simpler entry for multiple authors?

bp_216
Hi, I frequently have to enter details for grey literature reports and similar references with multiple authors, which I cannot do using direct import, and have to type in manually. It is a tedious process to enter the author names, one by one, with a 1-2 second wait and often two mouse clicks between each author.

Would it be possible to implement a system like that used in CiteULike (http://www.citeulike.org) where one can copy and paste as many authors as required in one go, with each author on a new line? They permit several formats, i.e.

* Smith, J A
* Smith, John A
* Smith, John Andrew
* John A Smith

Each new line is recognised as a different author.

It would be much faster if I could sort out my list of author names in Notepad, and then paste them in one go into an author field. I guess the only downside would be to lose the "predictive text" feature, where Zotero offers you existing authors in the database based on what you type, but I would be happy to lose that if I could enter multiple authors more quickly.

Thank you !
  • dstillman
    This has been requested before, and it's something we could probably implement. In the meantime, note that you can use Shift-Enter (Shift-Return on some keyboards) to go to the next creator line, as well as tabbing or Shift-tabbing between fields.
  • bp_216
    Thanks Dan, I hadn't seen the Shift-Enter shortcut til today on the forums, it will be useful.

    I would still be keen on having the extra functionality of being able to insert multiple authors at once. Might work best as an option not switched on by default, until you know which method people prefer.

    Otherwise I find Zotero really useful - the direct import is fantastic.
  • gagarine
    Adding multiple authors manually could be automatize a bit. Typically when autors names are seperated with comma or on seperated line. In this case, pasting in the autor field could direclty create multiple autors entries.

    Exemples:

    Robert Krimmer, Melanie Volkamer, Nadja Braun Binder, Norbert Kersting

    or:

    Robert Krimmer
    Melanie Volkamer
    Nadja Braun Binder
    Norbert Kersting

  • dstillman
    @gagarine: The above thread is over ten years old, and it's been possible to paste in multiple authors since 2011. Paste with a tab between last and first names:

    Krimmer Robert Krimmer
    Volkamer Melanie
    Binder Nadja Braun
    Kersting Norbert
  • sdflewrit783
    edited January 12, 2020
    This used to work fine but does not work for me now with either commas or tabs. All gets pasted into the Second Name field, with a comma between names. What am I missing?
  • qqbb
    @sdflewrit783 This is working for me with Zotero 5.0.81. You can test it quickly using the Zutilo add-on. Select an item with multiple creators and use Zutilo's "Copy creators" function. Paste this into the creator's last name field for a new empty item and press enter/return. If this is working for you, paste your clipboard content to a text editor for checking the text formatting that works.
  • sdflewrit783
    Thanks, Zutilo works fine. Its format uses tabs between Second and First name. I am trying now my entries with tabs and it works. Did not before. Comma and space combination or just commas between Second and First names still do not work. It is used to. Not sure what is going on or what I am doing wrong here...
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