What I would like more than more output styles...

chrisalbon
What I would like more than more output styles is a tutorial on making our own output styles for zotero.

I know it uses an open source structure for the output, but nowhere is a simple tutorial on making them and importing them into zotero
  • bdarcus
    Yes, I know, I know; CSL needs documentation. In my defense (I'm the author), I'm busy beyond belief (am a professional academic too).

    Also, CSL is currently undergoing some changes before we freeze it for a 1.0 release. Once we get to that point, I hope we can find the time for documentation sooner rather than later.

    As for importing, the way Zotero currently does this is quite awkward. The ideal approach—and I think on the board for some post-1.0 release—is that Zotero load files from URLs. Think distributed repositories of styles.
  • chrisalbon
    Thanks bdarcus, I eagering await CSL progress.

    I have experience with xhtml / css / php, so "coding" isn't foreign to me. But after staring at the CSL website I still couldn't figure out exactly what the rules were. And, since importing is so difficult I couldn't figure it out with trial and error.

    I bring this up because whenever I suggest using Zotero to people, they inevitably ask "does it output in APSA format?" (which it doesn't).
  • dstillman
    One place to start would be the csledit.xul tool, which is included in the latest 1.0.0rc2 release.

    Its functionality will eventually be integrated into our Scaffold tool, but in the meantime you can load it up by going to the following URL in a Zotero-enabled Firefox:

    chrome://zotero/content/tools/csledit.xul

    Select some sample items in Zotero and then select the APA style from the drop-down to see an example of the new CSL format.
  • bdarcus
    edited September 15, 2007
    chrisalbon: if you can figure out how to read RELAX NG (which is really easy as far as XML schema languages go) take a look at the current draft schema. In that same directory there's an APA style that is a good model. If you have any questions, post them on the xbib dev list.

    And what Dan said on how to test. Just whatever you do, make sure you're valid against the schema. People have been really sloppy about this.
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