PDF indexing

EndNote EndNote General
1

Sorry with the  naïve question:

but what does “PDF indexing” actually do in Endnote X6?

  1. I tried to see with my Pdf file attachments (both linked and copied)  if I could search in full text the PDFs (“full text” means [a] searching within the attached PDF text layer in my very basic English, but I noted that you use [b] “searching full text” with another meaning - I mean [a]). But I was not able to.

  2. I tried to see if I could search PDF metadata, but with no results either.

  3. I tried to see if I could search some text comments that I added to the PDFs. Still no.

So, I am really puzzled and curious to know if I went wrong in my 1)-3) attempts and what does PDF indexing mean in practice.

Thanks in advance for any help.

2

The text of PDF is searchable, after they have been indexed (via the search menu).  In the search, you have the default options of Author, Year, Title, but if you explore the dropdown menu and go up, you can also search Any Field (in the database) or any field and  the PDF and the PDF notes, or just the PDF or just the PDF notes.  but you have to scroll up to see those options in the dropdown. 

Find full text, is the way that endnote goes out into the web to try and retrieve the PDF in the first place. 

3

Thanks Leanne,

I got it. I was putting on the Search field “File Attachments” and not “PDF” or “PDF+Notes”: they are placed above the “Author” in the field list, and I just missed them. Many Thanks again.

Just a last clarification: is it possible to disactivate this feature of PDF indexing, in case one wants to speed up Endnote? I guess that with many thousands PDFs there is a overload and even the risk of corruption of  the .enl main archive.

Thanks 

4

no way to deactivate that I have come across.  Once they are indexed, it doesn’t index them again, just newly added PDFs.  the main time it reindexes is when you open the library in a different (newer?) version of Endnote. 

5

 I find that using Endnote X7.2, the applicatiion indexes PDFs every time I open my library on one of my computers, but not on another computer. This takes several minutes each time I open the libary on the computer that indexes. My understanding is that it should not re-index PDFs that have already been indexed (as per Leane’s comment above). But it appears to be doing so, at least on one of my machines. Why would it do this and how can I stop it so that the library opens more quickly?

6

Where does the library reside?  

7

@leanne wrote:

Where does the library reside?  

On my Desktop.

8

So you aren’t moving it from one to the other?  That is very strange.  Is there some kind of syncing going on?  

9

Correct - no moving.

But there is syncing. I have an online account and sync the library on both machines. Only one machine indexes each time I open (very slowly); the other machine does not. Both machines sync.

10

sounds very strang and I would call tech support if I were you.  Something isn’t right on that machine.  It maybe that there is a corrupted PDF that is not getting properly indexed and perhaps tech support can figure it out?  The instructions to call tech support are here: http://endnote.com/support  (I use the phone if at all possible).