Manage your PDF library on Mac OS X
As a grad student, I have to deal with a LOT of pdf files: lecture notes, papers, assignments, ebooks, etc. Fortunately, there are a lot of solutions for managing your pdf files on Mac OS X, and some of them are free. Here is a list of those I know of, depending on the type of solutions
PDF Library Managers
Some software are made for one main goal, which is to manage pdf files:
- Yep (Shareware, 34$): A full fledged pdf manager. This is the one I personally use on a daily basis, well worth 34$ (even better if you got it for cheap like me during the MacUpdate Promo). Features include smart collections (like smart playlist in iTunes), tag support and a nice fullscreen view.
- papers (Shareware, 42$): Another pdf manager with features such as stoplight search, iTunes-like rating system and a strong PubMed integration.
- iPapers (OpenSource): A simple pdf library manager with PubMed integration.
Bibliographic Managers
Bibliographic managers can also be of use to manage your pdf files. These programs are made to manage bibliographic entries, but they allow you to link the files to their bibliographic entries.
- BibDesk (OpenSource): A BibTeX manager. Supports tags, smart groups, online database integration and it keeps your pdf files organized (in a way similar to iTunes). This is the one I use for bibliographic references.
- JabRef (OpenSource): A cross-platform reference manager. Exports to BibTeX and OpenOffice.
- EndNote X1 (Commercial, 110$): The reference for bibliographic management. The feature list is impressive and it is virtually your only choice if you work with Microsoft Word. To me the price was too high compared to BibDesk (free!) especially since I exclusively use LaTeX for writing.
Other solutions
Another quite unusual solution for pdf management is to use iTunes:
- The Best PDF Manager You Don’t Know You Have: Some tips on how to use iTunes for managing pdf files. A little bit outdatted, but most of the stuff is still relevant.
- PDF Adder (Free): AppleScripts for adding pdf files to iTunes.
And what about me?
I use two of those softwares in my setup: Yep and BibDesk. I use Yep for my ebooks, the papers I want to read and everything related to school work (lecture note, assignments, etc). The smart collections of Yep (similar to smart playlists in iTunes) allow me to keep my library ordered with no extra work as long as I put my files in the right folder in Finder. Screenshots:
As for BibDesk, I use it exclusively to manage papers that aren’t associated with any specific course or that I might want to cite in a paper or in my thesis. The neat thing about BibDesk is that it generates a BibTeX file for your library that you can include in all your LaTeX documents. Furthermore, you consolidate your library automatically (à la iTunes) so your files are kept in order, which is pretty useful if you want to have a smart collection in Yep for your BibDesk library. Screenshots:
