get library from doc file

Hi,
I wrote a scientific article more than a year ago, containing all the citations and the bibliography at the end (made with Zotero). I then have a doc file that contains all the informations I need. However I changed computer and my zotero library is now empty. Can I "scan" the doc file and get a library back in zotero ?
Many thanks and sorry if that has already been answered elsewhere.
  • The best solution is to retrieve your library from your original computer. But juris-m may be able to extract references. If this doesn't work, see https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/importing_formatted_bibliographies
  • edited August 11, 2016
    What noksagt said. But also:

    Did you regularly sync from your old computer to your Zotero online library? If so, logging into your account and syncing from your new computer should bring your library back.

    If you didn't sync and you still have live Zotero field codes in your document, report that here and someone will offer suggestions. {See Juris-M}

    If you do not have a document with field codes, all is not lost -- but, alas, much is lost. There are software scanners that can read from your document and (by educated guessing) attempt to put your references in a format that can be imported into Zotero. I have very limited success with this. At best each record required a lot of editing.
  • Thanks. I didn't synchronize so much because i had the pdf attached and quickly ran out of space online. However, the document is the original one with the codes (when I click on a reference the entire reference becomes gray). I will try harder to get it back. I have another question. My boss, who uses bookends, needs a file to import my references there. In my library there were many references that were not cited in my article. How do I export only the one that I used in the article ?
    Many thanks again.
    Thierry
  • edited August 11, 2016
    Note that the sync limits are only for file syncing of those attachments. All of the reference metadata would be synced.

    There is no way to extract a document-specific list of references from your greater zotero library unless you have somehow tagged or categorized them manually.
  • Oh really ??
    I thought that when I ran out of space even metadata were not synced.... ARRRRG !
    Many thanks for your help guys !!!
  • Hello,

    Thank you for this thread! I am having the exact same problem. New computer, migrated apps, but the data (library) did not come with it. I had time to wipe my old computer before realizing. Is there any chance that I have a file lying around somewhere among my documents that I also migrated, that could contain the library?

    If not, what options do I have to/how do I import references from the field codes directly from my article?

    Many thanks!
  • what options do I have to/how do I import references from the field codes directly from my article?
    If you have .docx Word files, you can use http://rintze.zelle.me/ref-extractor/.
  • Thank you so much! This really saved me loads of work!
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