To support my research workflow, in created an AppleScript to extract selected references and associated from Bookends into an OPML file which can be imported into Scrivener’s Research folder. Below is a screenshot showing the notecard structure in the binder, the top level notecard in the left editor pane, the subordinate notecards in the right editor pane, and the comments in the inspector.
This script converts Bookends references and associated notes into an OPML structured file which can then be imported into Scrivener’s research folder. Each reference is a top level card which contains the Title, Author, Date, Type, Publisher, Abstract, and Bookends citation key. If there are notes associated with a reference, each note creates its own subordinate note card with the Page number (if any), note header, quotes, comments, and keywoards (tags). This allows you to individually review each comment and change its status (label) within Scrivener.
The script does some error checking as follows:
Strips images from notes
Converts double quotes (") to single quotes (’)
Converts ampersand (&) to the word “and”
The script is written very modularly so that it can easily be adapted based on changes in OPML syntax, the need to add additional “bad characters”, or changes in the Bookends reference or note delimiters or event calls. I know of one issue related to Bookends reference types and have reached out to Jon for some assistance.
--Script to Export Bookends Notes to OPML file v1.0
--Written by Dave Glogowski
--29 July 2017
--
--This script converts Bookends references and associated notes into an OPML structured file which can then be imported into Scrivener's research folder.
--Each reference is a top level card which contains the Title, Author, Date, Type, Publisher, Abstract, and Bookends citation key
--If there are notes associated with a reference, each note creates its own subordinate note card with the Page number (if any), note header, quotes,
--comments, and keywoards (tags). This allows you to individually review each comment and change its status (label) within Scrivener.
--
--The script does some error checking as follows:
-- - Strips images from notes
-- - Converts double quotes (") to single quotes (')
-- - Converts ampersand (&) to the word "and"
--
--The script is written very modularly so that it can easily be adapted based on changes in OPML syntax, the need to add additional "bad characters", or
--changes in the Bookends reference or note delimiters or event calls
--
--
--
--Variable Setup------------------------------------------------------------------------
--Set Counters
set nbr_references to 0
set nbr_notes to 0
--Set Control Variables
set remove_headers to true
set userCanceled to false
--Set Old Text Delimiters
set tid to AppleScript's text item delimiters
set note_delimiter to (ASCII character 10) & (ASCII character 10)
set comma to ","
--set Bookends Delimiters
set be_page_nbr_delimiter to "@"
set be_header_delimiter to "#"
set be_tag_delimiter to "%"
set be_quote_delimiter to ">"
set be_cite_delimiter to ";"
--set image content tags
set open_image_tag to "<iimg>"
set end_image_tag to "</iimg>"
--Set OPML Text variables
set xml_version to "<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>" & return
set opml_version to "<opml version=\"1.0\">" & return
set opml_close to "</opml>" & return
set opml_header to tab & "<head>" & return
set opml_title to tab & tab & "<title>Bookends to Scrivener OPML File</title>" & return
set opml_date to tab & tab & "<dateCreated>" & (current date) & "</dateCreated>" & return
set opml_header_close to tab & "</head>" & return
set opml_body to tab & "<body>" & return
set opml_body_close to tab & "</body>" & return
set opml_outline to tab & tab & "<outline text=\""
set opml_outline_close to tab & tab & "</outline>" & return
set opml_notes to " _note=\""
--File Name and Setup-----------------------------------------------------------------
--Ask user to remove header only Bookends notes
try
set AlertResult to display alert "Remove Bookends Header ONLY note cards?" buttons {"No", "Yes"} default button "Yes" giving up after 5
end try
if button returned of AlertResult is "No" then set remove_headers to false
--Request file name and path from user
set target_file_name to "BE-to-OPML.opml"
try
set data_file to choose file name with prompt "Please select destination file and folder." default name target_file_name default location (path to desktop folder)
on error errMsg number errNum
if errNum = -128 then
display dialog "User Cancelled Get File - Goodbye!"
return false
else
display dialog "Try to Close Access to:" & data_file & "Error:" & errNum & return & errMsg
close access data_file
return false
end if
end try
--Test if .opml extension was provided, if not then append to file name Actually just force .opml extension
try
set clean_name to data_file as string
if clean_name contains "." then
set file_name to text 1 thru ((offset of "." in clean_name) - 1) of clean_name
set clean_name to file_name & ".opml"
else
set clean_name to clean_name & ".opml"
end if
set data_file to clean_name
on error errMsg number errNum
display dialog "Error with validaing file extension" & return & "Data Name: " & data_file & return & "Clean name: " & clean_name
return false
end try
--Write OPML Version, Headers, and Open Body statements to File---------------
my write_to_file(xml_version, data_file, false)
my write_to_file(opml_version, data_file, true)
my write_to_file(opml_header, data_file, true)
my write_to_file(opml_title, data_file, true)
my write_to_file(opml_date, data_file, true)
my write_to_file(opml_header_close, data_file, true)
my write_to_file(opml_body, data_file, true)
--Interaction with Bookends-----------------------------------------------------------
tell application "Bookends"
activate
--get ids for selected bookends references
set selected_ids to «event ToySRUID» "Selection"
--test to make sure user selected Bookends references
if selected_ids is "" then
display dialog "No Boookends References were selected." & return & return & "Please select 1 or more references and restrart"
return false
end if
set selected_ids to words of selected_ids
--get the cite_keys from Bookends
set the clipboard to ""
tell application "System Events" to keystroke "y" using command down
delay 0.05
set be_cite_key to the clipboard
--strip citation key brackets
set cite_length to length of be_cite_key
set cite_list to text 2 thru (cite_length - 1) of be_cite_key
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to be_cite_delimiter
set cite_keys to text items of cite_list
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to tid
--Process Handiling For Each Reference------------------------------------------
--get citation, quotes, comments, and tags for of the selected references
repeat with i from 1 to length of selected_ids
--set variables and counters
set ref_id to item i of selected_ids
set ref_nbr to ref_id
set nbr_references to nbr_references + 1
--For each reference build the top level OPML outline
--with the Author, Date, Bookends Reference Number, Title, Abstract, etc
--Author and Date Processing
--extract author and dates from citation key
set cite_key_item to text item i of cite_keys
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to comma
set cite_key_components to text items of cite_key_item
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to tid
set key_component_count to count of items in cite_key_components
set no_date to false
set ref_date to «event ToySRFLD» ref_id given string:"thedate"
if ref_date is "" then set no_date to true
if key_component_count = 3 then
set ref_author to first item of cite_key_components
set ref_date to second item of cite_key_components
end if
if key_component_count = 2 then
if no_date then
set ref_author to first item of cite_key_components
set ref_date to " Undated"
else
set ref_author to "No Author(s)"
set ref_date to first item of cite_key_components
end if
end if
if key_component_count = 1 then
set ref_author to "No Author(s)"
set ref_date to " Undated"
end if
--strip leading blank space from cite key, author and date
if first character of ref_author is space then set ref_author to characters 2 thru -1 of ref_author
if first character of ref_date is space then set ref_date to characters 2 thru -1 of ref_date
if first character of cite_key_item is space then set cite_key_item to characters 2 thru -1 of cite_key_item
set ref_author to my replace_bad_characters(ref_author)
--Index Card Processing (Title, Journal, etc)
--Reference Title
set ref_title to «event ToySRFLD» ref_id given string:"title"
if ref_title is "" then
set ref_title to "No Title"
else
set ref_title to my replace_bad_characters(ref_title)
end if
--Reference Type (Journal, Book, etc)
--set ref_type to "undefined type"
set ref_type to «event ToySGUID» ref_id given string:"RIS"
if ref_type is "" then
set ref_type to "undefined type"
else
set ref_type to second word of ref_type as text
set ref_type to my replace_bad_characters(ref_type)
end if
--Reference Publisher
set ref_publisher to «event ToySRFLD» ref_id given string:"publisher"
if ref_publisher is "" then
set ref_publisher to "undefined publisher"
else
set ref_publisher to my replace_bad_characters(ref_publisher)
end if
--Reference Abstract
set ref_abstract to «event ToySRFLD» ref_id given string:"abstract"
if ref_abstract is "" then
set ref_abstract to "Abstract not provided"
else
set ref_abstract to my replace_bad_characters(ref_abstract)
end if
--Form the Reference Card OPML Outline Statement
set ref_text to opml_outline & ref_author & ", " & ref_date & " (ID:" & ref_nbr & ")\"" & ¬
opml_notes & ref_title & return & ¬
ref_author & return & ¬
ref_date & " " & ref_type & " - " & ref_publisher & return & ¬
"------" & return & ¬
"Abstract: " & return & ref_abstract & "\">" & return as text
my write_to_file(ref_text, data_file, true)
--Process Handiling For Each Note within Each Reference------------
--get notes from this reference
set ref_notes to «event ToySRFLD» ref_id given string:"notes"
--extract each note and create separate note card (subordinate outline)
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to note_delimiter
set ref_notes to text items of ref_notes
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to tid
repeat with p from 1 to length of ref_notes
--reset variables
set header_only to false
set keywords to false
set quotes to false
set ref_note_header to " "
set ref_page_nbr to "##"
set ref_note_title to " "
set ref_note_text to " "
set ref_tags to " "
set ref_quote to " "
set ref_note_quote to " "
set ref_note_comment to ""
-- ref_note_item is an individual note within the note stream
set ref_note_item to item p of ref_notes
--parse note_item for Bookends header and page number
if ref_note_item is not "" then
set ref_note_list to paragraphs of ref_note_item
--test and process headers
if first character in ref_note_item is be_header_delimiter then
--header
set ref_note_header to first paragraph in ref_note_item
--determine if header only and set note contents to rest of notes
if (count of ref_note_list) > 1 then
set ref_note_text to text (second paragraph of ref_note_item) thru -1 of ref_note_item
else
set ref_note_text to "Header Only"
if remove_headers is true then set header_only to true
end if
--set header, but first test if header also includes page number
if second character in ref_note_item is be_page_nbr_delimiter then
--with page number
set ref_page_nbr to "@" & first word of ref_note_item
set ref_note_header to text (second word of ref_note_header) thru -1 of ref_note_header
else
--without page number
set ref_note_header to text (first word of ref_note_header) thru -1 of ref_note_header
end if
else
--no header, set title to untitled note and set contents to all of note
set ref_note_header to "Untitled Note"
set ref_note_text to ref_note_item
end if
--test for page numbers
if first character in ref_note_item is be_page_nbr_delimiter then
set ref_page_nbr to "@" & first word of ref_note_item
set ref_note_text to text (second word of ref_note_item) thru -1 of ref_note_item
end if
--form the note card title
set ref_note_title to ref_page_nbr & " - " & ref_note_header
--test note title for well formed contents (bad opml characters)
set ref_note_title to my replace_bad_characters(ref_note_title)
--Process Handling For Each Line (Paragraph) within Each Note
--extract each line (paragraph) of the note
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to (ASCII character 10)
set ref_note_text to text items of ref_note_text
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to tid
repeat with n from 1 to length of ref_note_text
--get and process each paragraph (segement) of the note
set ref_note_body to item n of ref_note_text
--test notes for well formed contents (ie. no images)
if (open_image_tag is in ref_note_body) then
set image_start to (offset of open_image_tag in ref_note_body)
set image_end to (offset of end_image_tag in ref_note_body) + (length of end_image_tag) - 1
set first_half to text 1 thru image_start of ref_note_body
set last_half to text from image_end to -1 of ref_note_body
set ref_note_body to first_half & " -- Graphics Image Removed --" & last_half
end if
--test notes for well formed contents (bad opml characters)
set ref_note_body to my replace_bad_characters(ref_note_body)
if ref_note_body is not "" then
--clear temp vars
set temp_tag to ""
set temp_quote to ""
set no_comment_flag to false
--test for tags
if first character in ref_note_body is be_tag_delimiter then
set temp_tags to ref_note_body
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to be_tag_delimiter
set temp_tags to text items of temp_tags
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to space
set temp_tags to temp_tags as text
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to tid
set ref_tags to ref_tags & temp_tags
set no_comment_flag to true
set keywords to true
end if
--test for bookends quotes
if first character in ref_note_body is be_quote_delimiter then
set temp_quote to ref_note_body
set temp_quote to text (second character of temp_quote) thru -1 of temp_quote
set ref_note_quote to ref_quote & temp_quote
set no_comment_flag to true
set quotes to true
end if
--form note comments
if no_comment_flag is false then ¬
set ref_note_comment to ref_note_comment & ref_note_body & return
end if
end repeat
--form the note card OPML statements
set ref_key to "Keywords: " & ref_tags & return & return
set ref_quote to "Quote(s): " & return & ref_note_quote & return & return
set ref_comment to "Comments: " & return & ref_note_comment & return
if ref_page_nbr is "##" then
set ref_cite_key to "Citation Key: {" & cite_key_item & "}" & return
else
set ref_cite_key to "Citation Key: {" & cite_key_item & ref_page_nbr & "}" & return
end if
set note_card to "" as text
if keywords is true then set note_card to note_card & ref_key
if quotes is true then set note_card to note_card & ref_quote
set note_card to note_card & ref_comment & "----------" & return & ref_cite_key
set ref_note_contents to tab & opml_outline & ref_note_title & "\"" & opml_notes & note_card & "\"/>" & return as text
--write contents of note
if header_only is false then
my write_to_file(ref_note_contents, data_file, true)
set nbr_notes to nbr_notes + 1
end if
end if
end repeat
my write_to_file(opml_outline_close, data_file, true)
end repeat
end tell
my write_to_file(opml_body_close, data_file, true)
my write_to_file(opml_close, data_file, true)
display notification "Complete" & return & return & "Exported " & nbr_references & " References and " & nbr_notes & " Notes"
return true
--end of script **************************************************
--subroutine area ************************************************
--write_to_this_file subroutine
on write_to_file(this_data, target_file, append_data)
try
set target_file to target_file as string
set open_target_file to open for access target_file with write permission
if append_data is false then set eof of the open_target_file to 0
write this_data as «class utf8» to open_target_file starting at eof
close access open_target_file
return true
on error errMsg number errNum
if errNum = -49 then
close access target_file
set open_target_file to open for access target_file with write permission
if append_data is false then set eof of the open_target_file to 0
write this_data as «class utf8» to open_target_file starting at eof
close access open_target_file
return true
else
display dialog "Write Subroutine Error:" & return & "Target_File: " & target_file & return & "Open_Target_File: " & open_target_file & return & "Error: " & errNum & " - " & errMsg
close access open_target_file
return false
end if
end try
end write_to_file
--test for well formed contents (bad opml characters) subroutine
on replace_bad_characters(input_string)
try
--set arrays for error checking
set bad_opml_char_array to {"\"", "&"}
set good_opml_char_array to {"'", "and"}
set input_string to input_string as string
set output_string to ""
set good_char to ""
repeat with x from 1 to count of characters in input_string
set good_char to character x of input_string
repeat with y from 1 to length of bad_opml_char_array
if good_char is equal to item y of bad_opml_char_array then set good_char to item y of good_opml_char_array
end repeat
set output_string to output_string & good_char
end repeat
return output_string
on error errMsg number errNum
display dialog "Error replacing bad OPML characters. Error Number: " & errNum & " - " & errMsg
return false
end try
end replace_bad_characters
There is a solution to both of these issues! Why don’t you use «event ToySGUID» (p.23 of the BE manual) to get a formatted citation which you can reliably parse. You do not need to use CMD+Y and depend on a clipboard temporary citation in a specific format. You pass the unique ID (you already extract using «event ToySRUID») and a format (you can choose anything you’d find easy to parse), and it will return UTF8 text (or RTF but that would be incompatible with OPML I think). This would make the script more robust.