Editing Word docs with Zotero

Hippophae

Here's a newbie query for you: How does one work with Zotero in going through an editorial process with an individual who does not use Zotero? I assume that the changes made to the text of a Word doc with references formatted using Zotero, such as the re-ordering of entire sentences and paragraphs, would not be reflected in the references, which would have to be "refreshed" at my end to correct their order. I also assume that one would first make a copy of the working document and remove the codes. When the edited copy came back from the editor, one would incorporate the editorial changes in the original document and refresh the references to bring them into order. If there is an easier way of going about that, I would certainly like to know.

adamsmith

Essentially that's it - the only thing I can think of (but haven't tried) is that both Word and OpenOffice (and LO, NO) have "compare document" functions that may come in useful.

Hippophae

Thanks for your reply. In the case of an editor with Zotero installed, is it then also true that they could refresh the references as they edit before returning the Word doc to the sender? Is anything else required in order for them to do so?

adamsmith

With Zotero 3.0, yes (the citation data is embedded in the document).
With Zotero 2.1 and before, pretty much no - unless all the references come from a group that both of you have access to, the editor will receive a "item is not in your Zotero database" warning for every item when s/he opens the Word doc.

Hippophae

With Zotero 3.0, will it make any difference to the embedded citation data if the version is the standalone or Firefox one and whether the platforms the Word docs being edited are Mac at one end and Windows at the other? If not, this is a great advance. It would also explain in part why my local university is incorporating Zotero in their campus network. A heart-felt thanks is due to you and to everyone else involved in this software. Thanks also for your prompt replies, which is refreshing in itself!

adamsmith

neither should make a difference. Standalone vs. Firefox definitely not (they're the same under the hood), Mac vs. Windows certainly shouldn't, but I'd test this to make sure (and if it doesn't work report back).

Hippophae

I have yet to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the Standalone versus the Firefox version. I wasn't able to install the standalone, so I went with the Firefox version. When 3.0 is no longer Beta, I will be eager to try it and happy to report any problems in cross-platform editing.