Upgrade StorageScannable Cite / Zotpicker / BetterBibtex etc. for text-mode writing.
Hi all,
Without going into detail about my workflow (in brief, most of my draft writing is now in Scrivener for iOs and Windows, compiled to Word, etc.), I wonder if there's a more convenient way to package up the 3rd-party tools used to drop scannable-cite in-text citation markers that would be useable by anyone using a text editor, writing in pandoc or markdown or a distraction-free writing tool, and bundle them in a single installer.
There's a scattering of tools here - https://www.zotero.org/support/plugins#latex_tex_and_text_editors - but I'm hoping something a bit more integrated, working with zotpicker, could be put together, for one-click installations.
Without going into detail about my workflow (in brief, most of my draft writing is now in Scrivener for iOs and Windows, compiled to Word, etc.), I wonder if there's a more convenient way to package up the 3rd-party tools used to drop scannable-cite in-text citation markers that would be useable by anyone using a text editor, writing in pandoc or markdown or a distraction-free writing tool, and bundle them in a single installer.
There's a scattering of tools here - https://www.zotero.org/support/plugins#latex_tex_and_text_editors - but I'm hoping something a bit more integrated, working with zotpicker, could be put together, for one-click installations.
- you build something in an apps native extension system like the Atom Zotero integration
- you use a systemwide hotkey app to assign a keystroke across apps to call the picker and go through the clipboard
Both require Better BibTeX and at least one additional component that can't easily be bundled with Zotero.
Edit:
From the Scrivener picker site, these are the steps used to get Scrivener working with Zotero
1. Install the RTF/ODT plugin for zotero
2. Install the Better BibTeX plugin
3. Download the zotpick.7z file from this website
4. Unzip the folder
5. Place this folder somewhere out of the way (a.k.a somewhere you won't accidentally delete it someday). I suggest leaving it in the Scrivener folder located at C:\Program Files (x86)\Scrivener but it doesn't actually matter, as long as you can find it later
6. In scrivener, open the Options window (F12). Under the general tab, click on choose under the bibliography/citation Manager section.
7. Navigate to wherever you previously placed the folder. This will appear empty at first. Click on the dropdown menu to change file type, to display .lnk files.
8. Select the file named zotpick-scannablecite - Shortcut.lnk and press okay. Exit the Options window.
I was thinking that steps 1 to 5, at least, could be packaged into a single installer, and perhaps even a one-step conversion to .docx to save the step of opening in LibreOffice.
That being said, my programming skills are fairly elementary - I got the whole thing to work with lots of googling and some emergency help from my programmer partner - so if someone with a bit more experience would know how to package everything neatly I would love to see that happen!
I will mention as well that there is another windows picker out there which is a bit slicker then mine, written using auto-hotkeys: https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/80430/zotero-citation-picker-for-windows-should-work-with-word-scrivener-google-doc-etc#latest
The main difference is that mine is program specific (i.e. currently set up to primarily work with Scrivener - you'd have to change some thing in code to work with other programs, though I could probably change that to double check what the active window is when triggering if there was demand) whereas theirs is global. If you don't mind it always running in the background, then I would go with their solution. I like to keep it program specific because I don't want cross-over of the keystroke combo, but that's just me.
I wouldn't ask for this to become part of Zotero itself, but integrating a few of these tools into a single install might be nice! If I could find the way to hide the bits of Better Bibtex that aren't needed for this (since I don't use LaTeX) that would also be a plus.
Maybe this thread will attract someone who can sort some of this out.
re: skipping libreoffice, I think that would be possible to automate. I already have a script that converts from pandoc generated md file to libreoffice via word, and so I *think* it is just about doable. I don't have time to play with that at the moment, but might in the future. I have a pretty strong distaste for libreoffice, so the less time I can spend in it the better...
I have also seen various rumours on the forum that the devs for zotero are working on replacing the built-in RTF scan with something more robust, so in the future, it might be possible to skip ODF scan altogether, which would be my dream. I wouldn't hold your breath though, as there is no clear timeline as to when this might happen.
https://github.com/davepwsmith/zotpick-applescript