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.