can I import refs from Google Scholar?

p101
Hello
Trying Zotero for the first time. When I find refs on Google Scholar, there is no save button, paper airplane or any of the other icons the Zotero instructions say should appear to allow me to import the reference.

I'm using Chrome. I block cookies. And have a Do Not Track program installed.
Is there a list somewhere of all the settings we need to select to allow Zotero to function?

Very frustrated that our university library is forcing all of us out of RefWorks and into what seems like a very odd, very complicated thing called Zotero. Would welcome any tips to help a new user.
  • dstillman
    In addition to Zotero Standalone itself, you need to install the Zotero Connector for Chrome from the download page, and then you'll have an icon in your Chrome toolbar.

    There's a picture of what it looks like in this blog post (though note that you'll get different icons on different sites):

    https://www.zotero.org/blog/a-better-save-to-zotero-button-in-chrome/
  • p101
    By installing the Chrome connector it says Zotero can now read and change and track information "from all websites you visit". This is a very alarming message. Is this only when I have chosen to open Zotero (when I am doing literature searches) or will it monitor and record everything I do on my computer, even though I have a Do Not Track and cookie blocker functions as my normal work settings.
  • p101
    I already had the Zotero icon in the tool bar (a large red zed). But nothing appears in the url box. None of the icons that are shown in the orientation video.
  • dstillman
    That's just how browser extensions work — in order to be able to save pages when you tell it to, the extension needs to be able to access the webpage you're on. Nothing about the pages you visit is sent to the Zotero servers unless you try to save — and then only if you choose to sync Zotero Standalone with the Zotero servers or if you authorize the connector to save directly to the Zotero servers and save with Standalone closed.
  • dstillman
    Read that blog post again. Nothing is supposed to be appear in the URL bar anymore — there should be an icon in the Chrome toolbar that varies based on what you're viewing. There's no red Z.

    If you're still confused, take a screenshot of what you see, upload it to a free file-sharing site (e.g., Dropbox), and provide a link here.
  • adamsmith
    edited May 13, 2016
    edit: i.e. what Dan says. Leaving it for completeness, but feel free to ignore.

    That warning is unavoidable if Zotero is going to recognize data on webpages and allow you to save it. FWIW, it doesn't ever _send_ any data from your browser anywhere unless you click the save button.

    See the blog post for how the icon should look and where it is (you'd get it right next to the Z) The video hasn't been updated to reflect that change.
  • p101
    Thanks for these suggestions. When I'm in Zotero I see the "Save" icon to the right of the url bar. But when I go to Google Scholar or to PsycINFO sites OR to the journal web site for an article I want, there is no icon.

    The icon says "Save to Zotero" when I hover over it.
    One of the things Zotero seems to offer and be proud of is the ability to import/save web pages, YouTube stuff. I don't want to save web pages. I want to save bibliographic info. Is it too new for some journals or established, giant data bases like PsycINFO to have made the links to allow people to use Zotero easily ?

    When I go to a journal article and click Export, I am offered a choice between Mendeley or RefWorks. Even when signed in to my Zotero account.
  • adamsmith
    No, of course Zotero works with journal articles and databases. And it doesn't require dedicated export links, which is why it's not listed in export menus on that page. The button is always in the same spot.

    Could you take a screenshot of the Zotero icon (i.e. the Z)and what's next to it on google scholar as Dan suggests? It's certainly possible something is broken for you, but more likely than not you're just misunderstanding something.
  • nccomfort
    Hope this is still useful, even though this thread is a couple years old. Just figured this out. First, as suggested above, install the Chrome-Zotero connector. Then, if you have a reference in Google Scholar and you click the quotation mark, it brings up the citation in several formats, and at the bottom it has 4 buttons labeled BibTex, Endnote, Refman, and RefWorks. On my machine, when I clicked "RefMan" (for "Reference Manager" another bibliography db), a splash screen from Zotero popped up asking me if I wanted to import documents of this type into Zotero. Clicked "Yes" and now it works every time. When I click "RefMan" it appears in Zotero.
  • adamsmith
    This isn't necessary, though. You can simply click the folder icon Zotero displays in your browser and select the items you want to import from Google Scholar. No need to go through the RefMan export.
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