A way to delete all info. from all "extra" fields?

blockeliz
I am getting a recurring error related to the "extra" field. I cannot find the problem entry. I don't need any info. in any of the "extra" fields. Can I batch delete all of them? The error code is keeping me from syncing my data and holding up my work.



'Extra' field value 'Access: http://www.loc.gov/catdir/bios/ucal051/910...' too long
  • noksagt
    The only way to do this is from a SQLite editor (if you try this, backup your data).

    Have you used the Advanced search to look for extra fields that contain "Access:"? Have you emptied your trash?
  • blockeliz
    Yes, I've done Advanced search for "Access". I just emptied my trash from my home computer and will do so from the work computer tomorrow morning. I hope that does the trick. I don't think I'm advanced enough to try the SQLite editor.

    Thanks so much and sorry for the double post. I'm new and writing a dissertation. I'm relying on Zotero and am being held up on entering footnotes in a chapter at the moment.
  • scot
    edited June 9, 2010
    I too would love to be able to delete the contents of my 'extra' fields. The EBSCO translator used to fill the field with all sorts of junk.

    The problem is that Zotero's 'extra' gets exported by the BibTeX translator to the 'note' field, which then (in my bibtex style anyway) gets tagged on to the end of the citation (footnote or bibliography entry).

    Just before I read this I was browsing the zotero.sqlite database to see if I could figure it out on my own, with no success. Databases of this complexity don't reveal their mysteries to idle seekers!

    Could anyone give me a hand with the SQL to delete the entire contents of my 'extra' fields? I have nothing I want to keep in there.

    I hacked the BibTeX exporter to prevent it from exporting 'extra' -> 'note', but I'd rather keep the 'extra' field for things I really do need in my citations.

    Any help? (I assume the risks)
  • blockeliz
    I'm sure someone more technologically advanced will be able to help you. Glad to know someone else is bothered by the "extra" field. My junk info. was coming in from Worldcat. I'm going to stop importing from Worldcat altogether because of this problem and only use library databases from my school and affiliated schools, which don't fill the "extra" field.
  • dstillman
    edited June 9, 2010
    Could anyone give me a hand with the SQL to delete the entire contents of my 'extra' fields?
    DELETE FROM itemData WHERE fieldID IN (SELECT fieldID FROM fields WHERE fieldName='extra') AND itemID IN (SELECT itemID FROM items WHERE libraryID IS NULL);
  • dstillman
    The above command will clear the 'extra' field from all items in your personal library, but, actually, those changes won't sync automatically, because that command doesn't update the last modified time of the associated items. (It's possible to do that too via SQL, but, well, you're on your own here.)
  • scot
    Dan, Many many, thanks. It worked like a charm. And I'd actually rather keep my last modified times untouched. I'll just overwrite my data on the server.
  • sandeeps07fpm
    @dstillman Where and how to use the command provided by you. I'm sorry to admit that, I'm not proficient with SQL. Plus I also face the challenge when using Latex as contents of the "extra" section goes into the "Note" section in Latex
  • dstillman
    @sandeeps07fpm: Please start a new thread and explain what you're trying to accomplish. This thread is from 2010, and running raw SQL to modify the database wasn't a good idea even then.
This discussion has been closed.