Unable to import from CSL JSON file

bmhj
I generated a CSL JSON of references from a shared library to which I lost access when I changed jobs.

Now I can't import the references from the list into Zotero 7.0.11. When I try, I get the message that "The selected file is not in a supported format". The JSON was generated by Zotero 7 - can't remember which version number - so this seems unlikely.

Debug logs have been submitted using ID D640642542, or I could attach them on request.

Can anyone help me work out what's going on here?
  • dstillman
    edited 13 days ago
    Restart in Troubleshooting Mode (Help → "Restart in Troubleshooting Mode…”), which temporarily disables all plugins, and make sure this still happens. You can also try resetting translators from the Advanced → Files and Folders section of the Zotero settings.

    If that doesn't help, can you link to the file or send it to support@zotero.org with a link to this thread?

    (Note that, in the future, you'd want to export as Zotero RDF, not CSL-JSON, to keep as much data as possible, though you should still be able to import CSL-JSON.)
  • bmhj
    Thanks. I'd already tried those steps based on some searches of the forums, but tried them again now. No change. I've sent the file via email.
  • dstillman
    edited 13 days ago
    "type":"Article"
    Did you export this from a computer with Better BibTeX installed, and did you use "Better CSL JSON"? The type name shouldn't be capitalized, and it's breaking the import. I'm not sure if this is something Zotero itself can actually export. If it is, I'm not able to reproduce it (even trying type: Article in Extra).
  • bmhj
    Thanks, that is useful to know. I no longer have access to the computer I used, but yes, Better BibTEX was installed. I think I used the Better CSL JSON export, but I am less certain about this.

    Is the `type: Article` problem a one-off, as far as you're aware? i.e. if I were to replace that string in the file with something compliant with the spec, would I get an import that worked? I appreciate this might be difficult to say: I'm just weighing up different recovery options.
  • dstillman
    You probably want to import with the BBT translators enabled, since that's what created this in the first place, and there's data (e.g., citation keys) that won't be properly handled without that. You have BBT enabled but don't seem to have its translators.
  • bmhj
    OK, that's really useful and it explains a lot, thank you. I'm not sure how they got disabled but a lot of functions that BBT was providing have stopped working since the Z7 upgrade, and I haven't been able to understand why.

    How would you restore them? Is it just a matter of uninstalling and reinstalling the plugin? I'm sure I've done that since the upgrade.
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