odt/rtf scan solution

danred · December 26, 2023

For my workflow, the add-on odt/rtf scan togother with Scannable Cite has so far been an indispensable key function in order to be able to convert literature references in the final editing. Unfortunately, the RTF scan solution built into Zotero is absolutely unsuitable for complex writings in humanities. In version 7, as far as I know, the odt/rtf scan add-on can no longer be used and will not be adapted to the new version 7. Switching between versions 6 and 7 would not be a long-term satisfactory solution either.

Is there a timely solution in this regard or do Zotero users have to rely exclusively on programs like Word or LibreOffice for writing longer papers in the future?

adamsmith · December 26, 2023

I don't think we've said we won't update ODF-scan going forward, it just wasn't trivial to do so I stopped working on it, but it also shouldn't be super hard. It's also the case that built-in citekeys in Zotero (which we're already seeing on new item types) would change the landscape of what's possible and make the clumsy zu: type identifiers unneccessary.

FWIW, in addition to Word/LO/GDocs, there are robust, working solutions using the BBT add-on and markdown, including built-in integration with R-Studio, and, of course, LaTeX-based workflows, so it's very much not the case that you are tied to Word, GDocs, or LibreOffice. From what I'm hearing from ODF Scan users, it's pretty much just Scrivener that you can _not_ use with Zotero.

danred · December 26, 2023

Thanks for the quick reply. Since I have to use a decent spelling program for my German texts, I have so far had to rely on Papyrus Author or Softmaker Office (an old Version) with Scannable Cite. Plain text programs are unfortunately absolutely useless for scientific texts in the field of philology with several language systems side by side in one text, such as Arabic, Urdu, Sabaean, Persian in addition to English, French and German.

I'm happy to hear that there's a chance that the ODF-scan is being worked on. Thank you again for your fantastic work and help. Of course, it is impossible to fully cover all the needs of academic writing projects in a program as complex as Zotero.