Best Digital Product Organizer?

[boffo01]

Sorry if this has been done to death elsewhere, but I've tried to search to no avail.

Now my DriveThruRPG library is getting bigger and I've numerous other pdfs (legit) downloaded, I'm finding the division between the DriveThru desktop app (which is really not very good anyway) and the other files a little on the annoying side. What do people think is the best desktop organizer and reader of digital publications?

 

[MNblockhead]

I have the DriveThruRPG desktop app installed and my purchases backed up, but I find that I never go there to access my PDFs.

I also copy everything to Google Drive and that's how I access them. For frequently accessed items, like rule or adventure books for games I'm currently running, I have the PDFs synch'd for offline mode and pull up with my PDF reader.
I have a tendency to over organize and have things foldered in Google Drive, but what I'm finding most helpful is using Google Gemini to find PDFs that I know I have but can't remember the names of. It is also great for looking up rules without having to find and open the PDFs.

 

[chuckdee]

Be careful with that- I had a friend that had their whole google account banned for having such in it. That's why I never trust any material in gdrive.

 

[MNblockhead]

As for reading, on my laptop I will use the built in reader in Google Drive for quick lookups, but I am going to read at length, I use PDF Expert on my mac. The nice thing about viewing the document in Google Drive is that Gemini will summarize it for you can you can prompt Gemini with questions about the content.

The one thing I don't like is that when I find a document in google drive and want to read it PDF Expert, I have to either download it and open it or (what I usually do) or navigate the Drive for Desktop folders in Finder (or Windows Explorer if on a Windows PC) and open it. I wish drive was smart enough to know that the computer your using it on is synchronized through Drive for Desktop and give you the option to open in your PC's default PDF Reader.

 

[MNblockhead]

Be careful with that- I had a friend that had their whole google account banned for having such in it. That's why I never trust any material in gdrive.

Tell me more. I back up my most important folders in Google Drive off line. But that is for the unlikely scenario where Google loses my content or the marginally more likely scenario that I want to migrate to another file‑management system.

To be banned, I would think that there must be evidence of improperly sharing copyright-protected material, especially with public shares.

 

[chuckdee]

Tell me more. I back up my most important folders in Google Drive off line. But that is for the unlikely scenario where Google loses my content or the marginally more likely scenario that I want to migrate to another file‑management system.

To be banned, I would think that there must be evidence of improperly sharing copyright-protected material, especially with public shares.

To my knowledge, he was sharing a directory with us, his group, for a PBEM. In one of the GM folders, he had a copyrighted file. Not public, just accidentally in a sub-folder that was included in the hierarchy. Gone with no recourse. The worst part was, it synced to his home computer and deleted all of his files on his home computer before he caught it. That's the unforgiveable part to me.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Sorry if this has been done to death elsewhere, but I've tried to search to no avail.

Now my DriveThruRPG library is getting bigger and I've numerous other pdfs (legit) downloaded, I'm finding the division between the DriveThru desktop app (which is really not very good anyway) and the other files a little on the annoying side. What do people think is the best desktop organizer and reader of digital publications?

Microsoft Windows.

 

[kronovan]

Other than TTRPG specific folders on my Windows desktop and laptop, with a typical organization of \adventures, \settings, \maps and \homebrewed content subfolders, I don't really have a management system. As a former software developer, I've been reading and creating PDFs since the early 90s, so I guess using folders sort of comes 2nd nature to me. I do the same on my Android tablet, but usally focus more on storing PDFs I'll need around the tabletop.

For online storage, I use both google drive and Box.net, but I don't do any kind of syncing with them. I do occasionally share folders on Box.net, which has worked well. With Google shutting down some community apps a few years back with little warning, I don't have much trust in them. I'm also not impresseed with the minimal amount of storage they provide for feeebie accounts - Box.net gives me 4 times the volume at no charge. I've been slowly moving my gdrive PDFs to my box account, so that I can be done with drive.

As to readers, I use Foxit PDF Reader on my desktop and laptop, and Xobo Reader on my tablet. I consider Xobo to be the stronger of the 2, which is saying a lot considering its running on a tablet with a fraction of the computing power of my desktop. I stay far and clear of Adobe products, including their craptastic PDF reader.