As y'all know I have been looking at Nota Bene as a possible bibliographic program. I like ndxCards as a writing program/biblio program.

But in the last couple of days I have been taking a serious look at Biblioscape http://www.biblioscape.com/ . I wonder if anyone here has experience with it?

I like Biblioscape b/c it has good note capability, and a system of links that can connect references, notes, tasks (it has a task manager in the professional version, and local files. It also has a web browser.

The notes are shown in a tree or table view, the latter can be sorted according to metadata.

There's a built in word processor that seems pretty full featured.

References can be searched by any word, or user-set keywords.

Also, references can be arranged in folders, providing a visiible structure/organization.

Professional version carries a hefty $299, which would put a crimp (pun intended) in my budget. But if Biblioscape does what it is supposed to, perhaps it is worth it. I could still used ndxCards for writing pieces of an article, and rearranging them.

Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks.

Daly

But in the last couple of days I have been taking a serious look at >Biblioscape

This may come as no surprise, but I am a registered user of biblioscape. However, I no longer use it. I think I used biblioscape 2,3 and 4, and it replaced my previous bibliographic tool of Papyrus. At the time it seemed the most powerful and the least expensive (standard version).

It is still the most versatile of the bibliographic databases but I gave up on it because the stand alone alternatives, although lacking the integration, were still generally better.

Additionally, it was very heavy on resources and seemed to take over my PC, it was a bit buggy (but liveable). I only had the standard version and thought the professional version a bit pricey for the few in number, but still very important features that the pro version offered. And finally, the license is strictly one PC only. Paul wanted a full second license fee to install a copy on my laptop as well as my PC. It works on a registartion code that restricts its use to the PC you register it from.

As I wanted to upgrade to the Pro version and run a second copy on my laptop, I ended up moving to Citation which allows you to install on as many PCs as you want, as long as it is only launched on one of the PCs at a time. It had a good notes option, very fast and low use of resources. Since then I have bought EndNote, Library Master and Nota Bene.

I still however, look every so often at Biblioscape as it does offer the most visionary range of tools. Support was always good and its well worth trying it out.

As I now work from two fixed office locations and a laptop, I would need three licenses so it is a non-starter for me now.

Graham

Daly,

The price of $299 is really a show stopper. Did you consider if the Standard version will fit your requirements? It is available for $139.

I have tested Biblioscape two years ago. It is an impressing tool and allows a very good research and notes management including the correct formating of all references. It will take quite a lot of time to learn the best use of this program.

The reason I am not using it is the same like yours: I don't have the money for it!

Regards,
Dominik

I am posting below a personal message sent to me by Christian Dˆhm of Sycon re how IDEA! compares to Biblioscape as I think that it provides some intersting info.

alx


Biblioscape has a lot of features IDEA! also has. Most of the things it does, IDEA! does as well.

It has some other features like drawing capability and diagramms etc but misses the Outlook and Lotus Notes intergration.

We also have the option to work remotely and the replication. We can even work offline with our database and replicate later. In a WAN, LAN, Home office or via the internet. The struture is very similar.
One thing I like more about IDEA! then in Biblioscape is that we mangaged to handle all these features in one screen with good overview.

The system uses the same index machine like IDEA! does.

Quote from Biblioscape website: "Biblioscape provides several means for the user to find references. The super-fast search engine indexes every word in your database and can find what you want instantly. Even if your reference collection grows to 50,000 records, it can still return a complicated search result in seconds. In the search string you can use logical operators AND, OR, NOT, the wild card * for multiple letters, the wild card ? for a single letter, the keyword LIKE to find words that sound similar, the keyword "NEAR" to find
words that appear close to each other, or search for a phrase by putting it inside double quotes."

The following is true for IDEA! (just replaced Biblioscape with IDEA!) - that's exactly what the internal indexer does. IDEA! provides several means for the user to find references. The super-fast search engine indexes every word in your database and can find what you want
instantly. Even if your reference collection grows to 50,000 records, it can still return a complicated search result in seconds.

In the search string you can use logical operators AND, OR, NOT, the wild card * for multiple letters, the wild card ? for a single letter, the keyword LIKE to find words that sound similar, the keyword "NEAR" to find words that appear close to each other, or search for a phrase by putting it inside double quotes.

Daly,

Here you can find a matrix featrue overview of all available versions of Biblioscape:

http://www.biblioscape.com/features.htm

There are many useful and 'nice-to-have' features in the Pro-version but it might be possible to use the Standard version.

Dominik