EBSCO Host

csilab.bradley
I can not save any PDFs from EBSCO Host due to a translator error. Is there a way to get around this?
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  • adamsmith
    EBSCO doesn't save pdf attachments, but there shouldn't be a translator error - you'll need to be more specific in reporting bugs.
  • ajlyon
    I've just worked out some changes that enable PDF saving from EBSCO.

    Please go to http://github.com/ajlyon/translators/raw/master/EBSCOhost.js and save the file to the translators directory of your Zotero data directory (http://www.zotero.org/support/zotero_data).

    It should start working. If this works for you, please post here so that I can submit this change to be pushed to all users.
  • shanaheinricy
    Nope. Didn't work for me. But your directions are very unclear. There was no way to "save" the web site to the translator directory. So I copy and pasted your code into Notepad, and saved it as a Ebscopdf.js in Unicode. I'm no programmer, so I think it was in Unicode, but there are different types of Unicode. I just set it for plain old unicode. Then I dragged the file into my translator directory. Then I went to Ebsco and tried downloading and only the file came, not the PDF.

    I thought maybe there was a problem with too many Ebsco translators. So I move EBSCOhost to my desktop, and changed the file name of the new translator to EBSCOhost. When I tried it then, zotero only downloaded the zotero record, whereas previously it downloaded the zotero record and the EBSCO Record as a child attachment.

    Almost all of my research is done with Ebsco, so I really need it to download PDFs or Zotero isn't useful to me. Please let me know what I did wrong.
  • dstillman
    shanaheinricy: You're profoundly overdoing this. Right-click (Control-click on a Mac) on the link ajlyon provided, choose Save Link As…, and save it to your translators directory. File->Save Page As… after viewing the file would also work. Replace the existing translator.
  • dstillman
    But actually, don't bother for this, because you should already have the updated translator if you have 2.1.10 or 3.0b2 of Zotero. So replace whatever version you have now with the current one.
  • shanaheinricy
    Thanks Dan! After I posted my message I tried it the way you mentioned. I don't what I was thinking at the time. I do have 2.1.10 downloaded today, on a year-old desktop with Windows 7. I want to use zotero as a replacement for endnote. When I replace the translator with the current one (the link you give me) or the link ajilyon gave (they're probably the same but I didn't check), it still doesn't enter pdfs into zotero and it does not list the abstract. The translator the program came with included the abstract when I imported from Ebsco.

    I really don't know what else to try. If anyone has solutions, please let me know.
  • shanaheinricy
    Oh, I do use a proxy for the Indiana University library.
  • adamsmith
    when you hover with your mouse over the icon in the URL bar, what do you see? If it _doesn't_ say EBSCOhost (or something with EBSCO in it), please post a full URL here, including proxy.
  • sdspieg
    Does this still work? Alternatively, does anybody know whether there is a way of getting EBSCO results that were emailed into Zotero? Thanks!

    -Stephan
  • adamsmith
    The regular EBSCO translator - i.e. the URL bar icon - should work, yes.
    I don't know in what format EBSCO e-mails articles, I would guess that you can't get them into Zotero, but I'd have to see how such an e-mailed entry looks.
  • sdspieg
    Thanks for that quick response. I get a 'known translator issue' on Ebsco though. Is there an address I can send some emailed entries to? Before seeing this thread, I thought emailing pdf's was the only way to actually get a whole bunch of pdfs (other than downloading manually one by one of course)...
  • adamsmith
    if they're not in a clearly identifiable data format like RIS or Bibtex they can't be imported to Zotero.
    Zotero's translator doesn't work for saved folders (or whatever that's called on EBSCO) if that's what you're trying to use. There is currently no way to get data and pdfs from such a folder from EBSCO into Zotero.

    Search results should work though. If they don't, let us know which database and which search terms.
  • sdspieg
    I just saw sthg about the need to use proxies for EBSCO, so let me look into that first. But yes, it's just a regular search on ALL Ebsco databases; the search string is "causes N3 (security OR insecurity)".

    Incidentally, this is what an Ebsco record looks like in my gmail. Seems like it could be parsed - just not sure about how to deal with the pdf attachment...

    Record: 49

    Title: Elasticity.
    Authors: Hoagland, Jim
    Source: New Republic; 5/17/2004, Vol. 230 Issue 18, p30-34, 5p
    Document Type: Book Review
    Subject Terms: *BOOKS -- Reviews
    *WORLD politics
    *NONFICTION
    Reviews & Products: SOFT Power (Book)
    SURPRISE, Security & the American Experience (Book)
    People: NYE, Joseph S., 1937-
    GADDIS, John Lewis
    Abstract: Reviews the books "Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics," by Joseph S. Nye Junior, and "Surprise, Security, and the American Experience," by John Lewis Gaddis.
    Full Text Word Count: 3329
    ISSN: 00286583
    Accession Number: 13054343

    Persistent link to this record (Permalink): http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=13054343&site=ehost-live

    Cut and Paste: <a href="http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=13054343&site=ehost-live">Elasticity.</a>

    Database: Academic Search Complete
    Notes: Full-text may be available at the publisher's website
    Copyright of New Republic is the property of TNR II, LLC and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.

    13054343.pdf
    3170K View Download

    Thanks!
  • adamsmith
    Zotero can't parse that, no.
    I maybe could be, but there's currently no parser for it.
    For the search, I'll have a look. Are you using standalone or Zotero for Firefox?
  • sdspieg
    I have both. But in this case, I was trying Firefox, with the icon in the URL-bar...
  • sdspieg
    I made sure I set the proxy to the same university which I use to search, and it now does seem to work. It's slow, but it really DOES download pdfs as well! But for some reason, it only seems to be downloading SOME records, and not all of them (I have the default set on 50 - could that be the problem?)
  • adamsmith
    it won't catch items from all databases - I don't know if we can do something about that, if you try to track down which ones work and which ones don't I can have a look, but no promises.
  • sdspieg
    I'd be happy to help out. But is there any way to figure out what the 'catching' actually does (or does NOT do) through a log or sthg? I have now waited a long time, and of the 50 first hits, Zotero has actually saved 45. And at first glance, it's hard to tell what did and/or did not work and whyy. E.g. I have a bunch of cites from SocINDEX with Full Text that DID make it, and a few that did not (one was in Turkish, but at least one other one as just in English)...
  • adamsmith
    I thought - at least when this was last reported - that the items not caught by Zotero are not in the list of items displayed when you hit the folder icon. I could be wrong about that, though.
  • sdspieg
    That makes sense :) But still, it's hard to tell, as the order in which Zotero catches them seems to differ from the order in which Ebsco displays them. That's why I asked about a log. But do I understand correctly that no log is created in this process?
  • adamsmith
    edited February 22, 2012
    It would also be helpful to make sure that's actually the problem - i.e. selection only one or two of the items that didn't import and see if they import when they're not part of a large batch. It could very well be that something - more likely on EBSCO's side than on Zotero's - times out or so when you're downloading too much at one. 50 items, presumably with scanned and larged attachments are a substantial download.

    There is a log that you can turn on, but it contains a _lot_ of information, so might be too much to go through - for 50 entries we're likely talking >10k lines of debug output.

    Forgot the link: http://www.zotero.org/support/debug_output
  • sdspieg
    Hmmm... it IS big indeed. But we'll go through it, and will try to diagnose the issue. We'll report back on that. In the meanwhile, is there any way to know when the javascript is actually done with all articles? It does indeed seem to take a long time (but that's fine by us, as long as it does it properly), but we never know when it's done. And I presume we have to wait for one page to finish, before moving on the next page of 50 articles, right? (and I'm talking on the Zotero side here, NOT the EBSCO side)
  • DWL-SDCA
    EBSCO may not allow you to rapidly request and download that many records. For example, Google Scholar has limits. Also, for any of several reasons, there may be limits set by your instition's library.
  • adamsmith
    If you just want to diagnose the issue, you may be better off installing Scaffold - since it won't actually download the pdf files it should be much faster and you get a systematic display of all the item data.
    http://www.zotero.org/support/dev/translators/scaffold
    (you want to use the 3.0 version).
  • ajlyon
    For clarity, I've now removed the old release of Scaffold from the documentation, since Zotero 3.0 is out of beta.
  • sdspieg
    edited February 25, 2012
    AJ or Adam - could you just already tell me, though, whether I should wait before all pdfs are downloaded before moving on to the next page, or whether I can just go ahead without waiting?
  • sdspieg
    edited March 23, 2012
    For what it's worth - this functionality is still very much 'hit ot miss' for me. Just now, for instance, a first set of articles downloaded just fine (after about a 10 minutes-wait), but the next batch (same Firefox, no standalone, same URL, same proxy config, same 'Academic Search Complete) I get a 'translator error' (again after about a 10 minutes-wait). Third batch - everything works fine again. Does this work reliably for others?
  • yaelzr
    I have read a variety of threads on this Ebsco issue.
    I have the latest Firefox and Zotero.
    I can import the actual reference from Ebscohost, but I cannot drag and drop the PDF.
    I tried to change the Ebso preferences (tried all of them), none worked.
    I already have the latest translator from the latest version in Zotero (I use online, not stand alone, have W7 if that matters).
    From what I can figure out, our institution does use proxy. Is that the issue?
    What do I need to do in order to be able to get PDFs from EbscoHost? 99% of the papers I need are from there and I keep having to "refind" them because I cannot import the actual PDF.
    I did all this work to switch all my references that I had before into Zotero, but what is the value if I cannot use it effectively in an ongoing manner?
    Is there a solution to importing PDFs from EbscoHost?
    It is such a key database, I cannot believe this has not been resolved.
  • adamsmith
    this hasn't been resolved because it's complicated, because local EBSCO implementations vary etc. It's resolved for most people using Zotero for Firefox (in Zotero Standalone this will typically not work).
    I did all this work to switch all my references that I had before into Zotero, but what is the value if I cannot use it effectively in an ongoing manner?
    These types of comments aren't super helpful...

    We'd have to know an example of a reference you're looking to see if this is a general problem or limited to you. (either a permalink or a database and title of an article).
    We'd want to see a full URL - including your proxy - as you see it.

    Also, I don't know what you mean by drag&drop pdfs from EBSCO?
  • yaelzr
    Thank you for your prompt response.

    To clarify: I am not using standalone. I am using the web version of Zotero. Most up to date one, and most up to date Firefox. i have W7, if that matters. However, my research assistants working on a variety of platforms have the same exact problem.

    What i mean by "drag and drop" is that when I look at the page of the reference (some examples shown below), I can click the Zotero icon in the address bar, and it will import the reference in. However, it will not import the PDF with the reference.

    **This is actually the case in all databases (even though in my preferences i have "automatically add PDF" checked off). So perhaps there is a more global issue here with respect to PDF importing?**


    Regardless, I have a work-around where usually, I can simply click on the PDF icon, drag it to the line with the name of the reference in zotero, let go -- and the PDF is copied into there (this is actually how the librarian that taught the system here told us to do). So the lack of automatic PDF is not always painful.

    However, in EbscoHost, this drag and drop process does not work. I simply cannot get a copy of the PDF to attach to my reference, so each time I have to search for the paper over again if I want to see what is in it (not just the reference).

    So here is an example of a link where "drag and drop" works just fine (database:sciencedirect):

    Repeated choosing increases susceptibility to affective product features:
    http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167811606000280


    And here are a few EbscoHost examples that do not work (the reference can be imported, but the PDF cannot be):

    Don’t interrupt me! Task interruption depletes the self’s limited resources:
    http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=20d867d6-be93-4267-b75e-c0ea6e761a8d%40sessionmgr104&vid=1&hid=122&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=pbh&AN=52995723

    I felt low and my purse feels light: depleting mood regulation attempts affect risk decision making:
    http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=fb91a120-8806-425f-b4f4-981b15a45596%40sessionmgr113&vid=1&hid=122&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=bth&AN=36637684

    Ego Depletion and Self-Control Failure: An Energy Model of the Self's Executive Function:
    http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=03cfea75-c404-44c0-8755-52b8b8fa5662%40sessionmgr110&vid=1&hid=122&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=pbh&AN=6410116

    please let me know if further info is needed.

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