# Devonthink vs Bookends

**URL:** <https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/devonthink-vs-bookends/68739>\
**Category:** DEVONthink\
**Created:** [January 2, 2022, 5:14pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/devonthink-vs-bookends/68739 "2022-01-02T17:14:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 4

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**Author:** ![rpallred](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/rpallred/32/18214_2.png) [@rpallred](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/rpallred)\
**Post date:** [January 2, 2022, 6:30pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/devonthink-vs-bookends/68739/4 "2022-01-02T18:30:42Z")

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> [@MDMaynard](#):
>
> Would you mind expanding on your workflow slightly?

Sure.

It starts with me searching for journal articles using Google Scholar or my DEVONagent search sets. When I find an article I want, I clip it to Zotero using that browser plug-in. Now I have the PDF and all the metadata needed to cite the article in a manuscript:

 ![image](https://devontech-discourse.s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/original/3X/e/1/e188ed93d43e4ad232b6e02f22f3c3ab472fc5ac.png)  
 ![image](https://devontech-discourse.s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/original/3X/c/d/cd81332e8ea145a0872afc96fa24353e40d10dd4.png)

In the background, two things happen:

1. [Hazel](https://www.noodlesoft.com/) recognizes that a new PDF was added to Zotero and runs [Zowie](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/a-new-tool-for-zotero-users/60025) on it to add the Zotero link to the PDF.
2. My Zotero database is indexed in DEVONthink, so the PDF shows up over there in my smart group to read.

![Screen Shot 2022-01-02 at 10.06.03 AM](https://devontech-discourse.s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/original/3X/6/7/676dde1edaf34fe0fcc7baf8655282d3813507d8.png)  
 ![Screen Shot 2022-01-02 at 10.06.29 AM](https://devontech-discourse.s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/original/3X/a/0/a0f95887de46e103c14f1f11fa99e7897fc432b6.png)

I then read and annotate the article in DEVONthink. Those markups show up for me whether I am in DT or Zotero, since it’s the same file. I can create collections of references in Zotero, or use DT’s AI and search features to find connections between articles.

![Screen Shot 2022-01-02 at 10.32.19 AM](https://devontech-discourse.s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/original/3X/2/e/2e8e89b02d16d0921c409b77562fdead623bb826.png)

 ![image](https://devontech-discourse.s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/original/3X/c/4/c496fae2250675b2a54863eb3ae8309301b2edb4.png)

When I am ready to write, I used LibreOffice with Zotero’s citation tools installed (I can do the same in Word, but prefer LO):

Screen Shot 2022-01-02 at 10.13.21 AM  
 ![image](https://devontech-discourse.s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/original/3X/7/d/7dca8531347c3a68167baa515b7288cc1cf2c0d5.png)

I can write something, quickly add the citation which is automatically formatted and added to the works cited page:

 ![image](https://devontech-discourse.s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/original/3X/f/7/f7e5a90f9a286c55f110b5c5a8c1f904122c9f18.png)

As I edit and rewrite, Zotero manages the citations, making sure that everything is formatted correctly and if I add or remove an in-text citation the works cited is automatically updated. And if I need to submit to a journal that requires a different style, Modern Humanities Research Association, for example, it’s three clicks:

 ![image](https://devontech-discourse.s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/original/3X/b/0/b031317f700378ea0ce3c65af87bf4a8968e9ccd.png)

I get to use each app for what it’s best at, but all using the same PDF.

EDITED TO ADD:

Oh, and I can be at work on a Windows machine, find an article I need, clip it to Zotero there and it syncs to my Mac at home and all this just happens…

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