Feature request: Export pdf file location to bibtex

[osocurioso]

The location of the pdf file could be exported to bibtex in the format

file = {:reldir/paper.pdf:PDF},

where 'reldir' is a directory relative to some user configurable top level directory (for example the current directory) and 'paper.pdf' is the name of the pdf file.

In this way, other reference managers (notably JabRef) would be able to find the pdf.

[tmills]

It's pretty easy to do something like this, just not sure the format since I don't use that field myself. Would something like this work:

@Article{
abneyjohnson91,
author={Steven P. Abney and Mark Johnson},
file={/home/tmill/Projects/PaperManager/abney_johnson_j_pscyholing_91.pdf:PDF},
journal={Journal of Psycholinguistic Research},
number=3,
pages={233--250},
title={Memory Requirements and Local Ambiguities of Parsing Strategies},
volume=20,
year=1991,
}

[osocurioso]

From my .bib files where I have used JabRef, the format of the 'file' field seems to have a set of colon symbols ':' enclosing the actual file name. Multiple files can be pointed to by using semi-colon ';' as a separator. Here's an example:

 @ARTICLE{byers:prl:v74:p306:y1995,
    author = {Jeff M. Byers and Michael E. Flatt{\'e}},
    title = {Probing Spatial Correlations with Nanoscale {Two-Contact} Tunneling},
    journal = {Phys. Rev. Lett.},
    year = 1995,
    volume = 74,
    pages = 306,
    number = 2,
    file = {:phys-rev-lett/prl_v74_p306_y1995.pdf:PDF;:phys-rev-lett/prl_v74_p3305_y1995_erratumfor_prl_v74_p306_y1995.pdf:PDF},
    doi = {10.1103/PhysRevLett.74.306}
 }

[tmills]

A few issues:

1. I can't get jabref to properly read that field; I manually set the file to point to a pdf, it shows the pdf icon in the interface, but the status message says 'unable to open link'.

2. I can't find any documentation for a 'file' field with this format, so I'm suspecting it is just a made-up one by JabRef? If that is the case I guess my preference would be to allow exports to use the JabRef file field but not make it part of the standard bib representation that is exported. Does that sound reasonable?