Find and organize papers
Use folders, filters, reading states, graph view and citations without losing your place.
The Library is the project’s working collection. Its paper list loads in batches; filtering and sorting apply to the complete project result, including papers you have not scrolled to yet.
When a paper shows +N after its authors, select it to reveal every name without opening the paper. Select the author line again to shorten it. The paper detail has the same +N control.
Choose the right organizing tool
| Tool | Best for |
|---|---|
| Folder | A stable structure. A paper may be filed in several folders. |
| Tag | A label that crosses folders. |
| Smart folder | A private saved filter and sort that recalculates as papers change. |
| Favourites | A personal shelf of papers you want close at hand. |
Folders side by side need different names; capitals don’t count, so “Core reading” and “Core Reading” clash. The same name is fine inside another folder. Deleting a folder removes its filing links, not the papers inside it. Archived and recently deleted papers have separate shelves and restore paths.
Reuse and manage tags
You need permission to organize papers in an active project. In the web Library, use a paper’s + Tag control or choose Add tag… from its context menu. Start typing to find a tag the project already uses. Use the arrow keys to highlight a suggestion and press Enter to apply it, or select the suggestion directly. With no suggestion highlighted, Enter applies an exact name match or creates the new name.
Capitals and spaces around a name do not create another tag: RESNET and resnet reuse an existing resnet, keeping its spelling and colour. Imports and accepted tag suggestions use the same rule. The same name in another project is independent.
Rename, recolour, merge and delete tags from the Tags sidebar. These changes affect every paper carrying that tag in the project. A rename cannot take another tag’s name; use merge to combine them, keeping the target’s name and colour. A case-only rename changes the shared spelling. Removing a tag from one paper leaves it on the other papers.
Restore a deleted paper
In the web Library, open Recently deleted. Each deleted paper shows its deletion date and Kept until permanently deleted. Papers stay recoverable without a time limit, unless the project owner permanently deletes the paper or its parent project is permanently removed.
Choose Restore on a paper’s card to return it to the library. The button works with the keyboard too. To recover several papers, choose Select papers, select the papers and choose Restore selected. If only some restore successfully, the others remain selected so you can retry. Restoring papers requires permission to remove papers from the project; archived projects must be restored before their contents can be changed.
Add paper and paper imports are unavailable on Archived and Recently deleted. You can still filter those shelves to find a paper.
Delete a paper permanently
Only the owner of an active project can permanently remove a deleted paper. In Recently deleted, open that paper’s context menu and choose Delete permanently…. Check the named paper and the removal warning before confirming, or choose Cancel to keep it recoverable. Permanent removal cannot be undone; other papers and project notes remain, while citations to the removed version lose their links.
If someone restores the paper while the confirmation is open, Distari refuses permanent removal. Delete the paper again only if you still intend to remove it permanently. Permanent deletion acts on one paper at a time.
Narrow the list
The library’s Filters control includes reading state, research area, method, language, notes, annotations and dates. You can combine conditions with AND, OR and NOT, then save the result as a smart folder. Quick search finds title, author, identifiers, venue, keywords, tags and indexed paper text across the project, even when a different folder is open.
Your own reading state is Unread, Skimmed or Read. Reader progress can advance it automatically, and a paper you keep open in the detail view for a few seconds moves from unread to skimmed; you can also mark papers read or unread from the list or detail view. The SIG badge is a combined significance score, not a quality verdict. A dash means a paper has not been scored. Understand significance explains the bands.
Explore relationships
Switch List to Graph in the library to see the same filtered set as a citation and similarity network. Select a node to inspect its connections. The graph needs at least three drawn papers; suggested outside papers appear only when you enable them.
Take references out
Use Cite and export on a paper, selection, folder or project to copy a formatted reference or export BibTeX, RIS, CSL JSON, plain text, Markdown or DOCX. The built-in formats cover common styles, but incomplete source metadata still needs your review.