PDF with references - automatic retrieval

NF_PPP
Hi,
I'm a scientific librarian working in a school with bachelor students but also with researchers.
Zotero is perfect for students and the way they are collecting references.
However, our researchers usually collect 200 references at the same time from different databases. Now they are using EndnoteX5, because zotero has no equivalent to the function "Find full text". When researchers click this function, Endnote automatically searches for the PDF and associates it to the reference. It takes time but works well and researchers can work on something else in the meantime.
The OpenUrl in zotero works also well BUT PDF have to be manually associated to the reference. It doesn't match with our researchers' way of working.
Could a plugin be created for zotero, corresponding to this function "Find full text" in Endnote ?
Thanks a lot !
  • adamsmith
    this is generally planned, but not going to happen very soon. That said, Zotero will download PDFs automatically from many - most - databases on import. Where are people importing from so that that doesn't work?
  • NF_PPP
    F.e., Zotero imports from EBSCO only PDF that are put just under the reference (visible), not the PDF we can obtain by clicking on the link "OvidLinkSolver". In ERIC/OvidSP, I made a test with a research by topic. On 80 results, Endnote retrieved 75 PDF with the option "Find full text". Zotero retrieved no one. It's not a question of copyright since we have a licence for most of the journals for these 80 results.
    Endnote only put a pop-up box but retrieved the PDF with the Ovid references. I also asked this question to Ovid.
    Thanks !
  • adamsmith
    true, I don't think there's currently a way to get PDFs from OVID (or any PDFs that require an additional resolver)
  • NF_PPP
    I'll let you know about OVID's answer.
  • spintextures
    I would add the demand for ISI Web of Knowledge too.

    And a big UP for such a feature (getting the PDF from an existing item having a DOI) in Zotero!

    Thanks again Adam for your time!
  • NF_PPP
    After having made comparative tests in Endnote and Zotero in the human sciences fields, OVID's answer was as expected : "Could you ask zotero if they plan to add the Find Full Text functionality ?"

    Draging the PDF's to the items is sufficient for most students, but it would be so more effective to use this type of functionality ! Could you plan it not for "after tomorrow" but for "tomorrow"? :-)
    Thanks again
  • adamsmith
    to be honest, probably not going to happen super soon, sorry.
  • NF_PPP
    Ok, I like honesty.
  • abhirkmv
    edited April 2, 2014
    There is a "find pdf" button when I access items in my library via secure.zoteroreader.com. I tried it a few times and it always worked.
    However, I could't find such an option in the UI of the standalone version of Zotero. From the discussion so far, I get that there is no way to find PDFs of ALL items. But, can someone confirm that there is no "find pdf" functionality even for a single item?
  • adamsmith
    edited April 2, 2014
    Zoteroreader is independent of Zotero and the source code isn't open, so hard to say what they're doing, but I believe, it just tries to locate a full text copy via google scholar - lots of false positives and won't work for PDFs that require institutional access.

    edit: it's very nicely done GUI-wise, though
  • aurimas
    But, can someone confirm that there is no "find pdf" functionality even for a single item?
    Not something that will find _and_ attach the PDF automatically, but there is a "Library Lookup" option that could lead you to a PDF. Select an item in Zotero, then click on the green arrow right above the Info tab on the right hand side.
  • adamsmith
    You'll need to set up the link resolver for the library lookup in the advanced tab of the Zotero preferences. How well this works varies by campus.
  • mmckone
    Hi, I believe that I am having similar issues as CEDOCNF. A common scenario at our institution is that medical faculty/researchers/students search Pubmed and retrieve large numbers of citations. I know that Zotero does not retrieve pdfs from databases like Pubmed that do not store the pdfs. I try to use the library lookup with one of our link resolvers for pdf retrieval. In our case, if i select a number of citations within Zotero (Firefox version) for the library lookup, it generally finds the citations but it opens each one in a new browser tab and like CEDOCNF I ultimately have to drag each individual pdf to its citation in zotero even though I have the automatically attach associated pdfs parameter selected in preferences.

    Is this the correct behavior in Zotero? I have been wondering if my preferences were not correct or something. As mentioned, Endnote "Find full text" function handles this pretty well. I am a big fan of Zotero and prefer it but this is a big problem for us here in that searches with large result sets are becoming the norm for doing systematic reviews of topics. Having to individually attach pdfs to citations for such large searches is impractical.

    This is not intended as a complaint or rant at all because I really like Zotero, and Adam I really appreciate the work that you and others do with it and your excellent support of it on the forum.

    I am just adding another voice in support of "Find Full Text" functionality as an enhancement if at all possible.
  • adamsmith
    that's all correct as a description of the status quo, yes.

    We're actually much closer to getting this functionality working, though, with working code that accomplishes this already existing and currently under review (https://github.com/zotero/zotero/pull/948 for those interested -- but this is at this stage for developers; you can't just try it out easily).
    I can't promise an ETA, but I'd really hope for it in the next 6 months if not earlier.
  • DerryB
    Hi adamsmith, firstly, I'd like to congratulate Zotero on such a great application. I currently use Endnote but would like to switch to Zotero. The only thing keeping me from the full transition is the "find full text" feature available in Endnote so this development is exciting for me. I look forward to hearing about future developments in this.
  • emjohns
    @adamsmith has the functionality you described in your 5/13/2016 post gone mainstream yet? I have a researcher choosing between endnote and zotero and i'd like to suggest zotero, but need this functionality. same issue as mmckone above. thanks!
  • adamsmith
    no, sorry.
  • bwiernik
    I would strongly recommend avoiding Endnote. It is overall much more difficult to use and less reliable than Zotero (and very expensive).
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