Upgrade StorageLinking Zotero entries in MS Access DB
Hi all,
I'm looking for solutions to implement centralized scientific journal paper/books/patents citation management in a company, and there are various needs regarding data re-use and workflow integration apart from the usual metadata extraction and PDF storage association. Zotero standalone plus FF plugin combo might fit the bill, but I'm still struggling with external database integration.
In particular, I'd like to pull selected Zotero reference metadata into an MS Access database or Excel (to build pivot tables). Ideally, I'd have a mechanisms by which an administrator can select a journal paper/book chapter or patent from a local or group library (using the Zotero interface) and either copy the metadata into Access, or link to the record through a unique identifier. In effect, this ideal scenario would be citation insert mechanism just like in Word.
I'm aware of the SQLlite ODBC driver and can connect to the Zotero DB, but for lack of documentation the load of raw data spread over so many tables is a bit overwhelming (not to mention potential issues for future maintenance, given some hints here and there the scheme might change over versions).
Also, this hookup mechanism would require building a separate search interface, which I'd like to avoid if possible.
In short:
- Has anyone found a add-on to Zotero or Access, or premade Access template DB to repurpose Zotero data in Access or Excel in any way?
- Is there a known way to recycle the Word citation insertion mechanism in Access or Excel?
- For lack of easier mechanisms, has anyone used the Zotero APIs to extract data into either Acces or Excel?
Many thanks in advance,
G
I'm looking for solutions to implement centralized scientific journal paper/books/patents citation management in a company, and there are various needs regarding data re-use and workflow integration apart from the usual metadata extraction and PDF storage association. Zotero standalone plus FF plugin combo might fit the bill, but I'm still struggling with external database integration.
In particular, I'd like to pull selected Zotero reference metadata into an MS Access database or Excel (to build pivot tables). Ideally, I'd have a mechanisms by which an administrator can select a journal paper/book chapter or patent from a local or group library (using the Zotero interface) and either copy the metadata into Access, or link to the record through a unique identifier. In effect, this ideal scenario would be citation insert mechanism just like in Word.
I'm aware of the SQLlite ODBC driver and can connect to the Zotero DB, but for lack of documentation the load of raw data spread over so many tables is a bit overwhelming (not to mention potential issues for future maintenance, given some hints here and there the scheme might change over versions).
Also, this hookup mechanism would require building a separate search interface, which I'd like to avoid if possible.
In short:
- Has anyone found a add-on to Zotero or Access, or premade Access template DB to repurpose Zotero data in Access or Excel in any way?
- Is there a known way to recycle the Word citation insertion mechanism in Access or Excel?
- For lack of easier mechanisms, has anyone used the Zotero APIs to extract data into either Acces or Excel?
Many thanks in advance,
G
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mronkko2The first question is what is the problem that you are trying to solve by replicating Zotero data into access? I do not known what the problem that you are trying to solve is, but developing against the Zotero APIs directly would seem a more straightforward approach than to set up database synchronization and then develop against Access. I have not seen anyone on the forums stating that this has been done. Yes and no. You might be able to reuse some code, but essentially you would need to code a new "word processor plugin" for these software. You should check the code of the word processor plugins to see what is required of the plugin. The rest is of the functionality (including the dialog) is provided by Zotero. I have not seen anyone on the forums stating that this has been done.