Almost persuaded....

I’m about as close as I can get to purchasing EagleFiler. I almost got a competitor’s product when I found out their program didn’t have a reasonable ‘notes’ section.

I have only one question. If I store a Pages file in EagleFiler, can I add notes to that file? Specifically, the file contains quotes from an individual. If I happen to find other quotes by him, can I copy/paste them into that file?

EagleFiler cannot edit the contents of a Pages document, but you can use the Notes field in the Info inspector to add notes to it.

Oh no…then it’s got the same problem DevonThink has?

If you double-click on the file, it will open in Pages. Then you can add whatever you want.

I store many types of files in EF, and use external applications to edit them.

An alternative is to store your quotes as an RTF or RTFD file, then you can edit it inside EF.

The basic issue is that Pages uses its own proprietary file format that no other applications know how to edit. So you would need to use Pages to edit the file that’s in EagleFiler, or use an interchange format such as RTF or plain text that multiple applications know how to read and write.

Okay, I’m beginning to ‘get it’. Would you mind telling me, if I have a file in EF with quotes, exactly the steps I would take to add via copy/paste other quotes to it? Do I just double-click the file name in EF, then when it comes up (in Pages?) I paste the quotes in, and that’s it, and then the new quotes appear in the File I’ve got in EF?

For a Pages file, you would double-click it in EagleFiler, paste in your new quote, and then choose File > Save.

Or for an RTF file, you could simply paste into the viewer pane in EagleFiler.

Depending on what you’re trying to accomplish, it might make more sense to store each quote as a separate file. In that case, you could get it into EagleFiler in one step, e.g. by selecting the text and pressing Command-% or by dragging and dropping the text into the EagleFiler window.

I didn’t see a way to Edit my last post… Just as an ‘aside’ question. I don’t see any way to ‘Zoom’ in on a document that appears in the lower half of the main screen. The Zoom functions are grayed out and the PDF manual doesn’t address zooming. Is the document that shows in the lower half of the screen actually meant for you to read it, or just there for looks?

The zoom commands are for viewing PDF files. For files such as Pages documents that EagleFiler previews via Quick Look, there is no zooming. If you make the window and viewer pane large enough, you’ll be able to read the text of the first page. To see more, you’ll need to open the document in Pages.

This is getting discouraging. So the lower panel is just for looks? It doesn’t let you read or scroll thru the document? I wonder why they put the panel in there, to make us think it actually serves a purpose when it doesn’t?

The viewer pane is fully functional for file types that EagleFiler knows how to read (plain text, RTF, OpenDocument, Microsoft Word, PDF, Web archives, etc.). Pages uses a proprietary file format that only Pages knows how to read. Apple only allows access to a low-resolution preview of the first page, so that’s what EagleFiler shows. This is not an attempt to trick you but rather to show as much information as possible—a limited preview is better than none, right? To have full access to your documents in EagleFiler (and in other applications), don’t use the Pages format.

Michael, thanks for that explanation. Let’s say I have a document in Pages I want to view in EF. Before I put it in EF, how do I change it to an RTF file so I can see the whole thing in the viewer (lower pane)?

You can use the File > Export command in Pages to create an RTF version of your document. The RTF can then be viewed and edited in EagleFiler, TextEdit, Word, etc.

Thanks Michael, I’ll go try that!

pages questions
You may want to rethink your workflow a little bit. (I have, after getting EF.) My projects typically involve, like yours (it sounds like), quotes from sources, Word documents I’m using to write and organize a piece (whereas you use Pages), pdf’s and Web archives that serve as further source material.

I use RTF files for things like notetaking and maintaining to-do lists. That makes EF much more user-friendly. I have a file for each interviewee. Using RTF files, you can either type quotes into the window of EF (the easiest way) or double click and open up the actual file. (that’s sometimes useful if you want to have multiple notes-windows open.)

I only use Word (for you read: Pages) for more intense word-processing functions like outlining and drafting. For simple notetaking, it’s a pain to have to open the files with an external program just to add a few lines.

I guess Word must be more compatible with EF than Pages, as I can scroll and search (but not edit, of course) using the EF window. (PS: I see that Michael already addressed this point. Yes, Word is more compatible.)

Rtf
TextEdit is convenient for such note-taking in rtf and editing in EF.

This is going to take a little more study. Actually, now I’m using Scrivener for writing, but I’m trying out several PIM’s to see which will prove to be an all-in-one. Some come close. That’s to everyone who responded here. I’m listening.