EndNote to CSL migration

sketchy
Hi

I have many EndNote styles and want to migrate them to CSL in order to use them later. I know that this forum helps in such situations but I don't want to bother you with my numerous requests and want to understand the conversion process to do all the work by myself.

I was wondering if there is a document, some kind of a guideline, that describes the steps and useful tips to correctly transfer my .ens to .csl. It would be great to have any information at all, even the basics of such conversion process (e.g. where to look, what fields to transfer, how to create a CSL from a scratch having only .ens), because right now I have almost no idea where to start (except just searching for the CSL that looks like my ENS).

Thank you.
  • damnation
    It's not possible to simply transfer .ens files to .csl. Completely different language and not simply transferrable.
    If these styles are for specific journals we do NOT have on the repository yet (https://www.zotero.org/styles) then you can request them via this route and we (mostly me) will have a look: https://github.com/citation-style-language/styles/wiki/Requesting-Styles

    If they are custom styles for personal use/universities etc. you can use our search engine to find something that matches the style: https://editor.citationstyles.org/searchByExample/
    We could then help with smaller edits if it's not a vast amount.

    Alternatively, if it needs more work we can offer to help against payment.
  • sketchy
    @damnation thank you for your answer. I do not search for an easy way to convert my styles, I search for a guide to obtain expertise in order to transfer .ens to .csl by myself, even if it is a hard and difficult way.
  • damnation
    edited May 9, 2022
    Use the SearchByExample tool to find a style that is a close match and then edit that. That's by far the easiest way and is what I use when people requests styles. No other way around that.
    In order to edit styles you can use the VisualEditor or Code editor (or in combination). Both have a certain learning curve.

    This will give you a primer: https://www.zotero.org/support/dev/citation_styles/style_editing_step-by-step
  • bdarcus
    FWIW, it is technically possible to convert ens files to csl. An early version of zotero actually had that capability. But there was a (frivolous in my view) lawsuit over that, so zotero devs removed it.
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