BibTex export fails to abbreviate journal names

fabbraun
Dear all,

After having desperately tried many reference managing softwares during my PhD I am finally using Zotero which I very much like. In contrast to other tools it is free, has (mostly) all the necessary functions, is simple and works mostly smoothly.
Thanks a lot for your efforts you put in the development!

Now to my issue/question:
I'm using LaTeX and exporting my library to a BibTex (*.bib) file.
When I choose export library and also check the box "Use Journal Abbreviation" only the entries which have the non-empty fields "Journal Abbr" got changed, i.e. the "journal" entry in the bib file gets "filled" with the "Journal Abbr" field of Zotero (if not empty) and else with the "Publication" field (if "Journal Abbr" is empty).

What I would like to achieve is an AUTOMATIC abbreviation of all journal names.
For example that the "Journal Abbr" field is automatically updated via processing (and abbreviating) the "Publication" fields.
Does this feature exist in Zotero? Is it planned for the future?
I thought having read about this feature but apparently it only applies to citation via Word Processors like Word/OpenOffice, is that correct?

Thanks for your feedback,
Fab
  • adamsmith
    Look at https://github.com/retorquere/zotero-better-bibtex (which you'll want to use anyway). It has this feature. I think it's already available in the Zotero 5-compatible version.
  • fabbraun
    I was looking into BetterBibTex a few weeks ago but didn't dare installing it as it is still in beta/testing for Zotero 5.
    However, now I've installed it and it works like a charm! Definitely a MUST HAVE for Zotero when using LaTeX!
    The only PITA was to change the 170 citation keys :-/

    Regarding Zotero (without better bibtex) it would be good to have at least a hint (in a manual) which states that journal abbreviations are not made automatically for BibTex ... else I think that's pretty confusing...

    Thanks a lot,
    Fabian
  • emilianoeheyns
    You didn't have to change the citation keys -- you could have picked a pattern to resemble what you had -- if you previously used the Zotero BibTeX exporter, "[zotero]" would have done the job.

    The parts of BBT that are finished are in a pretty good state now.
  • fabbraun
    ah, thanks for the hint regarding "[zotero]". i'll consider it for my next PhD :-)
    in any case, good to know and also good to share with others...
    thanks a lot!
  • emilianoeheyns
    Nice academic humblebrag there Mr (Mrs?) serial PhD :)
Sign In or Register to comment.