How to bulk import plain text notes

mvalle

I have notes scattered in a myriad of text files that I want to import as standalone notes in Zotero.

Is there anything already available?

Otherwise I plan to write a simple script to transform each of them into Zotero RDF. Not difficult but if possible I want to avoid this step. But the biggest problem is that I have to import each rdf one by one. Very time consuming.

Thanks for your help!
mario

ajlyon

If you are familiar with Python, you can use pyzotero to create notes from the files and upload them: https://github.com/urschrei/pyzotero

For an example of an automated upload using the library, see the CSV example linked here; you should be able to read in the text files and create notes in much the same way.

zobro

I have the same question, but unlike Mario, I have no script-writing skilz. In the year since this thread started, has the ability to bulk import (thousands of) text files been incorporated, and if not, can anyone recommend a work-around to get these files into Zotero, short of cutting and pasting?

PS, this sort of software capability is sought by the world at large: http://ask.metafilter.com/175388/Help-me-organize-my-text-files

Thanks for any help, info
Ryan

adamsmith

no, nothing of the sort exists.
Since Zotero is mostly a reference manager, I'd also guess that for the sole purpose of dealing with notes, a simpler, less feature-rich program focused on notes and note-taking would probably work better.