Yeah, the script I posted is oriented towards mirroring an existing BD database in DT, but it can be easily modified to add the current BD fields to the current DT selection.
Changing the name to the full reference is trivial as well - just modify the exportMarkdown template to put it all on one line as in your example above then use the export results in the create location command.
Likewise you could add that result to a custom metadata reference field instead of adding it as a separate Markdown document.
Whether you end up using BibDesk or Zotero or Bookends, you’re going to want to farm the reference generation off to your bibliographic software. The script you link to is going to be a mess to change if you need to produce a bibliography in a different format, whereas any of those programs will have ready-made templates and/or CSL to produce the citations.
I’d also recommend using containing groups rather than acting on the PDFs directly. Eventually you will encounter a situation where you want to have multiple files associated with a single publication.
Here’s a modified version of the script above that should do what you want. I also updated all the variable names to hopefully make it clearer what’s going on, and added your code to add keywords as tags.
tell application "BibDesk"
set bdSelection to selection of document 1
if length of bdSelection > 1 then
display alert "Select a single publication to link to DT"
return
else
set bdSourceItem to item 1 of bdSelection
-- get the cite key and create a new DT group with the same name and a link back to the BD record
set bdCiteKey to cite key of bdSourceItem as string
set mdCitation to ""
-- get keywords to convert to tags
set kw to keywords of bdSourceItem as string
set {od, AppleScript's text item delimiters} to {AppleScript's text item delimiters, ","}
set theTags to text items of kw
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to od
-- get the markdown citation
export document 1 using template "exportMarkdown" to clipboard for bdSourceItem
set mdCitation to the clipboard
tell application id "DNtp"
set dtpdf to the selection
if length of dtpdf = 0 or length of dtpdf > 1 then
display alert "Select a single record to link in DT"
return
else
-- create a new group, move the existing file there, and add all the metadata
tell think window 1 to set myGroup to create location bdCiteKey
move record dtpdf to myGroup
add custom meta data bdCiteKey for "Cite Key" to myGroup
add custom meta data "x-bdsk://" & bdCiteKey for "BibDesk URL" to myGroup
-- add the markdown citation to the new group (as a file, as metadata, and as the group name)
create record with {name:bdCiteKey & " Markdown reference", plain text:mdCitation, type:markdown} in myGroup
add custom meta data mdCitation for "Reference" to myGroup
set name of myGroup to mdCitation
set tags of myGroup to theTags
-- get the DT link to add to the BD record
set theDntp_Link to reference URL of myGroup
end if
end tell
-- get all the fields from the BD item
set theFields to fields of bdSourceItem
-- add them all to the new DT group
repeat with aField in theFields
set fieldName to name of aField
set fieldValue to the value of aField
tell application id "DNtp"
add custom meta data fieldValue for fieldName to myGroup
end tell
end repeat
-- add the DT link to BibDesk
add theDntp_Link to bdSelection
end if
end tell
Also - here’s the code to add the BD urls to DT (substitute bdSourceItem for i if you’re adding it to the second version):
set bdURLs to linked URLs of i
repeat with u in bdURLs
tell application id "DNtp"
create record with {URL:u, type:bookmark} in myGroup
end tell
end repeat
Why do you ask that, Jim?
Just thinking. Do you have an answer? 
I don’t understand the question 
Haha! 
Do you have a complete CSV from, exported from BibDesk, to process or is this discussion now all about interacting with BibDesk directly?
The Zotero thread and the slow execution speed of AppleScript have led me to think that the approach I took above may be overkill – see (DT3 Bibliography) Formatted reference from Custom MD for an alternative approach: one html file per pub. in BD, customisable like any BD template.
I completely forgot about this topic, Jim @BLUEFROG. My apologies.
I am bypassing the export csv part and simply using a script to copy the data from bib desk and pasting it into DT3.
I had started experimenting with a script that @cgrunenberg had posted somewhere (which I can’t seem to find) that was for importing a csv and taking the data from it into a DT3 record, but I was pulled back to my obligations and couldn’t finish it.
No worries. Life happens and we’re all very busy these days. 
Hi everyone!
I am a coming back user of DevonThink. In the past I used DT2 but I stopped using it because some things that were very important to were missing.
One of those things was BibDesk integration. BibDesk support is very important in my opinion because it is widely used in the Academic world since it is free; it is actively maintained and has two very distinct characteristics. The first one is that once a PDF is added to BibDesk, the app can find it even if the document is moved in the Finder. Files are stored using Mac OS aliases, so you can move them in the Finder without breaking BibDesk’s links. The second one, is that it can read comments/notes written in metadata. Programs like Skim, do their highlights in the file metadata and only BibDesk is able to read it.
DevonThink is very good at managing searches and PDFs. It seems that version 3 is even better and I am deeply considering coming back. It seems that if I Index a folder inside DT; moving PDFs inside DT do not cause troubles to BibDesk; BibDesk can find them anyway. This is a very big plus for using DT to sort PDFs for example.
I do not understand however, why BibDesk integration is so difficult or not standard in DT. I have tried this AppleScript and I have not been able to make it work.
BibDesk does not use a database, it seems just a simple .bib file with some special Base64tags to store MacOS links. DT can read the .bib file and makes a very nice sheet out of it, but it seems it cannot show the MacOS links stored in them.
Can anyone help me to understand if I am missing something here? Am I doing something in the way it is not supposed to be done?
1 Like
Hi,
could you be more specific as to what you need that is missing right now?
Hi Bernardo, thank you for your interest.
I have found that DT is very good to keep notes and help overall with research.
I would like to see:
- A preference on DT that allows change the default drag and drop from copy to replicate. So, I can have references rather than copying PDFs to the database. So far, I have to index a folder and then do replicate manually to add them to groups. I spent hours doing this. It would have been easier just to drag and drop and specify replicate rather than copy. I could not create a shortcut either, it was only right click and replicate…
- A preference to change the default PDF reader to Skim. Or a way to tell the PDF reader to save in metadata rather than embedded by default. In some PDF documents this is a big problem since you cannot edit them reliably. I have lost the default cover of some books when I highlighted them. Other documents are copy protected.
- Import from BibDesk and read the MacOS aliases so I do not have to relink everything single PDF again manually. Maybe an option to store the PDFs inside DT or leave them where they are for compatibility.
- A way to export a PDF to BibDesk; so BibDesk can solve the reference details. This would be just an empty entry with the Mac alias, for example.
- A way to synchronise groups from BibDesk to DT and vice-versa.
- Many places have the option to download a BibDesk already, I would like to add that file to DT and a way to tell DT that this BibDesk file is from a particular PDF. At this point I have to be very careful not to mess everything.
- When I do searches in DT, it never tells me how many documents has found. This is so annoying.
- A pane to store my searches that I could modify later. The small Pop up menu is very limiting.
1. Inside DEVONthink, Command-Option-drag already does this. The default is to move, not copy.
2. You cannot change applications in DEVONthink. If it’s the system default application for PDFs, you can enable Preferences > General > Double-click opens documenrs externally.
3. through 5. could potentially be accomplished via scripting but there are no current plans for any direct integration with BibDesk.
7. DEVONthink absolutely does report the number of found items.
8. What small popup ?
Hi Bluefrog,
-
I think you are talking inside DevonThink. I want to drag from the Finder into DT and it copies.
-
I know about this option, but changing the default for everything is not what I would like. Skim is very good for taking annotations, but it is not as fast as Preview to just browse documents.
-
to 5. Too bad there are no plans to do this.
7.Hi! You are right, I can see that I missed where items are found.
In DT2 there was an option to have a new window for searches. What I see know is that if I hit save the search, I just see in on the small triangle/magnifier glass next to the Search field. It is a small pop up menu. I cannot edit it or modify what I put there. Just clear searches.
You can’t replicate from the Finder into DEVONthink.
Command-drag from the Finder will move files into a database.
Command-Option-drag* from the Finder will index files.
You can use Data > Open With and choose a different application registered for the particular file type.
The Save button is shown in the at the right side of the scope bar above the results…
Note the smart group will be local if your scope is inside a database, but global if your scope is Databases or Inboxes
The issue is not to save a search. How do I edit the search that I saved?
Thank you. I know, I can Open With… I am doing that. But after a while, becomes boring to do it that way.
Smart groups can be edited byControl-click > Edit on them.
I see. Thank you. So a “Save Search:” becomes a Smart Group…
Should not be easier to write on the dialog “Save search as a smart group…” rather than “Save search:”?
If you had not told me this I would have thought it wasn’t possible to edit the search.
That is precisely what indexing does.
You can create a shortcut using macOS or a third party software like Keyboard Maestro.
