Endnote Mac PDF importing/workflow issues

EndNote EndNote General
1

Ever since 6.X, importing files via drag and drop to Endnote on the Mac has become an onerous process.  We appreciate the ability to store PDFs for reading, but the workflow is a mess due to a number of problems.

Dragging the File or its Icon from the open PDF leads to the prompt “please open reference library”.  This occurs when there is ALREADY an open reference library.  The only time this works is when the reference library is not minimized, and is on the active desktop of the Mac.  This means that if you are reading a PDF in a different window, you have to remember to un-minimize the window and move it to the same workspace.  This  is not practical.

If I have downloaded a reference, and not the PDF, I then go to the web to get it if the “Find PDF” function doesn’t work. Once I have downloaded it, how should I get it added to the open reference?  If I drag it to the PDF window in the reference, I get a bunch of QUESTION MARKS.  This is a long-standing bug – please fix it.  The only current workaround is to save it to the desktop, and then attach the file.  This is a lengthy process.

Does anyone have any better solutions to these workflow issues and bugs?  I have submitted them many times for support, but they never fix them.

2

If I understand the question, you can drag a PDF into the “File Attachments” field of the reference, either the separate window you get from double-clicking the reference, or in the subwindow for editing the reference if you have a view containing it selected.

If there is no existing reference to add a PDF to, then use the File>Import… File or Folder dialog to bring it in. A useful trick is that you can drag the icon at the top of Preview to the Search box in that dialog, then click Import.

As for using multiple desktops, there is a conventional shortcut for selecting a desktop: ctl-D where D is the number of the desktop (like ctl-3 for desktop 3). You can enable this shortcut in System Preferences. If you start the Import dialog in one desktop, then go to the desktop where the PDF is open in Preview or displayed in a Finder window, you can click on the icon at the top of the Preview page or in Finder and hold, then with your other hand press ctl-D (e.g., ctl-3) to move back to the EndNote desktop, then drag the icon into the Search box. (It sounds more complicated than it really is.)

I agree that the process could be made more convenient.