"Exclusive Wildcards" and their implications:

The first thing that I have figured out is that renaming files is a two phase/level process. You have the "wildcards" (ether the standard ones or the user-defined ones) and then you have how they are used in the renaming fields in ZotFile preferences. In other words, some of the work is done deep within ZotFile as it figures out what value to insert into the wildcard. But, then, ZotFile uses the combination of all those wildcards and other text to determine the final name to give the file.

For instance, the %w wildcard automatically determines whether the journal name exists and if not, inserts the publisher name instead. That work is done completely behind the scenes, using JavaScript code buried deep within ZotFile. You could create a user-defined wildcard (lets call it %X) to take the first three characters of the journal name and then the first three characters of the publisher name. But, then, you would use the renaming format field to tell ZotFile where in your final file name you want those six characters to appear. For instance: "FirstPart-%X-LastPart" would give you something like "FirstPart-JJJPPP-LastPart" (assuming the journal was named JJJournal and the publisher was named PPPublisher).

OK, this is all already explained on the ZotFile.com web site. But here is an important part, and why I am going to all this trouble to explain this: The vertical bar creates a conditional statement within the renaming field. This is very important. As stated on ZotFile.com "Exclusive wild-cards such as %s|%j will generate the entry for %s if that exists and the entry for %j otherwise." ZotFile.com calls these "Exclusive wild-cards" but does not explain the implications very well. What this means is that there is no need to try to create conditionals within your user-defined wildcards.

What it really means is that there was no need for the %w wildcard. The same functionality would be achieved just by using {%j|%p} in your renaming format field. What this means for you is to keep your user-defined wildcards simple. Don't try to build in conditional functionality that could be handled within the renaming format field. If you make your user-defined wildcards as simple as possible, then you (and others using your user-defined wildcard) will have the most flexibility in how they use them in the renaming format field.

OK, what this means is that my example for %X, above, was a bad example. You should not combine the information from the two fields into one user-defined wildcard. You should split that out. Define one wildcard for the first three characters of the journal name (%1) and a SEPARATE wildcard for the first three characters of the publisher name (%2). This will allow you to also do things like "FirstPart-%1-MiddlePart-%2-LastPart" if you want to.

Well, I am not going to be able to sus out and explain everything about the user-defined wildcards in one post or one day. But this is a start. I though it was important to start with one of the most fundamental design considerations for our user-defined wildcards before going any further.

Here is the text of another question that I posted over in another thread. That thread is for ALL ZotFile questions and I feel it is getting a little long in the tooth. This thread is ONLY for questions and explanations about the user-defined wildcards in ZotFile. Here is the text of that question:

Another fundamental question about ZotFile that is not explained on the website:

{I have edited this message to use the code tags below.}

What are all the parts of this bit of code?:

"2": {
"default": "publicationTitle",
"book": "publisher",
"bookSection": "publisher"
},


I understand that it is JSON (or a modified version thereof).

Can I assume the "2" is the variable that I will then enter in the renaming field in the ZotFile preferences?

I also assume that "default" means that this line represents the default value to use to replace the %2 when renaming the field.

Is the "publicationTitle" a field name in Zotero?

Is "book" an item type in Zotero? Does that line mean "If the itemType is a book then replace the variable with the data in the "publisher" field"?

So, does the next line mean the same thing for when the itemType is a "bookSection"?

What do you do when the itemType is a "book" but there is no value in the "publisher" field?

What is all that extra stuff in the definition for %4:

"4": {
"default": {
"field": "title",
"regex": "([\\w ,-]{1,10})[:\\.?!]?",
"group": 1,
"transform": "upperCase"
},
"journalArticle": "publicationTitle"
}


The part within the {} for "default." What does that do? What are all those parts and why are they there? I've done some programming before. But the description about this is the most terse text I have ever seen. Can anyone explain to me what the heck is going on here?

Again, if all you are going to say is that I need to learn JSON or regular expressions, then don't bother to post. I know I am sounding pretty adversarial here. That is because it seems there are some here who want to pretend to be being helpful while providing no help at all. This thread is for people who want to be helpful. I have been using Zotero for years now. I do not want to have to switch to a commercial product. I cannot afford to switch to a commercial product. I don't think it is too much to ask for the people who don't want to actually be helpful to just not post. Again, I am not demanding that anyone help. But, for all that is good and holy about open-source software, stop trying to shut down someone who is TRYING to be helpful.

In one of your other threads, I linked to a page with the full list of Zotero item types and fields. Please look at that.