Merging 2 Word Docs Creates 2 Separate Citation Systems

echenier
I have merged two word for Mac docs, both having zotero footnotes. I have tried to refresh, and tried to save the document in a new word document, but neither efforts have solved the problem. Ideas? Thanks!
  • adamsmith
    could you give an example? And can you change the citation style in each document individually?
  • echenier
    Hi Adam, it is not two documents, it is one. I put two documents together and here is where my problem occurred. I cannot get the two endnote systems to come together as one. Half way through the document the numbering begins at one and in a different style.
  • adamsmith
    Hmmm - I'd still need an example.
    Also, does that mean you don't _have_ the two different documents anymore?
    If you do, my question is still the same: can you change the Zotero citation style in the documents prior to merging them?
  • echenier
    Not sure what you mean by needing an example. An example of what? No, I no longer have two separate documents. I cut and paste one into the other and began my revisions. Only when I was finished my revisions did I realize that the footnotes remained separate and that I could not figure out how to get them to recognize each others' existence.
  • adamsmith
    and example of how the different citations look to get a better sense of what's going on. I'm not clear on what you mean, e.g., by footnotes "remaining separate": Do they start again from 1, is one set numbered in arabic numbers, one in roman, are they numbered consecutively, but in different citation styles etc. Hence the need for an example.

    To be honest, I'm not terribly optimistic about the prospect of fixing this without the originating documents. We can certainly try, though.
  • echenier
    When I cut and paste text into the box, the end note references do not appear so I can't show you an example. How about you just tell me what steps to take before cutting and pasting text with Zotero references into another word doc with Zotero references so that I don't have this issue again?
  • echenier
    But fyi, one system of notes is numbered footnotes, the other is roman numerals, endnotes.
  • adamsmith
    There's really no need to be so aggressive about this. I'm doing my best to help you and I'm trying to get the information from you that would let me do so effectively.
    You can take a screenshot, put them on imgur.com or dropbox and link to them here, you can copy&paste the content of the footnote and add the numbers manually here, if that's really not possible you can describe the issue in more detail...
    what steps to take before cutting and pasting text with Zotero references into another word doc with Zotero references so that I don't have this issue again?
    Usually all you need to do is take document 1 and copy document 2 into it, that's all. If you copy two documents into a new, empty document, you should set a citation style for that document first--either by picking it using "Set Document Preferences" or by inserting any citation.
    I have never heard of this not working, but ways that it could go wrong may include using "paste special," instead of regular paste, using "Bookmarks" in one document and "Fields" in the other, or doing anything that would remove the field codes from either of those documents (saving as RTF, pasting into a different word processor like google docs or Pages intermittently).
  • echenier
    I am not being aggressive at all! I am totally happy with the help you are providing. Not sure why you have that impression.
  • adamsmith
    But fyi, one system of notes is numbered footnotes, the other is roman numerals, endnotes.
    OK, that's helpful. Try going into set document preferences. I assume you'll see either "Footnotes" or "Endnotes" selected there. Toggle that option, press OK. Good chance that will unify the notes. You can then toggle again if needed.
  • adamsmith
    Oh good, sorry for misperceiving this then.
  • echenier
    Hi, thanks for the suggestion. I had tried that before, and did try it again, to no avail. I don't know what "toggle again" means. Can you please explain? This will be the last thing I try before conceding defeat on this one and moving on. Your help has been great, I understand little glitches like this can happen in any program. Hopefully next time setting document preferences will work as it should. Hey, could it be that one of the documents was created with an older version of Zotero?
  • adamsmith
    When I tried to paste one document with endnotes (selected in Set Doc Preferences) into a document with footnotes, those did indeed stay as two separate systems. When I then go to doc preferences and switch from "Footnotes" to "Endnote" they're all unified (in my case as roman numbers and endnotes). If I actually want footnotes, I'll go back to Set Document Preferences (just so we're clear--that's the button in the Zotero toolbar where you can also change the citation style) and "toggle it again" to Footnotes.

    Another thing you could try is to switch to an entirely different referencing system--like American Psychological Association. If that catches on for _all_ references not just for one half, I would figure changing it back should fix things.

    A final idea would be if you actually created the footnotes/endnotes not with Zotero but with Word. In that case you'd have to see if there is a way to convert all endnotes to footnotes (or vice-versa). I vaguely recall that that's not trivial in Word, but you could try google and/or a Word support forum.
  • adamsmith
    Hey, could it be that one of the documents was created with an older version of Zotero?
    unless we're talking a version that's five years old or so, no.
  • echenier
    Okay, thanks. Have a good rest of the weekend! Elise

This is an old discussion that has not been active in a long time. Before commenting here, you should strongly consider starting a new discussion instead. If you think the content of this discussion is still relevant, you can link to it from your new discussion.

Sign In or Register to comment.