Re: [Jabref-users] Delete a bibtex entry and remove the corresponding pdf file

[Zhi-Wei H. <zw...@gm...>]

Sorry for forgetting to cc this message to jabref-users list, so I resent it
again. :(

> Huang,
>
> there isn't currently any function for this.
>
> The feature is a little tricky, because you really don't want to
> delete any files by mistake. JabRef has no way of knowing whether you
> have one or more bib files that are not currently open, that refer to
> a file. The best it can do is check whether any entries in any of the
> currently open bib files refer to a file.
My databases are independently kept like:

foo1/
foo1.bib
foo2/
foo2.bib
... ...

every bib file has one one corresponding "File directory" with the same
basename. The "fileDirectory" is set with a relative path name like:

@comment{jabref-meta: fileDirectory:foo2;}

which makes the bib file simple and portable. The pdf files are renamed in a
form of BibTeXkey-***.pdf, which can be auto-linked to bib entries from
within JabRef. BibTeXkey is unique, so one set of BibTeXkey-***.pdf files
are related to one bib entry, and there is no confusion.

Since all databases are self-contained, it is safe to remove some orphan pdf
files from the "File directory".


>
> It could of course be done anyway, with the appropriate warnings.
It will be good to list all related (,to be deleted) pdf files in a popup
window, and the real deleting needs a confirm from the user.

> Also, deleting a single entry and its files would be less risky.
Yes, entry deleting should be performed one by one and with a lot of care.
>
> --
> Morten
Thanks.
>

Huang