Streamlining Research Workflow: Organizing Papers and eBooks

When dealing with large collections of files, such as research papers or ebooks, finding and opening the right file can be a time-consuming task. In this blog post, we’ll explore a Bash script that streamlines this process by providing a convenient menu for selecting and opening PDF or DJVU files. With just a few modifications, you can adapt the script to suit your specific needs.

Setting Up the Script:

Let’s start by setting up the Bash script. Create a new file called “open_files.sh” and open it in a text editor. Copy and paste the following code into the file:

#!/usr/bin/env bash

# Set the directories where your files are located
papers_dir=~/PhD/PDFs
ebooks_dir=~/Dropbox/eBooks

# Save find result to arrays
mapfile -t paper_array < <(find "$papers_dir" -type f \( -iname "*.pdf" -o -iname "*.djvu" \))
mapfile -t ebook_array < <(find "$ebooks_dir" -type f \( -iname "*.pdf" -o -iname "*.djvu" \))

# Combine the arrays into a single array
combined_array=("${paper_array[@]}" "${ebook_array[@]}")

# Check if the combined array is empty
if [[ ${#combined_array[@]} -eq 0 ]]; then
    echo "No files found in the specified directories."
    exit 1
fi

# Declare an associative array to store filenames and paths
declare -A files

# Populate the files array
for file_path in "${combined_array[@]}"; do
    filename=$(basename "$file_path")
    files["$filename"]=$file_path
done

# Generate a list of filenames for the selection menu
gen_list() {
    for file_name in "${!files[@]}"; do
        echo "$file_name"
    done
}

# Prompt the user to select a file
selected_file=$(gen_list | rofi -dmenu -i -sorting-method fzf -sort -no-custom -location 0 -p "Select File")

# Open the selected file using xdg-open
if [[ -n "$selected_file" ]]; then
    xdg-open "${files[$selected_file]}"
fi

Customization:

Now that the script is set up, you can customize it to fit your workflow:

1. Adjust the directory paths: Modify thepapers_dir and ebooks_dir variables to match the directories where your files are located. For example, you might have research papers in one directory and ebooks in another. Update these paths accordingly.

2. Add more file types: By default, the script searches for PDF and DJVU files. If you have files of different formats, such as EPUB or MOBI, you can modify the find commands to include those extensions as well.

3. Customize the selection menu: The script uses the rofi utility to display a selection menu. You can modify the options passed to the rofi command to change the appearance or behavior of the menu. Refer to the rofi documentation for more information on available options.

Conclusion

With this Bash script, selecting and opening PDF or DJVU files becomes a breeze. By customizing the directories, file types, and selection menu, you can adapt the script to your specific needs. This simple yet powerful tool can significantly enhance your productivity when dealing with large collections of files. Give it a try and streamline your file access workflow!