Exporting Zotero to Endnote problem

J.B.T.
I exported my Zotero files (50,000) to RIS format, then opened them in Endnote, but there were only 29,000 records. Does anyone have any ideas why all the files didn't transfer? Thank you!
  • DWL-SDCA
    "50,000 files"

    Do you mean that you have 50,000 records in your Zotero library or is the 50,000 number including records, notes, all pdf files, snapshots, etc.?

    Importing a 50,000 record RIS file into EndNote will require time and computer resources.


  • J.B.T.
    50,000 individual records. I'm definitely not transferring PDFs...just the citation information. So it still seems odd that only half transferred.

    But another question: I'm logging into my Zotero web account on a new computer, and it says 50,000 items in my library, but the items are dribbling in 20 or 30 items at a time. So most of the library is blank, but the individual items are filling in little by little. Does this seem right? Again, no PDFs. I thought I would be able to immediately see my entire library. Thanks for any thoughts.
  • tnajdek Zotero Team
    You can see your entire library in Zotero (the desktop app) provided that you've already synced, which, for library of this size, can take a few minutes first time.

    Web library is mainly designed for accessing your Zotero library when away from your main computer. It still enables access to the entire library but will only fetch items as needed to produce current view hence items are "dribbling in 20 or 30 items at a time".
  • J.B.T.
    Hmm, so I probably won't be able to view my web library in its entirety? It's now day 2 and I can only see up to files beginning with C. And I can't search my contents because it's still trying to load items and it freezes up. I sure thought the point of web library was to easily view all your items. Maybe I'll try a different browser, but pretty disappointing if this won't work.
  • tnajdek Zotero Team
    You don't need to load all items to do search, there is a search input on the top of the Web Library - it runs the search on the server and presents only matching items.

    Also items pane shouldn't freeze. You should be able to grab the scrollbar of the items pane (on some systems, like macOS, you may need to scroll a little so that scrollbar appears) and scroll to a desired point and after a few seconds placeholder bars should be replaced with real bars. That being said, with 50K items it might feel bit laggy, using the search input/collections/tag selector to narrow the results is much better option here.


  • J.B.T.
    Even the search doesn't work well. It took over a minute to retrieve results, and even those results could only be partially viewed...the rest didn't load. I think 50000 files might be a little too much for web-based work.

    Kind of hate to resort to endnote, but that may be my best option unless I want to transfer my entire PDF library. I still can't figure out why the RIS transfer yielded only half of my items.

    Thank you for all your suggestions, though. Much appreciated.
  • dstillman Zotero Team
    edited July 15, 2021
    Just to reiterate, we strongly recommend using the Zotero app for any sort of significant work. The web library isn't the primary way to use Zotero.

    Not sure what you mean by "unless I want to transfer my entire PDF library". You're aware of "as needed" file sync mode? There's certainly no need to sync all of your Zotero files to all of your computers.
  • J.B.T.
    OK, here's what I'm trying to do: I have my Zotero library (with PDFs attachments) on my home computer. I'd like to be able to search my Zotero library from my work computer, but don't want to have my PDFs loaded on work computer. If I find articles I want, I can access them at home.

    So, I thought I could transfer the data from my home computer to Endnote on my work computer, but as I've mentioned, I seem to only be able to transfer half of the records. That's why I thought viewing my library on Zotero web would solve that.

  • dstillman Zotero Team
    Just install Zotero on your work computer, change it to download files "as needed" in the Sync preferences (or disable file syncing altogether if you don't even want the option to view files), and sync. I'm not sure why you're bringing EndNote into this.
  • J.B.T.
    New job and Endnote is what they have. Last job wouldn't allow Zotero, but I'll ask if I can install it and follow your suggestions. Thank you.
  • J.B.T.
    OK, I have Zotero installed on my work computer, but I can't seem to sync my library data. Under Preferences/Sync, I see my username, and sync automatically is checked, but my library doesn't show up. Any suggestions for importing my library? Thank you.
  • J.B.T.
    Cancel that, I clicked the little green Sync arrow and it starting downloading my files.

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