Zotero export into Overleaf (by URL) only gives first 7 references

drichsdm
Hi There Team Zotero,

I am exporting from Zotero to Overleaf using the "by URL" option and linking the BIB file to Zotero with the following format:

https://api.zotero.org/users/USERNAME/collections/COLLECTIONID/items?key=APIKEY&format=biblatex

(Obviously, the all-caps words are replaced by information I'm not going to give you.)

To recap very specifically... I create a New File, then click From External URL, then enter the URL, and create filename like TEXT.BIB. I then navigate to the file and click Refresh at the top. After the refresh, I see only the first seven (7) sources listed (correctly, I may add).

Why are only 7 sources showing up? Interestingly, they are the 7 most recently added sources. NOTE: I typically have my references sorted by "Date Added".

Thanks for reading,
Dan
  • rdd821
    Hey,

    Did you ever find a fix for this? Currently have the same problem...
  • adamsmith
    Have you verified the actual file outside Overleaf?
  • rdd821
    I've actually managed to find a fix. The Zotero API documentation (https://www.zotero.org/support/dev/web_api/v3/basics) states the default export limit is 25, where it actually appears to be 12.

    The issue is rectified by manually overriding the limit by adding "&limit=50" to the end of the API call:

    https://api.zotero.org/users/USERNAME/collections/COLLECTIONID/items?key=APIKEY&format=biblatex&limit=100
  • adamsmith
    The documentation is correct, but it refers to all items, including notes and attachments, some of which wouldn't be exported to bib(la)tex. You'll want to use /top (as in /COLLECTIONID/items/top? ) to generate a reliable item count (see the page you link to for details)
  • rdd821
    I've made those modifications and that has seemed to work well. Thank you!

    For anyone wondering, this is what you'll want:

    https://api.zotero.org/users/USERNAME/collections/COLLECTIONID/items/top?key=APIKEY&format=biblatex
  • drichsdm
    @rdd821 - You're a better person than I for circling back with your solution... I must've gotten bogged down at the time flailing and trying everything I could think of.

    I am curious that in your last post you say, "this is what you'll want" and then you *don't* include the "&limit=100". I can see in my BIB files in that project that I *do* include that specific string ("&limit=100") in all of my BIB files.

    Here is the structure I use:
    https://api.zotero.org/users/USERNAME/collections/COLLECTIONID/items?key=KEYID&format=biblatex&limit=100

    I recall looking into plugins as a potential fix, which (for anyone new to Zotero) turned out to be rewarding in many ways. I ended up really liking BetterBibTex, for example. But anyway, I recall superstitiously turning on "Automatic export" and increasing delays in the Better BibTex settings, and I can't remember if that did anything, but I figured at the time it couldn't hurt. I ended up landing on:
    Automatically pin citation key after 1 second
    Delay auto-export for 5 seconds

    I also ended up organizing my citations into smaller groups in folders, which was a temporary challenge until I figured out that I could get the folder keys from my online version of my library (rather than the PC app).

    But, again, my approach might have been a little superstitious and I defer to you and others in this thread as your knowledge is probably more recent.
  • rdd821
    edited December 9, 2024
    The addition of "/top?" appears to mitigate the use of "&limit=50". As stated by adamsmith, this provides a more robust solution.

    That being said, I have used both solutions (/top and &limit) in Overleaf with success, but I would suggest the former for the robustness.

    Thank you for replying, and I hope this thread helps others with the same issue.
  • adamsmith
    You should combine them -- they're independent, so /top&limit=100 gives you up to 100 top-level items (you're still out of luck for bibliographies >100 -- you'd want a synced auto-exported BBT file for that, e.g. via a Dropbox link or on github)
Sign In or Register to comment.