JABREF 2 ZOTERO information about local pdfs

tiagoandremarques
I am new to Zotero and was trying to convert my main database in JABREF (so a .bib file) into Zotero. However, some information is not copied, apparently.
There is a field that I use extensively that was not imported, which is the "file" field. That includes the link to a local copy of the (usual a) pdf of the item. Is this possible?

I have attempted to use the zottero-better-bibtex extension to make the import, but it worked much worse, with many import errors that were not present before the ZBB extension. Since my original BIB file in JABREF works just fine, I am assuming that there is something more sensitive in Zotero than in JABREF?

Any thoughts on any of the above will be greatly appreciated.
  • emilianoeheyns
    Please report errors with better bibtex on its issue tracker (https://github.com/retorquere/zotero-better-bibtex/issues). "Many errors" is not enough for me to go on, either. I will be glad to help if you give me more specifics. BBT will generally import attachments pointed to by the "file" field, so yes, possible.

    Jabref is capable of managing broken bibtex files, so perhaps there is an actual error in the bibtex that prevents import; perhaps there is an error in BBT that I can correct. Without more info, no way to tell.
  • adamsmith
    Right so for "file" -- the expectation is for Zotero to import the linked file as an attachment. Check if that's the case -- that should work quite reliably. Anything else we'd need specifics both for BBT and for general Zotero import.
  • emilianoeheyns
    Or at least give us a copy of the bib file.
  • tiagoandremarques
    Many thanks for the feedback so far. The errors where related to some empty bibtex keys and to some personal entry types not recognized ("talk", in my case), but apparently these were only warnings. After cleaning that up in the original bib file, I tryed the import, but it will just hang after a couple hundred references (I have about 4000 in total). I suspect that there's something somewhere on the .bib file that is out of place, but I have no idea what as Zotero just hangs without an error message. The file is hosted here (a public dropbox link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3rzzqb172syvj67/MainBibFile.bib?dl=0) and any feedback will be most welcome.
  • emilianoeheyns
    Soooo... good news I guess? If BBT had many more import errors, stock Zotero must have been flawless, as I found exactly one error :)

    I can't test with attachments of course as only the bib file is up there, and the import took a looooong time, but with that one thing fixed (out in a few minutes)
  • tiagoandremarques
    Thanks so much @emilianoheyns - if you let me know what the error is I'll fix it here and will post feedback on the end result. (how did you manage to find the error so fast? you searched for some "usual suspects"?)
  • emilianoeheyns
    I just imported and looked where it failed. Nothing to fix on your end - there was an error in BBT, your file just triggered it. I've added it as a test case and have scheduled a new release.
  • tiagoandremarques
    ah - I see - great. Will be looking out for that release then ! (many thanks once again, really prompt feedback!)
  • emilianoeheyns
    edited August 27, 2018
    That's not to say that importing with your specific attachments cannot still have errors, but the bare bibtex import now passes.

    Depending on how busy Zotero is with other things when you import, you could still see "Zotero is not responding, Kill/Wait" popups. I can't prevent those (my parser first parser the whole bib file, and on my system, that takes 40 seconds with your file), but you'll be less likely to see them if you let Zotero "settle" a little after BBT is finished initializing. If you do see them, click "Wait". Once the parse is done the actual import starts; that will still take very long, but that won't kick off the "wait" prompts.
  • emilianoeheyns
    You're welcome; the new release is out. Any subsequent problems with BBT, please report them on https://github.com/retorquere/zotero-better-bibtex/issues
  • emilianoeheyns
    BTW, if you still have the unfixed file (with the empty bibtex keys and the personal entry types), I'd like to have a copy of that too.
  • tiagoandremarques
    Amazing support by @emilianoeheyns. Now ZBB reads the entire file. Many thanks. However, it still does not read any of the information contained in the "File" field. I will add a note to https://github.com/retorquere/zotero-better-bibtex/issues

    Here's the "unfixed" file. Might have a few less references than the fixed file, as I simply restored a dropbox version of the database that I knew was before the fix: https://www.dropbox.com/s/16cq2wa55q8c69a/MainBibFileERRORS.bib?dl=0
  • emilianoeheyns
    edited August 28, 2018
    (for those walking in in the thread: fixes for both on https://github.com/retorquere/zotero-better-bibtex/issues/1058)
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