Organise your PDFs the way you shelve books
· 3 min read
Many readers own more books as files than on paper, and couldn't say how many. The PDFs pile up in a folder named "scan_0042" or "book final (2)". You don't lose these books; you just stop knowing you have them.
A name that says something
Author, title, year: three elements are enough. A readable filename beats ten subfolders, because the system search will find it even when the filing is untidy.
One file, one record
What really changes things is attaching the PDF to a record, the way you attach a book to its shelf. The record knows whether you also own the paper copy, where it is, whether you've read it.
That's why Qimtar accepts PDFs: they live next to the paper copy, under the same record, and your progress follows the page.
Poor scans
Keep them if it's the only version, but say so in the record. The day you buy a better edition you'll know which one to replace.