Clicking RIS from Google Scholar creates new collections for each item

I keep getting the following

"Do you want to import the file "scholar.ris"?

Items will be added to a new collection."

Hi, I've used Zotero Firefox extension extensively in the past, and have come back to download Standalone. However, my usual one-click add-in use seems to have disappeared. Every click creates a new collection, and there doesn't seem to be a single option to default them to existing collections. Immensely confusing/frustrating.
  • why aren't you just using the translator/URL bar icon?
    Also, where are you clicking "RIS" on google scholar? I can get it to show "Import to Endnote" and "Import to RefMan", both of which do also import into Zotero. If you actually import an RIS file, yes, that does go into a new collection and always has.
  • I'm not using the browser bar because I'm in Chrome (I've given up on Firefox because of the endless update/disabled-addon issues it's causing me, including Zotero issues).

    "Cited by 12 - Related articles - All 2 versions - Import into RefMan"

    Clicking on "Import into RefMan" saves these as RIS files, and then when I open them with Zotero from the folder (or from Chrome) they open as new collections.
  • You need to install the Chrome connector to get the browser icons in Chrome as well, available from here: http://www.zotero.org/support/3.0#zotero_standalone

    A manual import of those files will create a new collection, but the connector makes it possible to get one-click imports from Chrome while using Standalone.
  • Thanks! Now clicking on reference goes simply to the reference format (eg.
    @article{thompson1981life,
    title={Life histories and the analysis of social change},
    author={Thompson, P.},
    journal={Biography and Society},
    pages={289--306},
    year={1981},
    publisher={Beverly Hills: Sage Publications}
    }
    )

    rather than to a file. I'll have to get used to the operation using the URL bar, which is far more unwieldy on a page with dozens of results and the results look like this (with up to 100 titles)

    [BOOK] The voice of the past: Oral history (books.google.com)
    [CITATION] Life histories and the analysis of social change (Beverly Hills: Sage Publications)
    [CITATION] The Voice ofthe Past: Oral History (New York: Oxford University, 1988)

    The second issue is that I didn't understand that the connector was required, as "save items to Zotero from within browsers other than Firefox" suggested operation like Zotero classic. Perhaps replacing 'from within' with 'using' would make this clearer.

    I don't mean to complain. It's still easier than using Endnote, but not incredibly so (and now slightly more complex).
  • edited September 19, 2011
    You may find it easier to modify your Google Scholar settings to reduce the number of results per page, but what you're seeing is in fact the recommended procedure for saving from sites like Google Scholar from Zotero Classic as well-- there is no substantial difference between Chrome+Standalone and Zotero Classic in this case.
  • I think this should still work with the direct RIS links, but someone with the Chrome connector installed would have to say.
    It may be enough to have the "Use Zotero to open RIS/Refer..." preferences box checked in Zotero. If not, playing with the Chrome file handling should do the trick.

    SA is beta software and the documentation isn't done - I don't think the difference between "using" and "from within" changes anything for most users. Note that the connectors are called "Standalone Connectors" - i.e. pieces of software that connect a browser with Standalone.
  • edited September 20, 2011
    When you use the Google Scholar translator, it changes the links from RIS to BibTeX, which doesn't have a MIME type, which is why it doesn't get auto-imported. You can change this back in your Google Scholar preferences.

    In Standalone with the connectors, the same code gets executed when you click a link to an RIS file from a webpage or double-click an RIS file on the drive, which is why that dialog appears, and why the item(s) import into a new collection. We could potentially provide a preference to suppress the dialog and/or not make a new collection on import.
  • "We could potentially provide a preference to suppress the dialog and/or not make a new collection on import."
    I think that would be highly desirable. I don't think it's that crucial for sites with an existing translator, but for sites with RIS export but no Zotero translator that option would be _very_ useful.
  • edited September 26, 2011
    Real world example of the ris download into a new collection problem:

    When I am on the SpringerLink site and use the address bar icon the download does not include the article abstract and includes both the print and electronic ISSNs.

    If I download the same record using the Springer "Export Citation" process, I can get the abstract and only one ISSN. However, that requires many clicks:

    1. EXPORT CITATION
    2. select citation + abstract
    3. export citation (again)
    4. FF OPEN WITH dialog box select Zotero SA OK
    5. Citation.ris may be an application....Are you sure... OPEN
    6. Import file Do you want to import the file "citation.ris"? Items will be added to a new collection. OK
    7. Move item into the desired collection
    8. Delete item from collection
    9. Delete the now empty collection

    As it stands now, when I download records from SpringerLink using the address bar icon; I download each item individually, copy and paste-in the abstract, and remove one of the ISSNs. (I don't want two ISSNs for Springer journals and only one for those of other publishers.) A further problem with this method is that my university library's proxy connection to SpringerLink is always slow and usually painfully slow.

    The "download into a new connection" has been the only Zotero design issue that causes me extra work. I've followed several forum issues where this has been discussed. It has been my only real frustration. If there is a philosophical need to keep items that were downloaded from a publisher's RIS separate from those downloaded using the address bar icon, please allow these to be downloaded into one single collection for that purpose instead of creating a new collection with each download. This could be a new standard collection similar to the recently added standard collections: "outside" and "duplicate items".

    Thank you for considering changes to the way Zotero handles ris imports.
  • the philosophical issue is that RIS import (and import in general) is intended mainly for larger batch imports, which probably should be in a separate collection (there may also be technical issues involved, not sure).
    This has nothing to do with keeping publisher RIS separate - with the automatically import RIS/Refer option, Zotero does download into the selected collection.
    The issue with Springer is that
    a) the Zotero translator doesn't work (and Springer link uses DOI instead)
    b) the RIS file is served with the wrong mime type, so that the automatically import option doesn't work, even in Zotero FF.
  • I am working with Springer on getting their XML metadata so that their journal contents may be included in our online database. If someone can let me know specifically what is wrong with the way that Springer serves their data and specifically what changes they should make, I will pass that along.

    Springer would save work by simply modifying how their website serves article metadata instead of setting up several hundred XML feeds to my FTP system. Because I will be selectively including articles from their journals instead of indexing them cover-to-cover, I would prefer to gather metadata from the SpringerLink website using Zotero instead of getting metadata fed to my pre-production FTP site.
  • well, first they should use a standard mime type for their RIS files -
    this is what Zotero looks for:
    this.addHandler("application/x-endnote-refer", _importHandler, true);
    this.addHandler("application/x-research-info-systems", _importHandler, true);
    // Add ISI
    this.addHandler("application/x-inst-for-Scientific-info", _importHandler, true);
    //
    // And some non-standard ones
    //
    this.addHandler("text/x-research-info-systems", _importHandler, true);
    // Nature uses this one
    this.addHandler("text/application/x-research-info-systems", _importHandler, true);
    // Cell uses this one
    this.addHandler("text/ris", _importHandler, true);
    // Not even trying
    this.addHandler("ris", _importHandler, true);
    }


    (the mime types are in quotation marks - this is from xpcom/mimeTypeHandler.js)
    For translator purposes, they could either include metadata in their pages - either in a standard format that Zotero can ready
    http://www.zotero.org/support/dev/exposing_metadata
    or at least in some other standard way so that it'd be easy to write a translator.
    Or they could make the RIS more accessible - if I remember correctly, ajlyon has just thrown the towel on this one, as the RIS is not actually at a determinable URL, but but rather served by a mysterious "wizard" (I'm not kidding: "wizard exportCitation")
  • Thank you. I'll post when there is any progress.
  • note that springeropen has exemplary metadata on the page - we're not parsing it atm, but it'd take 30mins to write a translator for pages like this:
    http://www.nanoscalereslett.com/content/6/1/529/abstract
  • Same problem- and I can't get the Chrome adaptor to install. I think that's because I'm not an administrator on my work PC (haven't tested at home yet though). No error message, just nothing happens.

    An option to add the reference in an existing collection would be great. Or an easy way to merge large numbers of collections.

    Thanks for a great tool.
  • Have to say that I agree about this import issue. Why not a pref for "Import RIS into new collection"?

    For me it's often easier just to export to RIS and then drag and top that file onto Zotero standalone. If it weren't for the new collection, I'd have little to do.
  • This will happen and there is no reason against this, just a question on the exact implementation and the fact that someone has to do it. That said, e.g. from google scholar, you really should use the translator/icon in the URL bar for smoother import and better

    Btw. on a completely different note - DWL, did you see we have been able to fix the SpringerLink translator?
  • @adamsmith. Yes! My sincere thank for all involved in getting SpringerLink to work. Or, should I be giving all my thanks to you?
  • that one was all me* - I'm quite proud of it ;-).

    *if you set aside the more general issue of Avram's and Simon's endless patience in pointing out my beginner's js errors over the last year.
  • Just a tickle - I have spent a bit searching and found this post. I would also love to have the option to make new imports from RIS go to an Unfiled Collection or a single 'Inbox' rather than a new collection for each item.
  • import from clipboard goes to the currently selected collection. That has changed since the last post in this thread and seems like a good solution to me.
  • edited December 28, 2013
    Sorry, I meant from downloaded RIS files. Working in Safari and using some behind proxy (often Ovid) sites I occasionally still get a page where download citation is the easiest way to get a correct entry. When dragged to zotero this (or a selection of these) all go to separate new collections that must then have the item moved out and the new collection deleted - I would prefer a preference for them all to go to unfiled items or the current open collection.
  • right- what I'm saying is that you can just open them with a text editor and use import from clipboard - only minimally more work and it gets them into the right collection.
  • Fair enough- I will change the default opening program for a RIS back to TextEdit from zotero then cut and paste. Still it would be a useful preference. Thanks for the tip. M
  • Sorry, I forgot to mention a key point for me. I will often work in sessions where I will gather a lot of journal articles and then file them in appropriate sub collections later. At the moment RIS import drops each into a separate new collection with a journal identifier based name. The copy and paste will work for each independent file but won't speed up the filing if I select multiple RIS items. Having a preferred nice for them to all go to an unfiled location would solve this.
    Love Zotero though and have found solutions to most problems on these forums - this is only a minor annoyance. All the best.
  • edited December 30, 2013
    one of the reasons why this is not really an option is because you should rarely need to import RIS/BibTeX/etc. files. If you want to start a thread for a website that is not working, we can probably fix it.

    Edit: if you do start a thread, please include as much detail as possible: software versions, URLs, etc.
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