customize source info fields

cgood
As far as I can tell, I can't customize the fields in the "info" tab for sources. It seems like this would be useful, for a number of reasons:
-for people using archival material, they could add the fields they needed to keep track of box #'s, etc.
-I personally would rather have fewer fields even available, so I didn't have to scroll through
-for improving note-taking--in my ad-hoc system of taking notes on books in Word, I had a template with fields for thesis, main points, and theoretical angle. This was hugely helpful for comprehensive exams
  • hmarcuse
    I agree. Instead of adding a gazillion new citation formats for the most obscure types of sources, make a feature that lets a user create custom defined Info fields. These would probably not export as citations, but not all records one creates in Zotero are intended to be used as references. Sometimes we just want to store and map information and examine it within the program.
  • Santayana
    Is there any movement on this issue? I've just joined Zotero in order to organize an Annotated Bibliography for a major philosopher who sometimes wrote poetry and plays. It's nice that we can cite such things as e-mails and instant messages -- but what about standard literary texts?

    I don't see how I can cite entries as poems, short stories, plays, novels, etc. Have I missed this function somewhere? Or maybe it's now possible to customize fields and I just haven't found this function yet?

    Any/all advice greatly appreciated.
  • Gracile
    edited July 30, 2012
    No movement on this issue. Cf. http://forums.zotero.org/discussion/18587/custom-fields-on-the-radar-at-all/

    How would you cite poems, short stories, plays, novels? Why the existing types (in zotero) are not sufficient at the moment?

    As ajlyon wrote in this topic:
    In considering changes to item types and fields, it is important to remember that item types in Zotero are best understood as a set of fields and a set of ways they tend to be styled. That means that the best argument for new fields or types is that a certain type of data or citation is presently impossible to represent in Zotero.
  • adamsmith
    no movement and there won't be anytime soon.
    afaik no major citation style distinguishes on how to cite a short story or poem in a collection from how to cite a chapter in a book, which is why those don't have their own category.
    (Btw. while "e-mail" and "instant message" have zotero categories (though in retrospect they probably shouldn't have) in terms of citations they all get treated as "personal communication" (as do letters).
  • Santayana
    I guess I was thinking in terms of searchability. I thought that scholars might be able to search for all "poems," for example -- but I see now that I was gravely mistaken about the usefulness of group libraries as a whole.

    I was under the impression from this:

    1) "Searching Notes
    While it is not possible to search notes while using the note editor, their contents is searchable by using the regular Zotero search" (from this page: http://www.zotero.org/support/notes )

    and this:

    2) http://www.zotero.org/support/screencast_tutorials/basic_search -- which includes phrases like: "It's easy to find items in your collection using Zotero's basic search" and "As you type, Zotero will display all items in your collection which have the search term in them" and "These simple searches search all the fields of information in your collection"

    that I could produce an annotated bibliography in Zotero that would be fully searchable. I think I understand now that this is not the case. Am I mistaken?

    If such a thing is not possible with Zotero, do you happen to know of a good way to produce and share a fully searchable annotated bibliography?

    Many thanks in advance for any guidance you can provide.

    NB: Although #1 is not an entirely clear sentence, I took it to mean that the contents of notes are included in searches.
  • Gracile
    I guess I was thinking in terms of searchability. I thought that scholars might be able to search for all "poems," for example
    You can use tags. One tag for "novels", another one for "poems", etc.
    I was under the impression [...] that I could produce an annotated bibliography in Zotero that would be fully searchable
    I'm not sure I understand exactly what you mean by "searchable" but I think your impression was right.
  • adamsmith
    NB: Although #1 is not an entirely clear sentence, I took it to mean that the contents of notes are included in searches.
    yes they are, you understood that correctly (but not in the default quick search, which only includes authors, titles and years so it's faster - you can click on the little arrow next to it to search for all fields).
  • Santayana
    Okay, then chalk me up as the most embarrassing sort of newbie. I'm understanding part of this, but not (apparently) all of it.

    I see now that key words from notes I input are found in searches, but I still get "no items found" when I search for terms I know to be found in the "abstract" field of an entry. Are "abstract" fields not searchable?

    By "fully searchable" I mean that I expected to be able to type a term into the search box and have the site search my library in every field for that term.

    I see an arrow next to search in my own library, but I do not see a way to advance search on the public page.

    More thanks for your continued patience!
  • adamsmith
    I believe the search bar for the online version of your library currently doesn't include abstracts - iirc improving online search functionality is planned.

    The "fully searchable" in the documentation refers to the local version of the Zotero database, where you can indeed search abstracts and even attachment content.

    If you want to allow for a maximum of searchability for an online library, you can create it as a public group, which other people can sync to their clients (where they can use all of Zotero's functionality to search it).
  • Santayana
    Thank you for your quick replies. I really do appreciate them.

    I guess I was confused by the fact that the tutorial here: http://www.zotero.org/support/screencast_tutorials/basic_search seems to show a web page (though not the Zotero page), not the local version.
  • adamsmith
    remember that Zotero started out - and is still for many users - a Firefox plugin, i.e. you always see a webpage above Zotero.
    The actually search in that video takes place in zotero though: Note how the user clicks on the Zotero icon on the bottom right and Zotero opens.
  • Santayana
    Right. I guess I was thinking of the "local" version as the version I work on (where I upload and add things, etc. before I sync to the page where everything is shared).

    The little video looks much more like the shared online page than the local page.

    I'll have to do some thinking about whether Zotero will be useful to us or not.


    At any rate: many thanks for all your help. Whether or not Zotero works out for us, you have been very kind.
  • dstillman
    edited July 30, 2012
    The little video looks much more like the shared online page than the local page.
    No, it doesn't. The Zotero for Firefox interface—the bottom half of that window—is nearly identical to the Zotero Standalone interface that you're presumably using locally. Again, the web page showing above the pane in that video is entirely unrelated to the Zotero interface. That's just a web page loaded in Firefox.

    You can follow most of the videos on the site if you just keep in mind that the Zotero for Firefox interface—the bottom half of the window—is equivalent to your Zotero Standalone interface.
  • Santayana
    Ah. I see now. You're right. I was confused by the top of the webpage continuing to show at the top of the Zotero interface once it is opened.

    Any timeline on improving online search functionality?
  • dstillman
    No timeline, but improvements are definitely planned. (They require additional Zotero API functionality.)
  • Santayana
    Thank you.

    I hope this is the last question of the day: Am I correct that searches of libraries synced to the online site only search the first 10 words of notes attached to entries?
  • dstillman
    The online search currently searches only titles and creators. For notes, there's an implicit title made up of the first 80 (approximately) characters of the note.
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