Category Archives: Files

Essential software for academic work on Mac: 2021 update

Posted on June 12, 2021 by Aleh Cherp

It’s been seven years since I listed 25 apps essential for academic work on Mac. This list has proven to be very popular and relatively stable, but over the years I dropped or significantly reduced using 13 of these applications and … Continue reading →

Posted in Automation, Bibliographies, Collaboration, Files, Graphics, Notes, Presentations, Projects, Tasks, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Papers 3 library searchable by Spotlight

Posted on January 24, 2015 by Aleh Cherp

Since my first post about Papers 3, a reference and pdf-file management software, it has significantly matured to become one of if not the best in the field. The most recent addition (version 3.2.6) has been to make a Papers 3 library indexable … Continue reading →

Posted in Bibliographies, Files | Tagged , | 40 Comments

FoxTrot Professional Search

Posted on December 26, 2014 by Aleh Cherp

I had been trying FoxTrot Professional Search for several months before eventually deciding to buy the professional version. My initial motivation was to find a tool that could search inside Papers3 library, but I have discovered that the appeal of FoxTrot is … Continue reading →

Posted in Files, Tags and folders | Tagged , | 22 Comments

What software do I really need for academic work on Mac?

Posted on July 4, 2014 by Aleh Cherp

A reader has just challenged me to re-think the software I use for academic work on Mac. Well, there are over 250 items in my Applications folder, but how many do I need to remain productive? So imagine that I have a completely new Mac with no … Continue reading →

Posted in Automation, Bibliographies, Email, Files, Graphics, Notes, Presentations, Projects, Tasks, Workflows, Writing | Tagged , , | 97 Comments

Hazel, Mavericks tags and reference files workflow

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Aleh Cherp

My workflow for storing reference files includes three elements: 1. Tagging (most often by DefaultFolderX) reference files while saving them to the Downloads folder; and 2. [for scientific articles and other citable pdf documents ] renaming and automatic archiving by Papers2 (see … Continue reading →

Posted in Files, Tags and folders, Workflows | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

OS X Mavericks and OpenMeta tags

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Aleh Cherp

I have been checking Mavericks ability to handle OpenMeta tags which are essential for organizing academic reference files. I really hoped that the tags integrated in OS X would be compatible with my existing tagging system. At the moment I have … Continue reading →

Posted in Files, Tags and folders | Tagged , , , , | 23 Comments

Sending files which are too large for e-mail

Posted on July 4, 2013 by Aleh Cherp

I have recently asked a colleague to share one of her publications with me. I did not hear from her, but after a week or so, while cleaning my @SaneLater box, I discovered an email sent by her from an unfamiliar address and … Continue reading →

Posted in Collaboration, Email, Files | Tagged | 1 Comment

Mountain Lion’s mini-revolution: renaming and moving without closing files

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Aleh Cherp

A nightmare had followed me for decades on both PCs and Mac. I am working on a file and decide that it should be called differently or be placed in a different folder. So I switch to Finder/Explorer, look for … Continue reading →

Posted in Files | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Guest post by Ez: Annotating PDFs in Papers, Sente, Skim and other apps

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Aleh Cherp

Ez responded to the post on annotating pdf in Papers with a comment so useful I reworked it, with Ez’ kind permission, in a separate post. It was prompted by John asking about a “simple workflow”: ‘… [to create] referenced notes … Continue reading →

Posted in Annotation, Bibliographies, Files, Writing | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Removing duplicate reference files with Gemini

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Aleh Cherp

The best way to find a reference files management system which works for you is trial and error. However, all this trying and erring might leave a messy trail of duplicate files. You end up with more duplicates after sharing your … Continue reading →

Posted in Files | Tagged , | 1 Comment