Author Topic: How to auto update the PDF using ISBN info from the net?  (Read 8875 times)

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raider

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How to auto update the PDF using ISBN info from the net?
« on: April 12, 2010, 02:31:36 PM »
Hi,

We have quite a number of PDFs generated by a scanner. We can input the ISBN no. into one of the custom field using scangrid. What we are looking for is a way for pdf explorer to auto update the metatags of a PDF file using isbn info from the net. Is this possible? If so, please elaborate the steps required.

Thanks
raider

RTT

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Re: How to auto update the PDF using ISBN info from the net?
« Reply #1 on: April 12, 2010, 03:21:38 PM »
A tool to collect metadata online, using the ISBN, DOI, Title, or any other metadata field the online service may use,  is in the TODO list, and I made some tests already, but unfortunately I don't have this feature ready yet.

But, if you can script the metadata gathering yourself, you have some choices to automate the process.
 - You can use the new web interface API to get, and set, the metadata in the PDF files. With javascript you can easily develop a tool to interface the PDFE web interface to get and set the PDFs metadata, and the online ISBN service to query the metadata based on the PDF ISBN.
 - Or you can use the PDFE grid export and import functionalities to export the PDFs references, and current metadata, to a .csv file. You just need to edit externally the csv file, using your tool/script, that will gather the metadata using the ISBN, and later import again the updated .csv file into PDFE database, updating at same time the PDF files metadata.

What online ISBN database service you have in mind?

raider

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Re: How to auto update the PDF using ISBN info from the net?
« Reply #2 on: April 12, 2010, 11:55:03 PM »
Thanks for the reply.

We basically wanted to use PDF Explorer to manage our growing engineering literature/books/materials, and these can range from IEEE transactions, technical books from IEEE, technical books from McGrawHills (for instance) and other publishers. We are not lock into technical papers from a certain body unlike some of the researchers as we are essentially an engineering consultant company.

As to scripting ourselves to download the isbn info from the net, i am afraid none of us in the company has that kind of IT skills as we are only skilled in our engineering consultancy business...we calculate stuff but we don't code stuff.

Any other way for us to do this?

When do you think you are able to release this ISBN feature as part of PDF Explorer?

Thanks
raider


RTT

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Re: How to auto update the PDF using ISBN info from the net?
« Reply #3 on: April 13, 2010, 11:46:02 PM »
Quote
Any other way for us to do this?
Manually? :) With the help of the ISBN/DOI resolver tool, if the ISBN number is on the PDF text content.
Number 4 of the toolbar image on this page of the manual

Quote
When do you think you are able to release this ISBN feature as part of PDF Explorer?
Can't say for sure. Right now, I'm finishing the Patch 1 for current v1.5 build 59, to fix some bugs, and some issues that happen on 64-bit systems. This patch also includes enhancements to the database editor, and web interface.
Next, I will try to finish and release my other tool, PDF-ShellTools, new version.
Only then I can start again coding new PDFE features, and this online metadata gathering tool is one I will focus because I already have some code developed. But a release date is impossible right now.

raider

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Re: How to auto update the PDF using ISBN info from the net?
« Reply #4 on: April 14, 2010, 12:56:03 AM »
I tried that ISBN/DOI button that u mentioned and it always say none found...but i suspect this is because the pages are only scanned and not converted to text via OCR.

Can't I just input the ISBN number manually into one of the custom field and get PDF explorer to search the net using the custom field rather than trying to find the ISBN number from the scanned pages?

RTT

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Re: How to auto update the PDF using ISBN info from the net?
« Reply #5 on: April 14, 2010, 01:44:13 AM »
While in Quick Info Edit mode, and if the DOI/ISBN Sniffer quick edit assistant is activated (on by default), it will search for valid DOI and ISBN numbers on the document first page text content, and in any of the metadata fields shown in the InfoEdit tool, and present the manual DOI/ISBN resolver tool, if any found.
But I have now found out that this assistant is only firing (and I must fix this) when the open PDF file changes, after being already in Quick Info Edit Mode, so, to see it in action, you will have to enter the Quick Info Edit mode, and then change to a document with a valid ISBN (including the dashes, e.g.  0-123456-47-9) in any of the visible metadata fields, using the bottom left toolbar navigation buttons, numbers 5 and 6 in my previous reply linked manual page, or its respective CTRL+Up and CTRL+Down, keyboard shortcuts.