Smart Library

Overview

Your Smart Library is the heart of GeminiPaper. It's where you organize, search, and manage all your research papers with powerful AI-assisted features.

Library Views

Grid View

Visual card-based layout showing:

• Paper thumbnails (first page preview)
• Title and authors
• Reading status badge
• Tags and categories
• Quick action buttons

Best for: Browsing and visual scanning

Switching to Grid View

1. Navigate to Library
2. Click the Grid icon in the top right
3. Adjust card size with the slider

List View

Compact table layout displaying:

• Title, authors, and date
• Status and tags
• Last accessed time
• Quick filters

Best for: Sorting and bulk operations

Switching to List View

1. Navigate to Library
2. Click the List icon in the top right
3. Customize visible columns in settings

Compact View

Minimal density for large libraries:

• Single line per paper
• Essential metadata only
• Fast scrolling
• Keyboard navigation

Best for: Large collections (100+ papers)

Reading Status

Track your progress through your library.

Status Types

Todo

Papers you plan to read:

• Icon: 📋
• Use for: Reading list, future reference
• Auto-actions: None

Reading

Papers you're currently reading:

• Icon: 📖
• Use for: Active research
• Auto-actions: Moves to top of library

Completed

Papers you've finished:

• Icon: ✅
• Use for: Finished papers, references
• Auto-actions: Archives after 30 days (optional)

Changing Status

Quick change:

• Click the status badge on any paper
• Select new status from dropdown

Bulk change:

1. Select multiple papers (checkbox)
2. Click Actions → Change Status
3. Choose new status
4. Click Apply

Organization Features

Tags

Flexible labeling system for papers.

Creating Tags

Method 1: From paper details

1. Open any paper
2. Click + Add Tag
3. Type tag name
4. Press Enter

Method 2: From settings

1. Go to Settings → Tags
2. Click + New Tag
3. Enter name and choose color
4. Click Create

Tag Examples

By Topic:

• machine-learning
• climate-change
• quantum-computing

By Priority:

• must-read
• review-later
• reference-only

By Project:

• phd-thesis
• grant-proposal
• paper-2024

By Type:

• methodology
• literature-review
• case-study

Tag Best Practices

1. Use consistent naming - Lowercase with hyphens
2. Don't over-tag - 3-5 tags per paper maximum
3. Create hierarchies - ml > ml-nlp > ml-nlp-transformers
4. Review regularly - Merge similar tags monthly

Collections

Group related papers together.

Creating Collections

1. Click + New Collection
2. Enter collection name
3. Add description (optional)
4. Choose icon and color
5. Click Create

Adding Papers to Collections

Method 1: Drag and drop

• Drag papers onto collection in sidebar

Method 2: Paper menu

1. Right-click on paper
2. Select Add to Collection
3. Choose collection
4. Click Add

Method 3: Bulk add

1. Select multiple papers
2. Click Actions → Add to Collection
3. Choose collection
4. Click Add

Collection Examples

• PhD Literature Review - All papers for dissertation
• Current Projects - Active research papers
• Teaching Materials - Papers for courses
• Favorite Methods - Papers with useful methodologies
• To Cite - Papers to reference in writing

Projects

Connect papers to research projects.

Creating Projects

1. Go to Projects page
2. Click + New Project
3. Fill in details:
   • Project name
   • Description
   • Start/end dates
   • Collaborators (Team plans)
4. Click Create

Project Features

• Kanban boards - Organize papers by stage
• Timelines - Track progress over time
• Notes - Project-specific notes
• Milestones - Set deadlines and goals
• Export - Generate bibliography for project

Search & Filters

Basic Search

Fast search across all fields:

1. Click search bar or press /
2. Type your query
3. Results appear instantly
4. Press Enter to open top result

What Basic Search Looks For:

• Paper titles
• Author names
• Keywords and tags
• Abstract text

Advanced Search

Powerful query syntax for precise results:

Search Operators

Exact phrase:

"machine learning"

Exclude terms:

neural networks -deep

Field-specific:

author:Smith
title:"climate change"
year:2023

Boolean operators:

(AI OR "artificial intelligence") AND healthcare

Wildcards:

neur* (finds neural, neuron, neurological)

Filters

Narrow results by criteria:

Available Filters

Date Range:

• Last 7 days
• Last month
• Last year
• Custom range

Authors:

• Select from your library
• Multi-select enabled

Status:

• Todo
• Reading
• Completed

Tags:

• Filter by one or more tags
• "Match all" or "Match any"

Collections:

• Show papers in specific collections

Projects:

• Filter by project assignment

Using Filters

1. Click Filters button
2. Select filter criteria
3. Apply filters
4. Save filter combination for reuse

Saved Searches

Save frequently used searches:

1. Perform a search with filters
2. Click Save Search
3. Name your search
4. Choose if you want notifications for new matches
5. Access from sidebar later

Use cases:

• "New papers in my field this week"
• "Papers by favorite authors"
• "Unread papers tagged 'important'"

Sorting

Organize your library view:

Sort Options

• Date Added (newest/oldest)
• Publication Date (newest/oldest)
• Title (A-Z / Z-A)
• Author (A-Z / Z-A)
• Last Accessed (recent first)
• Relevance (when searching)

Custom Sort

Create complex sorting:

1. Click Sort → Custom
2. Add multiple sort criteria
3. Set priority order
4. Save as default

Example: Sort by Status (Reading first), then by Date Added (newest first)

Bulk Actions

Perform actions on multiple papers at once:

Selection Methods

Manual selection:

• Click checkboxes on papers
• Or press Shift + Click to select range

Select all:

• Click checkbox in header
• Or press Ctrl + A

Smart selection:

• Filter papers first
• Click Select All Filtered

Available Bulk Actions

• Change Status - Update reading status
• Add Tags - Apply tags to all selected
• Add to Collection - Move to collection
• Assign to Project - Link to project
• Export - Download as bibliography
• Delete - Remove from library (with confirmation)

Library Statistics

View insights about your collection:

Dashboard Widgets

Access via Library → Stats:

Reading Progress:

• Papers read this week/month/year
• Reading streak
• Average reading time

Collection Size:

• Total papers
• Papers by status
• Papers by year

Tag Cloud:

• Most used tags
• Emerging topics
• Tag trends over time

Author Network:

• Most frequent authors
• Co-authorship patterns
• Discover new authors

Import & Export

Import from Other Tools

Import libraries from:

Zotero

1. Export from Zotero as BibTeX
2. In GeminiPaper: Import → Zotero
3. Upload .bib file
4. Map fields (if needed)
5. Click Import

Mendeley

1. Export library as RIS
2. Import → Mendeley
3. Upload .ris file
4. Review mappings
5. Click Import

EndNote

1. Export as XML
2. Import → EndNote
3. Upload file
4. Click Import

CSV/Excel

1. Prepare spreadsheet with columns
2. Import → CSV
3. Map columns to GeminiPaper fields
4. Import

Export Your Library

Export papers and metadata:

Export Formats

Bibliography formats:

• BibTeX
• RIS
• EndNote XML
• Word (with citations)

Spreadsheet formats:

• CSV
• Excel (.xlsx)

Data formats:

• JSON (complete data)
• PDF (with annotations)

Export Options

1. Select papers to export (or all)
2. Click Export
3. Choose format
4. Select what to include:
   • Metadata only
   • PDFs
   • Notes and highlights
   • AI summaries
5. Click Download

Backup & Sync

Automatic Backup

All paid plans include:

• Real-time sync across devices
• 30-day version history
• Automatic backups (daily)
• Data redundancy (multiple servers)

Manual Backup

Create local backups:

1. Go to Settings → Data
2. Click Create Backup
3. Choose what to include
4. Download backup file
5. Store safely

Recommended: Monthly backups of complete library

Keyboard Shortcuts

Work faster with shortcuts:

Navigation

• / - Focus search
• n - New paper/upload
• g l - Go to Library
• g p - Go to Projects
• ? - Show shortcuts help

Selection

• j/k - Move up/down
• Space - Select/deselect
• Shift + j/k - Select range
• Ctrl + A - Select all

Actions

• Enter - Open paper
• s - Change status
• t - Add tag
• Delete - Remove paper

Tips & Best Practices

For Large Libraries (100+ papers)

1. Use collections liberally - Don't keep everything in one view
2. Tag consistently - Establish naming conventions early
3. Regular maintenance - Weekly review and cleanup
4. Archive old papers - Move completed papers to archive
5. Use projects - Group by active research

For Team Libraries

1. Shared collections - Create team-wide collections
2. Naming standards - Agree on tag and collection names
3. Access controls - Set permissions carefully
4. Communication - Use comments and notes
5. Regular syncs - Schedule team library reviews

For Students

1. Organize by course - Create collections per class
2. Track assignments - Use projects for papers and presentations
3. Collaboration - Share collections with study groups
4. Citation management - Export for papers frequently
5. Review before exams - Use AI summaries for quick review

Next Steps

Explore related features:

Need Help?

Managing a large library? We can help:

• Email: support@geminipaper.com
• Video tutorials: Available on our YouTube channel
• Webinars: Monthly library management sessions