouse.

Customize toolbars

Show or hide a toolbar

Right-click any toolbar, and then click the toolbar you want on the shortcut menu. To quickly hide a floating toolbar, click the Close button on the toolbar.

Move a toolbar

Drag the move handle on the left of a docked toolbar, or the title bar on a floating toolbar, to the new location. If you drag the toolbar to the edge of the program window, it becomes a docked toolbar. When you move one docked toolbar, this might affect the location and size of other toolbars on the same row.

Resize a toolbar

To resize a floating toolbar, move the pointer over any edge until it changes to a double-headed arrow, and then drag the edge of the toolbar.

To resize a docked toolbar that is on the same row as another toolbar, drag the move handle. You can't resize a docked toolbar that is on its own row, or that is the leftmost toolbar on a horizontal row, or the topmost toolbar on a vertical row of toolbars. When you resize one docked toolbar, this might affect the location and size of other toolbars on the same row.

Create a custom toolbar

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize, and then click the Toolbars tab.
2. Click New.
3. In the Toolbar name box, type the name you want, and then click OK.
4. Click the Commands tab.
   To add a button to the toolbar, click a category in the Categories box, and then drag the command you want from the Commands box to the displayed toolbar.
5. To add a built-in menu to the toolbar, click Menu bar in the Categories box, and then drag the menu you want from the Commands box to the displayed toolbar.
6. When you have added all the buttons and menus you want, click Close.

Show or hide toolbar ToolTips

On the Tools menu, click Customize, and then click the Options tab. Select or clear the Show ToolTips on toolbars check box.

Show all the buttons on a toolbar

Use the move handle on the left of a toolbar to drag the toolbar to its own row, or to a location other than the edge of the program window, so that the toolbar becomes a floating toolbar.

Show all the commands on the menus

On the Tools menu, click Customize, and then click the Options tab.
Clear the "Menus show recently used commands first" check box.

This is the default setting for Biblioscape.

Show default toolbar buttons and menu commands

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize, and then click the Options tab.
2. Click Reset my usage data.

You only need to do this if the option "Menus show recently used commands first" is checked.

Delete menus and buttons from a toolbar

Delete a command from a menu

1. Display the toolbar that contains the menu you want to change.
2. On the Tools menu, click Customize.
   The Customize dialog box must remain open; however, you might need to move it out of your way.
3. Click the menu that contains the command you want to delete.
4. Drag the command you want to delete off the menu.

Delete a custom toolbar

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize, and then click the Toolbars tab.
2. In the Toolbars box, select the custom toolbar you want to delete.
3. Click Delete.

Note: You can't delete a built-in toolbar. When you select a built-in toolbar, the Reset button appears, which restores the toolbar to its default buttons, menus, and submenus.

Delete a toolbar button

1. Display the toolbar you want to change.
2. Do one of the following:
   To delete a built-in button from a built in docked toolbar, click More Buttons, point to Add or Remove Buttons, and then clear the check box next to the button you want to delete.
   To delete a built-in button from a built-in floating toolbar, click the arrow in the upper-left corner of the toolbar, point to Add or Remove Buttons, and then clear the check box next to the button you want to delete.

   To delete a button that is not available in the Add or Remove Buttons list, hold down ALT and then drag the button off the toolbar.

Note: Clearing the check box next to a button on the Add or Remove Buttons list does not remove the button from this list. When you delete a built-in toolbar button, the button is still available in the Customize dialog box. However, when you delete a custom toolbar button, the button is permanently deleted.

Group related buttons and menus on a toolbar

You can add a separator bar before the first and after the last item in a group to distinguish the group from other buttons and menus on a toolbar. For example, the Temporary Citation and Formatted Bibliography buttons are grouped on the Standard toolbar with a separator bar after the Formatted Bibliography button.

1. Display the toolbar you want to change.
2. On the Tools menu, click Customize.
   The Customize dialog box must remain open; however, you might need to move it out of your way.
3. To add a separator bar, right-click a button, and then click Begin a Group. A separator bar is added to the left of the button on a horizontal toolbar, and above a button on a vertical docked toolbar.

   To remove a separator bar between two buttons, drag one button closer to the other.

Move or copy a menu command

When moving or copying a menu command from one toolbar to another, you must display both toolbars.

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize.
   The Customize dialog box must remain open; however, you might need to move it out of your way.
2. Click the menu that contains the command you want to move or copy.
3. Do one of the following:

   To move the command, drag it over the menu you want to change. When the menu displays a list of commands, point to where you want the command to appear, and then release the mouse.

   To copy the command, hold down CTRL and drag the command over the menu you want to change. When the menu displays a list of commands, point to where you want the command to appear, and then release the mouse.

Move or copy a menu to a toolbar

1. Display the toolbar with the menu you want to move or copy and the toolbar you want to move or copy the menu to.
2. On the Tools menu, click Customize.
   The Customize dialog box must remain open; however, you might need to move it out of your way.
3. Do one of the following:
   To move a menu, drag it to the new location on the same toolbar or another toolbar.
   To copy a menu, hold down CTRL and drag the menu to the new location.

Move or copy a toolbar button

When moving or copying a toolbar button from one toolbar to another, you must display both toolbars.

1. To move a toolbar button, hold down ALT and then drag the button to its new location.
2. To copy a toolbar button, hold down ALT+CTRL and then drag the button to its new location.

 

Modify a toolbar

Change the size of toolbar buttons

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize, and then click the Options tab.
2. Select or clear the Large icons check box.

Change the width of a drop-down list box on a toolbar

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize.
2. The Customize dialog box must remain open; however, you might need to move it out of your way.
3. Click the list box you want to change, for example, the Output Style box on the Standard toolbar.
4. Point to the left or right edge of the box. When the pointer changes to a double-headed arrow, drag the edge of the box to change its width.

Rename a custom toolbar

You can't rename a built-in toolbar.

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize, and then click the Toolbars tab.
2. In the Toolbars box, click the custom toolbar you want to rename.
3. Click Rename.
4. Type a new name in the Toolbar name box, and then press ENTER.

Rename a menu

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize.
2. The Customize dialog box must remain open; however, you might need to move it out of your way.
3. Right-click the menu you want to rename, and then type the new name in the Name box on the shortcut menu.

Rename a menu command or toolbar button

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize.
2. The Customize dialog box must remain open; however, you might need to move it out of your way.
3. Do one of the following:

   To rename a menu command, click the menu that contains the command, right-click the command, type a name in the Name box, and then press ENTER.

   To rename a toolbar button, right-click the button, type the name in the Name box, and then press ENTER.

Note: If the toolbar button doesn't display text, you won't see the name change except when you view the ScreenTip.

Display text, an icon, or both on a toolbar button

1. Display the toolbar that has the button you want to change.
2. On the Tools menu, click Customize.
   The Customize dialog box must remain open; however, you might need to move it out of your way.
3. Right-click the button you want to change, and then click the option you want on the shortcut menu.

Note: You can't change the text or icon on a button that displays a list or menu when clicked.

Show or hide toolbar ToolTips

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize, and then click the Options tab.
2. Select or clear the Show ToolTips on toolbars check box.

 

Restore settings to a toolbar

Restore original buttons and menus on a built-in toolbar

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize, and then click the Toolbars tab.
2. In the Toolbars box, click the name of the toolbar you want to restore.
3. Click Reset.

Notes: You can't reset a custom toolbar. 

Restore original settings for a built-in menu

1. Display the toolbar that contains the menu you want to restore.
2. On the Tools menu, click Customize.
   The Customize dialog box must remain open; however, you might need to move it out of your way.
3. Right-click the menu you want to restore, and then click Reset on the shortcut menu.

Notes: The Reset command restores the built-in menu to its original image, commands, and submenus.

Restore original settings for a built-in toolbar button or menu command

1. Display the toolbar that has the button or menu command you want to restore.
2. On the Tools menu, click Customize.
   The Customize dialog box must remain open; however, you might need to move it out of your way.
3. Do one of the following:

   To restore a toolbar button, right-click the button, and then click Reset on the shortcut menu.

   To restore a menu command, click the menu that contains the command, right-click the command, and then click Reset on the shortcut menu.

Notes: The Reset command restores the built-in toolbar button or menu command to its original image, name, and command.
 

Biblioscape URL

What is Biblioscape URL

You must have heard of web protocol like http:// and ftp://. Biblioscape URL works in a similar fashion, but it works only on the computer where Biblioscape is installed. For example, you can enter the following in the address bar of your web browser: "biblioscape://RefID=33". After pressing the Enter key, Biblioscape will be started if it is not already running, and the reference record with ID 33 will be opened if such a record exists.

Biblioscape URL syntax

There are 3 parts in a Biblioscape URL. Let's use the following as an example: biblioscape://refid=33

1. You need to enter "biblioscape://" at the begining.
2. You need to enter a module and search identifier. For example: RefID, RefFastSearch, RefSQL. They are case insensitive. You can enter them all in lower case. These identifier tells Biblioscape the module involved and what kind of search needs to be performed. Put an equal sign "=" at the end of it.
3. You need to enter the search text itself depends on the identifier. It could be a number or text.

Syntax for the references module

• RefID: Enter the reference ID. Biblioscape will retrieve this record and open it in the reference editor window. For example: biblioscape://refid=33
• RefFastSearch: Enter any search text. Biblioscape will perform a full text search and display the hits. The search word will be highlighted in colors in the read-only preview pane. For example: biblioscape://reffastsearch=boronic acid
• RefSQL: If you know SQL, you can enter SQL select command. In Biblioscape, you can save any search as a search folder. Select the search folder and click the right mouse button, select Properties and see the SQL command in the properties window. For example: biblioscape://refsql=select bib.* from bib where year_pub=1968

To enter Biblioscape URL for other modules, you just need to replace the "ref" with "note" for notes module, "task" for tasks module, "chart" for charts module, and "cat" for categories module. The instructions will be the same as stated above.

Syntax examples for other modules

Notes module:
biblioscape://noteid=39
biblioscape://notefastsearch=protease inhibitor
biblioscape://notesql=select note.* from note where date_created>'2007-4-23'

Tasks module:
biblioscape://taskid=8
biblioscape://taskfastsearch=lab setup
biblioscape://tasksql=select task.* from task where date_due between '2007-5-1' and '2007-6-1'

Charts module:
biblioscape://chartid=44
biblioscape://chartfastsearch=work flow
biblioscape://notesql=select chart.* from chart where date_modified>'2007-4-23'

Categories module:
biblioscape://catid=39
biblioscape://catfastsearch=nucleoside
biblioscape://catsql=select category.* from category where created_by='ChenPaul'

Folder:
biblioscape://folderid=3
biblioscape://foldername=Cance Research

Use Biblioscape URL in other applications

Besides entering Biblioscape URL in a web browser, you can use it in other applications that support URL. For example, in Microsoft Word, you can select some text and go to "Insert | Hyperlink" and enter Biblioscape URL. When the link is clicked, Biblioscape will be started if not already running. Biblioscape will then retrieve all the record specified in the URL. This can be a very easy way to integrate Biblioscape with other applications.

Register Biblioscape URL support

Biblioscape URL support is automatically registered under Windows the first time you run Biblioscape if your Windows account has admin privilege. If your Windows account doesn't have admin privilege when you run Biblioscape the first time, you have to do the registration manually. First you need to ask someone with Admin privilge to login and run Biblioscape. In Biblioscape, go to "Tools | Options" window. Select the "Database" tab and click the "Register URL, bsl, brl" button. The Biblioscape URL support is now added for all Windows users.

Format Manuscript tab

Citation tag: This section specifies symbols used in temporary citations. Normally, you don't need to change them unless you have "[...#...]" text inside your document. This text will cause Biblioscape to mis-interpret temporary citations unless you change the citation tag here.

Start Symbol: The start symbol used to enclose temporary citations.

End Symbol: The end symbol used to enclose temporary citations.

ID Symbol: The symbol used before Reference ID inside a temporary citation.

Citation options: When you insert a temporary citation into a manuscript, you may want to tag the reference at the same time so you can easily find out which references are cited in a given manuscript. To do this, please have the box Tag records with selected category when copying temporary citations checked. Before opening "Tools | Options", create a new category name for your manuscript. Now go to "Tools | Options", click on the "Format Manuscript" tab and select the category you have just created in the combo box under "Tag records with selected category when copying temporary citations". References will be stamped with the selected category when you insert them as temporary citations or copy them as temporary citations. For LaTeX users, Biblioscape can generate temporary citations for LaTeX. Go to the menu command "Tools | Customize". Click the "Commands" tab, and select "Edit" as the category. Drag and drop the command "Cite for LaTeX" to the toolbar or menu system. On the Options window, enter the text to appear before the LaTeX temporary citation. The default is "\cite" as Cite for LaTeX prefix, so when you click the command "Cite for LaTeX", the temporary citation in the Clipboard will be, for example, "\cite{MCCLEARY:1986:ID78}". You can then paste it to your LaTeX editor. You can export references as LaTeX reference files by going to "File | Export". On the "Tagged" tab, select "BibTeX -- LaTeX" as the export type.

Sort temporary citations in selected records by: When you select select references and copy or insert them as temporary citations, Biblioscape will sort them according to the setting selected here. The options are: Authors Title, Authors Year Title, Years Authors, No Sorting.

Use "File As" instead of "Reference ID" for Temporary Citations: By default, Biblioscape uses the Reference ID to identify each reference during formatting. Since the Reference ID number is only unique in the database in which it resides, the same reference may have a different Reference ID in different databases. You can use text to uniquely identify each reference if you keep more than one database. If this box is checked, Biblioscape will use the text in the field "File As" in temporary citations when you click the menu command "Edit | Temporary Citation".

Do not prompt user when reference type specific sub-style is missing, use Generic instead: In most Biblioscape output styles, not all reference types are included. During formatting, if Biblioscape finds a reference type that is not included in the output style you picked, Biblioscape can prompt you or continue to use the generic one without prompting, depending on this checkbox setting.

Bibliography: This section controls the appearance of formatted bibliographies in a formatted document.

Bibliography Font Size: The font size used in the reference section of a formatted document. If you format your manuscript chapter by chapter and want to start with a different number for each chapter, you can enter the number in the Start with number box.

Support unformat manuscript: Biblioscape can convert formatted documents back to their original state with temporary citations. This is achieved by using hidden text. Some simple word processors like Windows WordPad don't support hidden text. If you use such a word processor, uncheck this box so hidden text won't be used. But if this box is unchecked you also won't be able to convert a formatted document back to its unformatted state with temporary citations. If so, you should always work on the unformatted document and format the manuscript only when it's ready to be submitted. Normally you don't need to uncheck this box, because almost all word processors support hidden text.

HTML options: This section controls how Biblioscape formats references in HTML format.

Separate each record by: Specify to separate each reference in the References section by a paragraph or by a new line. Separating by Paragraph will cause a blank line to be displayed between each reference.

Hyperlink citation and bibliography: Check this box to let Biblioscape create a hyperlink between a citation and its corresponding reference, allowing the reader to jump to the reference in the bibliography section by clicking on the in-text citation.

International users: If you use Biblioscape to format manuscripts not written in a western European language, you need to change the Language character set from "0 ANSI (Latin languages)" to another character set. All major languages are supported, for example Chinese (traditional or simplified), Japanese, Russian, Arab, Hebrew, Eastern European, Korean, etc. The bibliography generated by Biblioscape uses Times New Roman as the default font. You can change the Font for the selected language using the combo box. You especially need to change this after the language character set is changed because the current font may not support the language character set you selected. If "0 ANSI (Latin languages)" or "1 Default " is selected as "Language character set", the formatted citation will adopt whatever font used by the preceding text. If other character set is selected, Biblioscape will use the "Font for the selected language" instead of the font of preceding text for the formatted citation. When formatting documents in east Asian languages, the author's name format shouldn't be changed. You should keep the box Format double byte languages (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc.) checked. You have to remember to uncheck it when formatting document in European languages. Otherwise, the author name format will always stay the same.

General Display tab

Window font: Biblioscape is set to use the font "Verdana" with size 8 by default. You can change this by going to the "Windows Font" section and selecting the font name and size. The text used by Biblioscape will be changed accordingly. All record editor windows opened subsequently will use the new font settings.

References module preview: Changes the font and size used in the Formatted Preview pane of the References module.

Enter new reference in Live Preview panel: If checked, when the New Reference command is clicked, the reference editor window will not be displayed. Intead, the user can add new records in the reference list window.

Show grid line for reference live preview: If checked, grid lines will be displayed in the reference live preview.

Show formatted citation in formatted preview: In the References module formatted preview pane, the formatted bibliography is always shown. If the box is checked, the formatted citation part will be shown as well. For most styles, the formatted citations part will display author-year or a number. But for footnote styles like those starting with "*" in the style name, you may want to have this box checked, so formatted citations in footnotes can be shown in the preview pane.

Live spell check in rich text editor: If checked, a squiggly line will be displayed under those mis-spelled words in rich text editors, for example include notes in the Notes module and the document field in the References module.

Enable AutoComplete in reference editor: In Biblioscape's reference editor, for certain fields -- "Authors", "Journal", and "Keywords" -- the program will look up and display the closest match while you type. If the suggested match is what you want to type, you can just press Ctrl+K to auto complete the word or phrase you are trying to type. Some people may find this feature annoying. You can turn off AutoComplete by unchecking this box.

Home page URL: When you use Biblioscape's integrated browser, the URL entered here will be the first page opened.

Ruler unit: The ruler unit used in the rich text editors. The default is set to Inch for US users.

Default word processor: When a RTF file needs to be opened outside Biblioscape, the word processor entered here will be used.

Default Web browser: When clicking a URL in Biblioscape, the web browser entered here will be used.

List favorite styles only: If checked, only output styles that are marked "Favorite" will be displayed in the styles pick list in the main toolbar and the Format Manuscript window.

List favorite import filters only: If checked, only import filters that are marked "Favorite" will be displayed in the import filters pick list in the Import References window.

References module data grid: In order to boost performance, Biblioscape only retrieves a partial list of available fields in the reference table. If the data fields you want to display in the reference list are not available by default, you can add them by checking the box before their names in the Fields to be included list. When you close a reference editor, the changes made are reflected only after the list is refreshed. To boost performance, the list is not refreshed if the number of references in the list is more than the number you set here under Refresh reference list if records less than. The default number is 2400.

Others

Fields to check for spelling: Biblioscape has a built-in spell checker. For records in the References module, you don't need to check the spelling for all fields. Some fields like "Year", "Volume", "Number", etc. don't need to be checked. You can control which fields to check for spelling errors by checking the box before the field name.

"Web post hide" fields: The Biblioscape web server "BiblioWeb" can post your bibliographic database live on the Web. Some users may not want to make all fields available on the Web. For example, a professor may want to hide his or her notes about a reference while posting his or her bibliographic database for his or her students. You can use this list box to control which data fields are to be hidden when posting it on the Web. In order to hide certain fields, check the box "Web Post Hide" in the tab "All Fields" of the reference editor. Only references with the "Web Post Hide" value checked will have Web Post Hide rules applied to them. This only applies to the reference record display form, not the edit form.

Default font for the document field and notes module: You can change the default font and font size used in rich text fields in Biblioscape. These include the Document field in the References module and the Notes field in the Notes module. The default font is Verdana with size 10. If you need to enter text in another language for most of the time, you may want to select a font that support the language you use.

Database

Secondary Index: Secondary indexes are used to sort references in correct order in "Retrieve All" mode. If you customized data grid to include other fields, you can add extra secondary index for a field by checking the box before field name. If you don't use "Retrieve All" often, or don't want to sort references under "Retrieve All" mode, you can remove secondary indexes by checking off the box before field name. So you can save some disk space.

Full Text Indexing: Biblioscape can indexes each word of a record in References, Notes module, etc. So you can find what you want very fast even when your database grows very big. Rebuild full text indexes: Sometimes, the full text indexes needs to be rebuilt. If you get error messages like index buffer corruption, you need to rebuild the full text indexes. Click the button "Start" to rebuild it. Full text live indexing: By default, Biblioscape will updating the full text index while you add, delete, or edit a record. In certain circumstances, you may want to disable live indexing. For example, if you are going to import several thousands of records into Biblioscape References module, you can boost the import speed by temporary disable live indexing. Max num. of hits to show: When search references or notes by indexed search, you can limit the number of records to display. For example, if there are more than 1000 records meet your search condition, you may want to refine the search instead of displaying them all.

Lookup tables live indexing: Biblioscape automatically parse the Authors and Keywords fields, and put individual author and keyword in a separate table. This information is used in AutoComplete and lookup operations. In certain circumstances, you may want to disable live indexing. For example, if you are going to import several thousands of records into Biblioscape References module, you can boost the import speed by temporary disable live indexing.

Enable Undo Delete: By default, when you delete a record, Biblioscape puts it into the Recycle Bin. So you can recover it later if you made a mistake. Uncheck this box if you want Biblioscape to delete a record permanently instead of moving it into Recycle Bin.

Force Buffer Flush: When you add new records or made changes to existing records, Biblioscape database engine will cache them into your computer's memory instead of writing to the disk immediatly. This will boost performance. But in case of a crash, Biblioscape may not be able to write those changes in the cache to the disk. This will result in data loss enter in your last session. If you want Biblioscape to write changes immediatly to disk without caching, have this box checked. 

Auto-update "File As" field: In references module, each record is stamped with author, year, plus part of the title to be uniquely identified. The File As text can be used to identify a reference instead of Reference ID in temporary citation. So when the same reference is export from one database to another, the temporary citation can still correctly identify the reference in spite of changed Reference ID. If you want Biblioscape to have this field updated automatically, have this box checked. If you want to manage File As field by youself, leave this box unchecked.

Update File As field: Click this button to make Biblioscape regenerate File As text for all reference records. All File As text will be removed first, Biblioscape will regnerate them according to the current data. This is useful when you switch from user controlled File As field to Biblioscape generated one.

Register URL, bsl, brl: Biblioscape supports URL in the form "biblioscape://...". So from another application like Word, you can enter something like biblioscape://RefID=23. When this URL is clicked, Biblioscape will be automatically started and the reference with ID 23 will be shown in the editor. Biblioscape will try to automatically enable this when you run Biblioscape the frist time. But this action needs Windows admin user privilege. If your Windows account doesn't have that privilege, Biblioscape won't be able to enable this feature. You can have Windows admin user run Biblioscape and click this button to enable this feature. This action will also register Biblioscape database files *.bsl and *.bsl, as well as Biblioscape Tag File *.btf. So when those files are double clicked, Biblioscape will start automatically and have the clicked database or file opened.

Reference Types

A Reference database contain references from a variety of different sources, such as books, journal articles, and newspaper articles. Each type of reference has its own set of data fields. For example, a "Journal Article" does not have an editor, but a "Book Edited" have editors. Biblioscape have 27 pre-defined reference types. All these can be edited, you can also add more reference types if needed.

All reference types definition files are located under the "Reftypes" sub-directory. You should not edit these files with a text editor. To be safe, you should only use the Biblioscape customize tools to edit them. Of the 27 reference types, all but the Generic type can be modified. Changes made to the Reference Types apply to all databases opened on that computer. Reference types definition determines which data fields are available for that type in the reference editor "User Defined" tab.

Default reference types

If you messed up your reference types customization, or you want to start over from a clean reference types install, you can do it. First, quit Biblioscape and delete all files under the "reftypes" folder. Click here to download the default reference types in a zip file. Then, unzip it to the "reftypes" folder. The next time you start Biblioscape, the default reference types will be used.

Move database to another computer

If you move your database to a different computer, Reference Types definition may be different from yours. If the reference type definition is not available for a reference, the Generic field labels will be used instead. But there is a easy way to move reference types data along with your database, and still does not overwrite the reference types definition on the other computer. You can copy the "Reftypes" folder along with your database. If Biblioscape finds a "Reftypes" folder under the database folder, reference types definition will be loaded from that folder, instead of the one under Biblioscape root directory.

Reference Types & Data Entry

The chosen reference type specifies which fields appear in the "User Defined" tab of reference editor. When you change the reference type, not only that changes the number of fields displayed, even for the same field, the field label may be different. So when entering a new reference, the first thing to decide is its reference type.

Customize Reference Types

To customize reference types definition, click menu command "Tools | Options...". Click the "Reference Types" tab. The first column list the field names used in database table. The second column list the field labels for the type "Generic". Both of these columns can't be edited. For the rest of reference type columns, you can change the field labels. If you leave the field label blank, that data field won't be displayed in the "User Defined" tab of reference editor.

Add a new reference type

Click "New" button to add a new reference type. First, give the new reference type a name. After a new column is created, you can change the field labels, or change it to blank if you don't want to show that field. If you want to create a new reference type that is similar to an existing one, click on the "BaseOn" button. Then make changes.

Delete a reference type

You should not delete one of the pre-defined reference types. If you want to delete a reference type you just added, select any cell in that column and click the "Delete" button.

Import and Export reference types

You can export the whole reference types definition table as a delimited file. Then open that file in a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel. Make changes, and then import it back.

Import / Export

When define an import filter, you need to map tagged fields from the importing file to each data field in Biblioscape reference table. In import filter editor, each data field label of a specific reference type can be customized. You normally don't need to customize the field labels.

Export each record in HTML as

When export references in HTML format, you can choose to separate each reference by a paragraph or by a line. If separated by a new paragraph, there will be a bigger margin between each reference.

Direct Export support

Some web based citation database providers display a download button to send your search results directly into your bibliographic software. Biblioscape supports such a feature even if Biblioscape is not listed on their web page. Many citation database providers, such as Highwire Press, Ovid, OCLC, ProQuest, the ISI Web of Science and others, provide direct export of references into bibliographic software. You can click the button Associate with Biblioscape to add direct export support in Biblioscape. After this, when you click download to EndNote button in a web page, those references will be imported into Biblioscape instead of EndNote. You don't need EndNote to be installed for this to work. In case you already have EndNote installed, you can click the button Associate with EndNote in case you want direct export to be associate with EndNote instead of Biblioscape. So you can switch direct export between these two software in case both are installed. If you use Netscape instead of IE, please click the buttons below with the same name.

Entering and displaying records in other languages

Enter and display records in a non-western language

The current release of Biblioscape doesn't support Unicode. So you cannot enter and display both Arabic and Chinese records at the same time. But it does allow you to enter and display records in any language after a couple of settings changes in Windows. Since the code page of all language supports English, displaying both Chinese and English, or Arabic and English won't be a problem. The following example shows how to enter and display records in Chinese.

Add Chinese input support in Windows

Go to Windows status bar and click "Start | Settings | Control Panel". Double click the icon "Regional and Language".

• Windows 2000: Select "Input Locales" tab and click Add button.
• Windows XP: Select "Languages" tab and click the Details button, then click the Add button.
• Windows Vista: Select "Keyboards and Languages" tab and click the "Change Keyboards" button, then click the Add button.

Select the Chinese input method you prefer. Once a new input method is added, it will be shown on Windows status bar. Click on the "EN" button will let you pick the desired input method.

Display Chinese in Biblioscape

Go to Windows status bar and click "Start | Settings | Control Panel". Double click the icon "Regional and Language".

• Windows 2000: Select "General" tab. If Chinese is not already listed under "Language settings for the system", click the "Advanced..." button to add it. Click the "Set default..." button and select Chinese as the default language. 
• Windows XP: Select "Advanced" tab and select Chinese as the "Language for non-Unicode program".
• Windows Vista: Select "Administrative" tab and click the "Change system Locale..." button, then select Chinese and click OK.

After click the OK button, Windows may prompt you to insert Windows installation CD if needed files are not already installed. Or Windows may ask if it is OK to use existing files. Click OK to skip file copying and use existing files. Then Windows has to be rebooted for the changes to take effect. 

Enter author names and keywords in Chinese, Japanese, Korean 

In Biblioscape Authors and Keywords fields, each author or keyword is separated from others by "; ". For example: Smith, J. L.; Bowen, J. P.; Collins, F. While entering data in double byte languages like Chinese, Japanese, Korean (CJK), there are two semicolon letters. Biblioscape can only recognize the English semicolon. So before entering the "; ", you have to switch the input language. This can be done with one key press. For example, if you use MS PingYing to enter Chinese, once you have finished inputting the first author name, press and release the "Shift" key to go to English mode. Enter "; ". Press and release the "Shift" key again to go back to Chinese input mode and start entering the second author name. If author names are not separated by an English semicolon, the formatted author names generated by Biblioscape will be in the wrong format.

While entering an author name in CJK, you should enter it in native format. Enter last name first followed by first name. Do not put a comma after the last name as you would with an English name.

Configure title case conversion for foreign languages

The Biblioscape style editor allows the user to change reference titles to headline case. However, you will not want Biblioscape to capitalize all words; for example, "a", "of", etc. should remain in lower case. All those words should be added to the file "...\Global\CaseWord.txt". If you have non-English records, you may want to add other words to that list, for example: "de la," "des," "en," "du," "et". You can add them directly to the "CaseWord.txt" file using a plain text editor like Windows Notepad. Or you can go to "Tools | Utility | Global Edit" and add the words to the list "Words not to be changed during case conversion".

Searching records in other languages

Fast search and CJK records 

Biblioscape offers two kinds of searches across all modules. The first one is called Fast Search, which is a full text indexed search. The second one is called Advanced Search, which is SQL-based. For western languages, both searches work. For Chinese, Japanes, and Korean (CJK) records, the Advanced Search works. Fast search only works in a limited way.

Why Fast Search doesn't work for CJK records. Fast Search runs fast because it indexes every word in your database. For western languages, words are separated by a space character. But for CJK text, there is no special character to separate words. The same Chinese character can be a word by itself, but it can also be part of a word. Biblioscape has no easy way to build an index of words. Therefor, Fast Search doesn't work.

Why Fast Search works in a limited way for CJK records. For some data fields like Authors, Keywords, Categories, etc. each word is separated by "; ". Biblioscape will be able to build an index of CJK words based on the "; " as separator. When you type such a word to run Fast Search, Bibliosacpe will find the hits. For example, if the authors field of your record is: xxx; yyy; zzz, Fast Search will work if you type "yyy" or "yy*" to search.

Umlauts in Fast Search

The full text search (Fast Search) engine indexes text using the ANSI driver by default. If you enter German umlauts, the "Fast Search" won't be able to find it. Although other searches like "Advanced Search" work, you may want to make Fast Search work for umlauts as well because Fast Search is used for natural citation matching.

Change a table's language driver

First, please download the utility from http://www.biblioscape.com/download/dbsys.zip. Run DBSYS, go to "Utilities | Restructure...". Go to the folder where you database is stored, select the table "bib". Find the combo box "Language" and change it to the language of your choice. Click the "Save" button to make the changes. You may want to do the same for the table "note".

Once changed, not only the "Fast Search" will work correctly, your references will be sorted correctly as well accordingly to the selected language driver.

Sorting records in other languages

You can enter references into a Biblioscape database in any language. All major languages are supported. If you want to sort references in a language other than the default English, you need to change the table's language driver. Changing a language driver to certain languages can slow down Biblioscape performance. To change a table's language driver, you can use the Biblioscape utility program DBSys. To sort references in a different language, you only need to change the language driver for the table "bib".

1. First, please download the utility from http://www.biblioexpress.com/dbsys.zip. User WinZip (www.winzip.com) or any other appropriate software to unzip the file.
2. Run DBSYS. Go to the menu command "Utilities | Restructure...". Go to the folder where your database is stored, and select the table "bib".
3. Find the combo box "Language" and change it to the language of your choice. Click the "Save" button to make the changes.

   

Formatting manuscripts in other languages

Customize character set and font

Biblioscape supports all major languages including double byte languages like Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Switching to another language in Biblioscape has become very easy. Just go to the menu command "Tools | Options" in Biblioscape. On the "Format Manuscript" tab, find the section "International users". Use the combo box to select the desired language and the font for the selected language. If a double byte language is selected, make sure the box "Format double byte languages..." is checked.

Windows 2000 and Windows XP support all languages. To add support for your chosen language, you need to have the Windows 2000 or Windows XP installation CD on hand. Adding Chinese support is used as an example at the Biblioscape Web site. Click here to learn how to add Chinese support for Windows 2000. Click here to learn how to add Chinese support for Windows XP. The following list shows all the languages supported by Biblioscape.

charset : language

• 0 ANSI (Latin languages)
• 1 Default
• 2 Symbol
• 3 Invalid
• 77 Mac
• 128 Shift Jis (Japanese)
• 129 Hangul (Korean)
• 130 Johab (Korean)
• 132 (Traditional Chinese)
• 134 GB2312 (Simplified Chinese)
• 136 Big5 (Traditional Chinese)
• 161 Greek
• 162 Turkish
• 163 Vietnamese
• 177 Hebrew
• 178 Arabic
• 179 Arabic Traditional
• 180 Arabic user
• 181 Hebrew user
• 186 Baltic
• 204 Russian
• 222 Thai
• 238 Eastern European
• 254 PC 437
• 255 OEM

Double byte languages: Chinese Japanese Korean (CJK)

You can enter references in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean (CJK). For these double byte languages, author names can't be formatted. For example, a Chinese name should always be written as Lastname Firstname, without a space between lastname and firstname. To format references in CJK, click the menu command "Tools | Options". On the "Format Manuscript" tab, check the box "Format double byte languages (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc.)". Once this is checked, author name formats are not changed during formatting, and always appear the way they are entered.