Zotero notes in CSV file are not readable: html vs plaintext format

neelo

Hello,
I exported a Zotero library in CSV format and opened it with Numbers on Mac.
The database looks perfect, except the notes that include formatting details (like <p>link </p> <p> <p>&nbsp) and no space - unreadable. How could I see the notes properly?

dstillman

Zotero notes are HTML, and Zotero keeps that intact when exporting rather than discarding data (e.g., links and formatting). We could consider converting them to plaintext for CSV, which is more likely to be read by humans, but not sure what others think.

neelo

Thanks! I think it would be really useful to have the notes in plaintext (like in the zotero reports).

Zotero notes are the most important for me to analyse my data - and I really need a way to gather all the notes in one excel sheet.

neelo

Or can you recommend a tool that would easily convert html text in a column to plaintext?

adamsmith

If you just cut the notes column and paste it to
http://xmlgrid.net/htmlToText.html
convert, and then copy&paste it back, that should work nicely, no?
I think people are also using the .csv for database import, so I'm not loving the idea of stripping the html out.

neelo

I understand...

It didn't work with the link above but it did with http://www.webtoolhub.com/tn561393-html-to-text-converter.aspx or http://www.phpjunkyard.com/tools/html-to-text.php

However, I get one big chunk of text with all the notes... I have to do it cell by cell to be able to have a clean database... not a good solution.

Did you notice that "Abstract notes" appear in plaintext? Why is that?

Is there a way to create different options when exporting a library to csv? so we could choose if we need html or plaintext?

adamsmith

Abstracts don't contain HTML in Zotero, either. They are plaintext fields.

neelo

OK... so if I got it right a CSV file will give:
Notes in HTML
Abstract note in plaintext

Then, why is it OK for most Zotero users to have Abstract notes in plaintext, but not the Notes?

May there be a way to provide options for people to choose depending on the use they make of their CSV file?

internationaled

I am creating an annotated bibliography using Notes, but when I export to Excel, I have the same problem: HTML. I understand that we could try running this through an HTML-stripping tool, but our team members don't have that particular skillset. I am looking for a larger editing tool than what appears in the Extras field.

@dstillman, you mentioned the possibility of exporting to CSV as plain text. Is that still a possibility? Maybe as an option in export rather than the default?