Zotero and reading lists

jongiff

Is it possible to incorporate a list of readings into the body of a document and maintain the live link to Zotero? My purpose in this case is developing a syllabus, with a list of readings week by week. I know I can copy the reference into the body of the document, but it loses its link to my Zotero library at that point. I can also use footnotes, numbered references or author-date, but that means the full reference is either in the footnote or in the reference list.

bwiernik

It's a trivial change to a style to make this happen. What style do you want?

jongiff

Chicago would be fine. Thank you!

bwiernik

Download the CSL source file for Chicago (full note) from here: https://www.zotero.org/styles/chicago-fullnote-bibliography

Open the file in a text editor like Notepad or TextEdit. In the very first line, change:
class="note"
to:
class="in-text"

Change the style title and id lines to something else (to avoid overwriting the standard Chicago style). Save the file and install the style in Zotero.

General guidelines on editing CSL files here:
https://www.zotero.org/support/dev/citation_styles/style_editing_step-by-step

jongiff

Thank you very much bwiernik.

I have created a new xml file on my computer. I can't quite figure out how to install it. From Zotero preference/Cite/Styles the "Get Additional Styles" link takes me to the Zotero Style Registry and clicking the "+" link I am able to see the xml file in my directory but it is greyed out and won't let me select it.

I'm missing something simple, probably.

I'm on a Mac using Firefox latest versions.

Thanks so much for your help.

Jonathan

bwiernik

The file type needs to be .csl (just change your file extension from .xml to .csl).

jongiff

I'm close, but....

I'm getting an error from Zotero that it is not a valid style file. The full style is too long to paste into this comment, and the comment features of this discussion forum renders the HTML instead of showing it, but perhaps you will be able to see the problem.

BTW, changing the type of the file was a little more difficult. In Finder on the Mac, I used "get info" on the file and changed the file type there, and was prompted whether I really wanted to change the file type, which I did.

Thanks again.

Jonathan

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>


Chicago Manual of Style 16th edition (note) in-text
http://www.zotero.org/styles/chicago-note-bibliography-in-text

bwiernik

It's hard to say what's wrong without seeing your code. To share long code on the forums, making a "Secret Gist" here: https://gist.github.com and post the link here.

In any event, I made a version of the style myself that you can download here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fchtpdqgi91abrq/chicago-fullnote-reading-list.csl?dl=0

jongiff

That works perfectly!

Many thanks. I'm a recovering Pascal/Fortran programmer from the '70s, so I need all the help I can get!

Jonathan

jongiff

This solution offered by bwiernik has taken care of my problem, for which I am most appreciative.

A reading list style may offer a broader application for Zotero for those assembling reading lists for course syllabi or other purposes. Perhaps this could be a future Zotero feature.

One suggestion is that it would be better if the reading list style handle multiple sources in a single Zotero reference, putting each reference in a single paragraph, and preserving sequencing instead (i.e., not alphabetizing). As written right now the reading list style puts multiple references in a single paragraph, separated by semicolons, like a footnote. So in order to have a sequenced list of entries each reference must contain a single source.

My thanks again for the assistance.

pworthin

Have been looking for a solution to same problem for long time, just found this today. Works great! I now have a way to create a weekly reading list with Chicago-style full citations listed by week. Thanks!

bentle

@pworthin
This looks like it would be very useful, but the Dropbox link to the style doesn't work for me. Where did you download it?

Thanks very much.

damnation

The instructions for how to change this style to the wanted outcome is documented in the 4th post. You can give that a try.

pworthin

@damnation: yes. Those are the instructions I followed. I'm not super tech-y, but I could do it. Here are copy/paste instructions, with my comments:

Download the CSL source file for Chicago (full note) from here: https://www.zotero.org/styles/chicago-fullnote-bibliography

[PRW: I use Chrome, and the link generated a pop-up window, "download this Zotero style?" or something like that. I downloaded to a local folder on my laptop.]

Open the file in a text editor like Notepad or TextEdit. In the very first line, change:
class="note"
to:
class="in-text"

[PRW: Notepad works fine.]

Change the style title and id lines to something else (to avoid overwriting the standard Chicago style).

[PRW: I simply appended my initials to existing strings, e.g.,
Chicago Manual of Style 17th edition (full note) (PRW)

Save the file and install the style in Zotero.

[PRW: I saved the file locally with new name (appending my initials to old name). I believe I then simply double-clicked on the file and was prompted "did I want to install/add to Zotero?" or something. (I already had Zotero open.) My Zotero now lists styles including original (Chicago Manual of Style 17th edition (full note)) and my edited version (Chicago Manual of Style 17th edition (full note) (PRW)). I use my PRW style for putting a syllabus together--allowing me to "group" references by week, or by topic, or whatever darned order I want. Very nice now!]

bentle

Thanks so much for the detailed instructions. I had seen the slightly more abbreviated instructions and was feeling anxious after also seeing the troubles that jongiff experience.

I've followed your instructions and it works perfectly. This is a great way to put together a reading list.

Thanks!