MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Software Bounty: US$50 for some iPDF enhancements

nekokami · 03-25-2008, 01:58 PM

Hi folks,

I've just recently found out I've been formally admitted to the doctoral program in education at the university I work at (finally). This means I need to start taking my academic reading a lot more seriously. Academic reading is why I bought an iLiad instead of sticking with my trusty eBookwise 1150. But there are some critical features missing from the iLiad software for me to use it fully in my program.

Here's a typical example of what happens in my graduate classes now, and how I work with paper:

- Instructor assigns journal articles and/or books for reading
- I read the documents/books and make notes. I write in the margins of printed PDFs or photocopies, and mark the edges with sticky tabs for key points. I don't write in books, but I do use stickies and write notes on them. (I would scribble on PDFs in a reader. I just can't bring myself to do it with a printed book.)
- In class, I need to be able to discuss key points from the readings (usually several books/documents), flipping back and forth between them at will. I need to be able to find particular passages in readings quickly.
- I also need to be able to take class notes at the same time.
- Several times per semester, I need to be able to pull together references from readings that I've selected previously, with locations and my notes about the references, for constructing research papers.

Here's what I need that the iLiad can't currently do (as far as I know):

1- Ability to switch between multiple open applications, including Notes, PDF Reader, possibly FBreader. This is critical. A split screen running two apps would be a nice-to-have or alternative, but I'd rather have multiple apps and a way to switch between them.

2 - Ability to select text in a PDF and tag with one or more of a set of pre-defined tags or add new tag - similar to "bookmarks" feature https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13914 but I need tags and comments (I don't think the comments were completed). Last activity in thread was December 07, last post from developer was October 07. I don't know if this version works with 2.12. Could we get this incorporated into the All-in-One iPDF?

3 - Ability to scribble a note attached to a selection (bookmark comments). Would be extra nice if the note could also have HWR in bg so I could search for it later, but being able to assemble the scribbled notes as images, along with the associated selected text, by tags would be sufficient.

4 - Ability to search within a PDF. (There was a recent thread about this in January, I think, but I haven't seen any status for a while.)

5 - Ability within iPDF to enter metadata for a PDF when opened: author(s), title, publisher, date, volume, etc. and starting page (i.e. what number appears on the first page of the PDF, e.g. a journal page number), so the bookmarks created can have this info and can be assembled into a bibliography tool from the XML generated from the bookmarks. I would prefer to be able to populate the metadata by selecting text within the PDF. My goal is to be able to select one or more tags and output a list of my references including my notes (in graphic form if needed), APA formatted in-line reference, and APA-formatted bibliography entry. That part could happen on my laptop using a script, but the metadata capture should be done on the iLiad, I think. This is essentially adding a little library function to iPDF.

I'm offering a cash bounty of US$50 to a developer who can produce software that will provide these functions, with priority to application switching. I could go higher if needed (but remember I work at a university-- I don't have a lot of spare money myself). I know it will take more than $50 worth of effort to develop all this, but I think the developer who makes this system available could sell it to many researchers, not just me.

03-25-2008, 01:58 PM	#1
nekokami fruminous edugeek Posts: 6,745 Karma: 551260 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northeast US Device: iPad, eBw 1150	Software Bounty: US$50 for some iPDF enhancements Hi folks, I've just recently found out I've been formally admitted to the doctoral program in education at the university I work at (finally). This means I need to start taking my academic reading a lot more seriously. Academic reading is why I bought an iLiad instead of sticking with my trusty eBookwise 1150. But there are some critical features missing from the iLiad software for me to use it fully in my program. Here's a typical example of what happens in my graduate classes now, and how I work with paper: - Instructor assigns journal articles and/or books for reading - I read the documents/books and make notes. I write in the margins of printed PDFs or photocopies, and mark the edges with sticky tabs for key points. I don't write in books, but I do use stickies and write notes on them. (I would scribble on PDFs in a reader. I just can't bring myself to do it with a printed book.) - In class, I need to be able to discuss key points from the readings (usually several books/documents), flipping back and forth between them at will. I need to be able to find particular passages in readings quickly. - I also need to be able to take class notes at the same time. - Several times per semester, I need to be able to pull together references from readings that I've selected previously, with locations and my notes about the references, for constructing research papers. Here's what I need that the iLiad can't currently do (as far as I know): 1- Ability to switch between multiple open applications, including Notes, PDF Reader, possibly FBreader. This is critical. A split screen running two apps would be a nice-to-have or alternative, but I'd rather have multiple apps and a way to switch between them. 2 - Ability to select text in a PDF and tag with one or more of a set of pre-defined tags or add new tag - similar to "bookmarks" feature https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13914 but I need tags and comments (I don't think the comments were completed). Last activity in thread was December 07, last post from developer was October 07. I don't know if this version works with 2.12. Could we get this incorporated into the All-in-One iPDF? 3 - Ability to scribble a note attached to a selection (bookmark comments). Would be extra nice if the note could also have HWR in bg so I could search for it later, but being able to assemble the scribbled notes as images, along with the associated selected text, by tags would be sufficient. 4 - Ability to search within a PDF. (There was a recent thread about this in January, I think, but I haven't seen any status for a while.) 5 - Ability within iPDF to enter metadata for a PDF when opened: author(s), title, publisher, date, volume, etc. and starting page (i.e. what number appears on the first page of the PDF, e.g. a journal page number), so the bookmarks created can have this info and can be assembled into a bibliography tool from the XML generated from the bookmarks. I would prefer to be able to populate the metadata by selecting text within the PDF. My goal is to be able to select one or more tags and output a list of my references including my notes (in graphic form if needed), APA formatted in-line reference, and APA-formatted bibliography entry. That part could happen on my laptop using a script, but the metadata capture should be done on the iLiad, I think. This is essentially adding a little library function to iPDF. I'm offering a cash bounty of US$50 to a developer who can produce software that will provide these functions, with priority to application switching. I could go higher if needed (but remember I work at a university-- I don't have a lot of spare money myself). I know it will take more than $50 worth of effort to develop all this, but I think the developer who makes this system available could sell it to many researchers, not just me.