Bog is a system for taking research notes in [Org mode](http://orgmode.org/). It adds a few research-specific features, nearly all of which are focused on managing and taking notes with Org, not on writing research articles with Org. # Workflow Many people use Org for taking research notes, and there are some really nice descriptions of systems people have come up with (for a few examples, see [these](http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.orgmode/78983) [threads](http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.orgmode/14756) on the Org mode mailing list). The Bog workflow is focused around the citekey, which is the only study information that must be included in the notes. This unique identifier is used as a link to the BibTeX and PDF files. In the example below, the citekey "name2000word" is a study heading. Bog expects the citekey to be the title or property of a heading. The citekey "another1999study" is a reference to another study (which may or may not have a subtree in this or another Org file). * Topic heading ** TODO name2000word :atag: Article notes ... a reference to another1999study ... The default format for the citekey is the first author's last name, the year, and then the first non-trivial word. To have BibTeX mode automatically generate a key of this format, the `bibtex-autokey-*` settings can be modified. (setq bibtex-autokey-year-length 4 bibtex-autokey-titleword-length nil bibtex-autokey-titlewords-stretch 0 bibtex-autokey-titlewords 1 bibtex-autokey-year-title-separator "") # Main features Many Bog functions take the citekey from the notes context. If the point is on a citekey (like "another1999study" above), then that citekey will be used. Otherwise, the citekey will be taken from the first parent heading that is a study. - `bog-find-citekey-pdf` Open a PDF file for a citekey. - `bog-find-citekey-bib` Open a BibTeX file for a citekey. BibTeX entries can be stored in one of two ways: - As a single file with many entries - As single-entry files named citekey.bib within a common directory - `bog-search-citekey-on-web` Search Google Scholar for a citekey. The default citekey format (first author's last name, year, and first non-trivial word) usually contains enough information to make this search successful. - `bog-rename-staged-pdf-to-citekey` Rename a new PDF. - `bog-clean-and-rename-staged-bibs` Rename new BibTeX files. If a separate BibTeX file is used for each citekey, this function can be used to rename all new BibTeX files. `bibtex-clean-entry` is used to clean the entry and autogenerate the key. - `bog-create-combined-bib` Generate a combined BibTeX file for all citekeys in buffer. This is useful if single-entry BibTeX files are used. Other useful functions include - `bog-goto-citekey-heading-in-buffer` - `bog-goto-citekey-heading-in-notes` - `bog-refile` # Variables Several variables determine where Bog looks for things. - `bog-notes-directory` - `bog-pdf-directory` - `bog-bib-directory` or `bog-bib-file` - `bog-stage-directory` The variables below are important for specifying how Bog behaves. - `bog-citekey-format` A regular expression that defines the format used for citekeys - `bog-citekey-function` A function to extract a citekey from the current subtree. Use this to indicate whether the citekey should be taken from the heading or property. - `bog-find-citekey-bib-function` A function to find a citekey in a BibTeX file. This determines whether a directory of single-entry BibTeX files or a single BibTeX file is used. # Recommended keybindings Bog doesn't claim any keybindings, but using "C-c b" as a prefix while in Org mode is a good option. (define-prefix-command 'bog-map) (define-key org-mode-map (kbd "C-c b") 'bog-map) (define-key bog-map "p" 'bog-find-citekey-pdf) (define-key bog-map "r" 'bog-rename-staged-pdf-to-citekey) (define-key bog-map "b" 'bog-find-citekey-bib) (define-key bog-map "h" 'bog-goto-citekey-heading-in-buffer) (define-key bog-map "H" 'bog-goto-citekey-heading-in-notes) (define-key bog-map "w" 'bog-search-citekey-on-web)