How items work
Items are the fundamental units of content in the Research app. They represent individual pieces of research material that you've added to your library for study, reference, or analysis.
What are items?
Items can be various types of research materials, including:
- Academic papers
- Journal articles
- Books
- Web pages
- PDFs
- And other types of documents
Each item in your library contains the content you've added, along with metadata to help you organize and understand your materials.
Key features of items:
Title: Every item has a title, which is typically the title of the paper, article, or document.
Authors: Items can be associated with one or more authors.
Year: The publication year of the item, if applicable.
Type: Items can be categorized by type (e.g., "Research Paper", "Book", "Web Article").
Abstract: A summary or abstract of the item's content.
Notes: Your personal notes about the item.
Annotations: Highlights and comments you've made within the item.
Category: Items can be assigned to categories for organization.
Metadata: Additional information such as DOI, ISBN, publisher, etc., depending on the item type.
Working with items
Adding items: You can add new items to your library by importing PDFs, saving web pages, or manually entering information.
Viewing items: Open items to read their content, view your annotations, and access related information.
Editing item details: Update an item's metadata, add notes, or change its category as needed.
Organizing items: Move items between categories, add to your reading list, or use the search function to find specific items.
Item stats and progress
- Views: The app keeps track of how many times you've opened an item.
- Time spent: You can see how much time you've spent reading or working with each item.
- Progress: For longer documents, you can track your reading progress.
Attachments
Attachments are the actual files associated with your items. These typically include:
- PDF files of academic papers or articles
- Saved web pages
- E-books
- Other document formats related to your research
Each item in your library is linked to its corresponding attachment, allowing you to:
- Access the full content of your research materials directly within the app
- Read and annotate documents without needing to open external applications
- Ensure that your source material is always available, even when working offline
The Research app stores these attachments locally on your computer, providing quick access to your materials and allowing you to work with your research even without an internet connection.
When you add a new item to your library, whether by importing a PDF, saving a web page, or through other means, the app automatically creates and manages the attachment for you. This seamless integration ensures that your library items are always connected to their source documents.