PDFs should be attached with paths relative to a user-configurable base path
If it would be possilbe to specify a document base path, all linked PDF paths could be specified relative to this base path. JabRef has similar functionality.
One of the advantages is that one can then move easily between different machines (not migrate, but e.g. work on one during the day and another during the evening), synchronising PDF directories by means of a tool such as unison or other file synchronisation, and mendeley would keep finding all attachments, as they would be at the same relative paths.
This is especially useful if the different computers are running different operating systems. Fo rexample:
Windows: C:\documents\articles\Smith1998.pdf
(doc basepath is c:\documents\articles)
Linux:
/home/me/documents/articles/Smith1998.pdf
(doc basepath is /home/me/documents/articles)
Mendeley can easily find Smith1998 on both machines.
cpbotha
shared this idea
126 comments
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Anton
commented
Would also like to see this feature implemented ($DOC_HOME)
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Amir Hossein
commented
I wonder why this option is not implemented so far! Just specifying a work directory (as the base directory) in preferences menu and then, all file addresses will be relative to it. It is essential for people on move like me!
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Robert
commented
Look sike Dropbox is way to go...
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Anonymous
commented
I agree with that. It will make aritcal organization easier and more portable.
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Anonymous
commented
I agree with that. It will make aritcal organization easier and more portable.
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Peter
commented
What's the status on runniung Mendeley from an external hard drive?
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[Deleted]
commented
Let me add a "me too" to all the people who are dual-booting and want to use the same PDF library in multiple operating systems! This would be a really, really useful feature.
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fabio.tesser
commented
I have a dual boot pc Linux/OSX and this feature can help me to have the linked pdf stored in only one filesystem. I vote this!
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Akshata
commented
I would love to have this feature too. Working from home and work PCs, I always run into this issue where the metadata for a pdf exists in Mendeley but not the actual pdf document. Even though I sync the folder on both PCs (using Syncback) that Mendeley is set to "watch", it doesnt recognize the pdfs on another pc unless I physically add the folder again onto Mendeley. Is there a solution to this?
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Carl Edlund Anderson
commented
Yes, I find myself now running sort of "semi-parallel" library organization systems: my original manually organized-by-folders (and very large, spacewise) collection of PDFs on my home machine (a Mac), and a newer Mendeley Desktop library on my university machine (a Windows PC), and a Mendeley Destop library also on the Mac at home, with some folders sync'd between the work PC and home Mac via the Internet -- though of course not all, as 500 MB is waaay too small to sync my whole home library, and no current USB flash drive I've seen could hold it all either. Still, if base-paths could be specified, then I could get all my old manually organized library on the home Mac moved into Mendeley, and then use a USB drive to sync it on a perhaps folder-by folder basis to the PC at work. That would still be a bit crude, but it would work, at least!
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Kemp
commented
This is pretty much the only missing feature which is stopping me from adopting Mendeley fully.
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Hans
commented
While such a feature is certainly useful, until it is implemented one way to do it would be to create one collection for each computer into which you put the documents that are missing at that computer, then set them to be synchronized with the server. Once a file has been added to the document in the appropriate collection, then you can remove it from the collection which also removes the file from the server so it won't take up space there.
I only just set it up, so I haven't seen it work in practice, but I think it should work, it will also require some manual fiddling in moving entries in and out of collections, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem.
This way at least the files will be directly associated with the document entries and won't be left on the mendeley servers more than necessary for transfer between computers. -
X. Gelabert
commented
Definetly a must. I also need my pdf's synchronized both at home and at work.
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Matt Montag
commented
I would recommend that the developers seek a solution that plays nice with Dropbox, but doesn't duplicate its functionality, such as being able to store metadata/prefs outside of the mendeley program folders. Similar to what Adam S. has suggested!
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Carl Edlund Anderson
commented
@Patrick: You might be right about the pro accounts -- though as it happens, the pro accounts would not be what I want anyway. I want syncing, rather than all my docs floating around out in the cloud. In my context (South America), Internet access is better than one might think, but hardly always on or accessible in all the places I might want to access my files -- but I have plenty of local storage (hard disks, USB drives, etc.) at my disposal. I would actually be more willing to pay a shareware-ish price for the capacity to sync local collections (via transfer over the Internet, as opposed to storage via the Internet) than I would for more online storage. After all, my total collection is far larger than the subset I'm using at any given time (none of the preset pro storage packages offer enough space for my whole collection anyway), so paying more to host a larger collection is not terribly attractive -- but seamless multi-machine cross-platform syncing WOULD BE attractive ....
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Patrick
commented
This seemingly very simple feature prevents me from using Mendeley. As mentioned here already by somebody else, it seems the only reason not to implement this, is to just get more people paying for the pro accounts. This is a real pity, as the product seems very nice and useful.
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Brandon
commented
Can't upvote this enough. I have my papers syncing between 5 computers (along with other files) using Live Sync, and lacking relative paths kills the whole deal.
I'm wondering if I set up one computer as the kinda of 'paper master' and set to organize my pdfs, then sync that organized folder to the others with them all set to watch the organized folder for autoimporting, but without selecting organize my pdfs, That might be crazy enough to work... though still not ideal.
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Paul Rine commented
I would love to sync my documents between my notebook, pc, and ipad!
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Joseph
commented
I think this is a similar request to:
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glawlor
commented
It is possible to "rebase" the directory of your pdfs. The is ok for a one off relocation but not useful to keep multiple locations in sync.
1. Copy the pdf directory to its new location
2. Replace the sqlite file (<email>@www.mendeley.com.sqlite) in the new location with the old sqlite file (see here: http://www.mendeley.com/faq/#howto-backup-data )
3. Install a sqlite browser http://sourceforge.net/projects/sqlitebrowser/
4. Export the "Files" table from the sqlite database to a csv file
5. Open up the csv in your favourite spreadsheet app
6. Find and replace the old directory name with the new name. Save csv file.
7. Delete the "Files" table in the sqlite database and then import the edited csv as the new "Files" table. Save...
8. Open up Mendeley Desktop. Citations should point to new file locations.
