√ [MLZ] How is the "Hints" file used?

wonblee
I noticed that a new "Hints" file has been uploaded on the MLZ site.
http://citationstylist.org/tools/

How is that file supposed to be used? From the looks of it, it can be used to automatically abbreviate journal names even if a short form isn't available in the .JSON file. Can it?
  • fbennett
    Yes. With the Abbreviation Filter, journal abbreviations, title and the other field categories are abbreviated on a complete match. The entries in a Hints file are applied to words and phrases within a field, to generate a suggested abbreviation. So if you have a journal title:
    Smallville Law Journal
    and the Hints file contains:
    {
    "container-phrase": {
    "Law": "L.",
    "Journal": "J."
    }
    }
    The Abbreviation Filter will initially abbreviate the journal name as:
    Smallville L. J.
    If the abbreviation is not correct, you can fix it up through the Abbreviation Filter UI, either from within the word processor, or (with the latest version of the Abbreviation Filter and MLZ) through the "CSL Editor" in MLZ.

    The suggested abbreviations generated in this way are stored in the Abbreviation Filter against the selected style for future reference. If the abbreviations are exported, they will be included.
  • aurimas
    edited October 5, 2013
    Frank, do you have documentation somewhere about the structure of the abbreviation files? I was particularly interested in the way jurisdictions and categories are supposed to work, because Zotero currently ignores jurisdiction altogether.

    Edit: Oh, and perhaps you know how the Zotero abbreviations file was generated. Is there a script somewhere?
  • fbennett
    The best reference is currently the MLZ book (Citations, Out of the Box), at pages 34-38 (a PDF download is linked in the announcement page).
  • fbennett
    The source for the abbreviation files (for general use, including projects outside CSL), is here. The data comes from multiple sources, including abbreviations listed in a paper copy of Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (recast in the structures used by the plugin), and corpus analysis work in the CourtListener project.
  • aurimas
    Thanks. Regarding abbreviation list generation, I was referring to the abbreviation list in Zotero, which is composed of MEDLINE abbreviations and LTWA "hints". I guess you weren't involved in generating that. I've asked Simon about this a couple times, but I think he's currently quite busy with his school work.
  • RintzeRintze
    Simon is probably just monkeying around.
  • fbennett
    Yes, that one's out of my orbit.
  • wonblee
    If the abbreviation is not correct, you can fix it up through the Abbreviation Filter UI, either from within the word processor, or (with the latest version of the Abbreviation Filter and MLZ) through the "CSL Editor" in MLZ.
    Is the "CSL Editor" in MLZ what you see at chrome://zotero/content/tab.xul? I'm not particularly fond of that editor, for you really can get lost easily in a long code and the browser's "find" function doesn't work inside the codes pane.
    At the risk of hijacking my own thread, is there further development on the CSL-m editor front? (Last time I asked, there wasn't much. https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/29022/mlz-best-way-to-edit-cslm-file/)
  • wonblee
    I don't see the "Hints" button in the classic window after downloading the hints file. Where does the file have to go after downloading?

    Can you import the Hints for another style too? It looks like the Hints are to be used with "mlz american law style" for now, but can you import them in another style too?
  • fbennett
    Hints are not editable through the UI, so there is no list button for them. To make changes, you'll have to edit the JSON file directly, then re-import it (you can import a Hints file to any style). On import, the entire set of hints will be replaced for the target style.
  • fbennett
    Is the "CSL Editor" in MLZ what you see at chrome://zotero/content/tab.xul? I'm not particularly fond of that editor, for you really can get lost easily in a long code and the browser's "find" function doesn't work inside the codes pane.
    Me neither, but it's the best thing available for small changes to an MLZ/CSL-m style at the moment. The more sophisticated Visual Editor doesn't work with the MLZ styles, unfortunately.

    (The URL you meant to cite is chrome://zotero/content/tools/csledit.xul, I think.)
  • wonblee
    Hints are not editable through the UI, so there is no list button for them. To make changes, you'll have to edit the JSON file directly, then re-import it (you can import a Hints file to any style). On import, the entire set of hints will be replaced for the target style.
    I see. I wish that description was in the MLZ Book, which is already a wonderful documentation. I didn't realize the Hints file was to be manually imported into MLZ just like any other abbreviation files.
  • wonblee
    I'm a little surprised that the word "insurance" in the title of a journal article was abbreviated as "ins." by the filter after importing the Hints. Having read p.35 of the MLZ book, I think this change was an innocent bystander when the "Title" category was triggered. Can the "Title" category limit abbreviating to court case titles and leave journal article titles alone?
  • fbennett
    I think you're right: we shouldn't be touching ordinary titles with the Hints phrases. I have a tentative fix: if you send me your mail (via the Inbox link on the forums), I can send you a couple of XPI install files for testing.
  • wonblee
    edited December 9, 2013
    The Hints file is abbreviating journal titles again. This time "technology" and "system" to "tech." and "sys.", respectively. It was fixed a while ago, but the problem is back.
  • fbennett
    It's meant to take effect on journal titles. If you don't want hints, you can install the empty file (at the bottom of the page):

    http://citationstylist.org/tools/
  • wonblee
    Sorry. I meant to have said "article titles", not journal titles. If you see five comments above, you'll see what I mean.
  • fbennett
    If you export the item that produces that result as Bibliontology RDF, save it to http://gist.github.com as a Public Gist, and post the URL back to this thread, I can take a look.
  • wonblee
    Here you go.
    https://gist.github.com/anonymous/7891107
  • wonblee
    Would changing "title-phrase" to "container-title" in the third line of the Hint file be too simplistic? I can see that it will stop abbreviating court case names, but it is the lesser of the two evil for my current work.
  • fbennett
    Not sure, no harm in trying. I won't have time to look more closely for the next month, unfortunately.
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