How to get my old bibliography onto my new computer

pkauf750
Hi:

I'm writing a book and recently changed computers. I saved a copy of my bibliography on an external hard drive as well as a thumb drive.

My problem is I can't figure out how to get the bibliography onto my new computer, so when I type in "zbib" all of the entries are there.

I can see all of the files that I saved but I don't know how to bring them over.

Please help.

Thanks.

PS. I should mention that I'm 72 and somewhat computer illiterate.
  • dstillman
    Are you asking about ZoteroBib or Zotero? If you really mean ZoteroBib, be sure to always mention that in the thread title, or else everyone will assume you're referring to Zotero.

    ZoteroBib is stored entirely in your browser, though, so I'm not sure what you mean by "I saved a copy of my bibliography on an external hard drive as well as a thumb drive".

    You can transfer a ZoteroBib bibliography between devices by using the "Link to this version" button, copying the URL, and clicking Edit Bibliography on the new device. But if this is an extended project, you really want to be using Zotero, not ZoteroBib. The latter is intended for one-off bibliographies, not long-term projects.

    You can import a ZoteroBib bibliography into Zotero using the Save to Zotero button, after installing both Zotero and the Zotero Connector from the download page.

    More info: https://zbib.org/faq#should-i-use-zoterobib-or-zotero
  • pkauf750
    Thanks for your response.

    Your response is very helpful and I will see if I can get the old bibliography imported.

    Please let me clarify my dilemma. I'm working on a book and was using Zotero Bib on my old computer, through Firefox.

    I didn't know that it was best to used Zotero instead of zbib, but I understand I could import it into Zotero.

    The problem is when we purchased a new computer, as I was unable to access my zbib bibliography. As I mentioned, I took care to make copies of the zbib bibliography on two external drives--a thumbdrive as well as an external hard drive.
    I can see that the files are all there on these two sources. I just need to import them into my new computer so I can resume building my bibliography.

    Thanks again.



  • adamsmith
    But as dstillman says, zbib is a web tool -- what exactly did you save? what files are you seeing?
  • pkauf750
    Hello:

    There are 14 different categories that I see and shortcuts for each of them:

    autosave
    bib
    bibliography-title
    cite
    citeproc
    copy
    deleting items
    editing
    export
    link
    main
    manual entry
    remove-xs
    style-selection

    I should add that "main" is a Javascript file. The others are Microsoft Edge files.
    I'm sorry, but as I mentioned, I am pretty computer-illiterate. I have installed Zotero on my new computer but can't figure out how to get the old date over.

    Many thanks for your time.
  • adamsmith
    Those won't help.
    Do you have, one level higher in your file system, a file called
    ZoteroBib_ Fast, free bibliography generator - MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard citations.html (would also likely show as an Edge file)?
    If so, there's a chance the data are in there, but it'd definitely not be a non-technical task to get them out of there. How many items (roughly) are we talking about?
  • pkauf750
    Yes, it is listed as a file folder, with those files or headings I mentioned included under it.

    We are talking about 100 to 200 items.
    Incidentally, I did print them out and have hard copies of all but the last 50 items.
  • adamsmith
    edited May 4, 2023
    The file folder doesn't help. Do you have a file of the same name, ending in html (depending on your system settings you may not see the . html)?
  • pkauf750
    Also, the bibliography appears to be in a file that is in a JavaScript file. It is by far the largest file.

    Thanks.
  • adamsmith
    It's not. See my question above
  • pkauf750
    OK, I will check that. Thanks.
  • pkauf750
    Sorry, but all I see in HTML are a series of Microsoft Edge files of 1-2 KB.

    They are:
    autosave
    bibliography - title
    cite
    citeproc
    copy
    deleting-items
    editing
    export
    link
    manual-editing
    remove -xs
    style-selection
  • adamsmith
    You want to look one level up, at the same level where you see the folder containing those.
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