Copy Citation (Bookends)

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laup
Knows everything, can prove it
Posts: 311
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2006 4:13 am
Location: Topanga, California

Copy Citation (Bookends)

Post by laup »

As a public-service announcement, sort of, let me describe a problem I've had and a very clunky "solution." Perhaps this will help others and perhaps someone will tell us how to deal with it better.

Problem: on my iMac, but not my MacBook Pro, both using Mojave, Copy Citation often doesn't work for adding a Bookends citation to a point in Mellel text. I can create the citation by sliding the reference from the Bookend pane to the point in Mellel text. And, if the citation is already in the document, I can add an additional citation to the same reference by double-clicking the reference in the Mellel Bibliography pane (assuming Live Bibliography is on). It's only the "Add Citation" feature that doesn't work, but that's quite an annoyance.

In the past, I have several times been able to reinstitute the functionality by reinstalling Mellel and Bookends. But not always and, for a long time, not today until after a number of attempts with variations. I ended up doing all of the following:

-- Turning permissions OFF in System Preferences/Security/Privacy for Mellel to talk to Bookends and vice versa.
-- I reinstalled Mellel yet again (I had reinstalled Bookends earlier, upgrading in the process). This included removing the Mellel folder in Library/Applications Support (after saving a copy just in case).
-- I turned permission back on in System Preferences.

In earlier go-rounds with this problem, I had done nothing with System Preferences, assuming that would take care of itself after removing and reinstalling apps. It didn't.

All is well again, but the problem may arise again, perhaps after an update of the operating system, Mellel, or Bookends. It relates to Apple Events and Apple's efforts to prevent unintended communications. When first using the apps, the user is asked about granting permission. Subsequently, however, strange things can apparently happen. I do not have the problem on my MacBook Pro and neither the Redlers or Bookends folks have been able to reproduce it. I suspect, however, that others in the community have encountered it.

It would be very nice to know a streamlined fool-proof way to reestablish the communications when and if they break again.
Paul
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