Urgent question about metadata not working

amalia.louisson
Hi, for some reason I can't get metadata for books anymore. It still works for articles. I usually take books from amazon but it also doesn't work on other sites. I have a deadline this week so a prompt response would be much appreciated!




  • poettli
    There was another recent report about Amazon: https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/comment/470246
    However, I can import from this page: https://www.amazon.com/Cosmopolitics-I-Posthumanities-Isabelle-Stengers/dp/0816656878
    Meanwhile you can use the magic wand to get metadata from the ISBN (9780816656875).
  • amalia.louisson
    The link of the second one didn't work either but the magic wand did! I didn't even know that was a tool. Thanks!
  • poettli
    The link of the second one didn't work either
    Maybe some ongoing changes on Amazon sites and I was lucky I wasn't yet impacted by them.
  • amalia.louisson
    While I have you here, I actually have another couple of questions: (i) Is there a way to get rid of the grey highlight once you have generated bibliography? Just so that it is easier to edit. (ii) Is there any way to modify the bibliography style? E.g. I like the referencing style that I'm using (attached), but I want the dates to come straight after the names in the bibliography. Is there a way to change that? Thanks!




  • aborel
    edited August 12, 2024
    (i) you should not edit the bibliography manually. If a reference is incorrect, you can fix the Zotero record and refresh the bibliography. If the references are not formatted as you want them, you can use a different style.

    (ii) you can modify a style, but it can be somewhat technical (see https://www.zotero.org/support/dev/citation_styles/style_editing_step-by-step for details). Maybe you can find an existing one that you like at https://editor.citationstyles.org/searchByExample/ ? I like to mention that solution because there are already thousands of different styles, so I don't think customizing or creating new ones will make the world a better place :-)
  • amalia.louisson
    The reason that I would edit it is to move the dates in a different place in the bibliography.

    Basically, I really like the form of footnote citation that I use, but in the bibliography the dates need to come straight after the authors (which doesn't happen with Chicago note style)

  • aborel
    edited August 12, 2024
    Sorry if I was unclear: I'm not discussing your preference for the location of the date in the bibliography (you are of course free to prefer it any way you like) - what I'm saying is that it could be easier to achieve by selecting a different style. Manually editing the bibliography is not a good idea.
  • adamsmith
    (Chicago author-date might be a decent choice, although of course it looks differently in text)
  • amalia.louisson
    Why is manually editing the bibliography is not a good idea?
  • adamsmith
    Any manual edits to the bibliography in a document linked to Zotero will get overwritten with any Zotero-related update of the document, e.g. if you insert or edit a citation using Zotero.
    You _can_ use edit bibliography in the add-on, but while those changes won't get overwritten, they will prevent updating of the bibliography that you'd otherwise want.
  • amalia.louisson
    I'm planning to update it manually. I won't need bibliography updates. Is there a way to generate the bibliography and then disconnect it from updates/get rid of the grey highlight? Thanks :)
  • aborel
    https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/unlinking_citations
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