OK, RefWorks is a nice tool, very nice in some ways, but ideal? No, not yet. Over the weeks and months I have collected things that could make RefWorks better. That wish list is below. Some wishes are very general, benefitting lots of users, others are targeted to special purposes. By commenting on this post you can add your wishes. RefWorks is reading this blog as well, so perhaps they'll pick some of these points up for a new release.
1. Better customizability of the list view (user fields, link to local file, option to add colums to the list view irrespective of output styles)
2. Stop the overload of confirmation messages ("successfully moved 1 item to antoher folder" etc.). It slows the workflow.
3. Fully shared folders, allowing for multiple editors of a folder and allowing folders to be part of several databases.
4. Find and replace functionality (for any string, across the database). This allows easy correction.
5. Create an output style that lists all information in the records (however incomplete that might be for some records)
6. Easier linking to local files (on hardrives or portable drives)
7. Faster operation by use of modern web technologies such as Ajax etc, making it possible to change pages without reloading them. This would be nice for instance for showing/hiding abstracts (more or less as implemented in Scopus).
8. Easier editing of page numbers in citations
9. ....[your ideas]
April 3, 2008
RefWorks wish list
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1 comment:
Ytzen Lont sent me mail stating his wishes:
9: Would it be possible to have part of a record shared and part of it hidden?
For example, the bibliographical data (and maybe some general notes) could be shared, and private data (like reading notes or acquisition notes) could be hidden. I guess this would mean working with mother & daughter records or linked records or a hide option for (any or specific) fields.
Workarounds:
- duplicate the record to a shared folder and delete private data (risk: updating one record and forgetting to update the duplicate);
- or put private data in a password protected attachment (like a Word-document).
The password protected attachment may also be useful for sharing records publicly that contain some copyright protected text.
10: More fields that work like a link within RefWorks (as in the author, title and descriptor fields).
For example, the field(s) that describe(s) where the item can be found (location, call number, accession number, file etc.).
This would make it easy to see and/or edit lists of locations (like it is already possible with authors, titles and keywords).
Workaround:
Define the location (or call number, file etc.) as a keyword.
Personally I use the >-sign (e.g. keyword: >C2008), so that the keyword list starts with these file names (archive locations).
11: Customizable input style(s)
To minimize the number of fields when adding new records. Less fields, faster input.
Workaround:
Using the option References / Import / field "Import Data from the following Text", using RefWorks field tags.
For example to quickly import some records with only author and title.
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