Papers for Mac

For those who conduct extensive research and writing on their Macs, organizing this information for later use can be difficult. Papers for Mac works well to sort this data, and advanced students or researchers will likely benefit from the program.

Papers for Mac is available as a free trial version with unknown restrictions, while the full version costs $79 to unlock. While the download and installation took place quickly, the program required acceptance of an extremely long user agreement, which is uncommon for this type of program. Upon startup, the program recognizes the new user and prompts entry of basic settings, including the subject area of the research. Information is automatically imported from the computer settings, which is a nice feature. There are no easily accessible instructions, but the menus themselves are fairly easy to use for those with research experience. The program allows users to import PDF files for sorting and labeling. This allows for easier retrieval and use for actual writing in papers or articles later on. These can be divided by source, as well, from magazines, to books, and even websites. The program also links to its smartphone version, although this feature was not tested. Users can also share, print, and search the archived documents for keywords, which are critical features for this type of application.

While not likely helpful for the average user, those who need to manage large numbers of research documents and papers will find Papers for Mac a functional option.

Editors' note: This is a review of the trial version of Papers for Mac 2.4.9.