Upgrade StorageA Scrivener workflow for Macs
Flummoxed as many Scrivener users were with the ODT/RTF plug-in no longer working with Zotero 7, I played around some, and this is what I came up with.
The below Mac-only workflow assumes that your goal is to write in Scrivener 3.4 (latest version) with regular formatting, using Zotero 7 (latest version) for citations, and want the final version to be in Word format with live citations that can be changed if necessary. You must already have Scrivener, Zotero, and Word installed, and the Zotero plugin for Word installed. This only works on MacOS, because it requires the installation of DocDown, which is MacOS-only.
The best part: Neither the setup nor workflow require any coding or use of the command line. Once it is set up, at least on my machine, although it take more initial setup, the workflow may be easier than the old ODT/RTF scanner workflow that no longer works with Zotero 7.
Install DocDown: https://github.com/lowercasename/docdown/wiki/Initial-setup. Follow steps 1-4 (the below is slightly duplicative).
Install Better BibTex plug-in for Zotero: https://retorque.re/zotero-better-bibtex/installation/index.html
This step is explained in the DocDown instructions: In Zotero, go to File, then Settings. Select Export Collection. Choose Format Better CSL JSON, and check Keep updated. When exporting, note where you put this file, ideally somewhere that stays backed up and is unlikely to be erased.
In Zotero Settings, select Better BibTex. For the Citation keys, because I have many sources with duplicate authors, I selected the key “auth.lower + shorttitle(3,3) + year” and checked “Force citation key to plain text.” For Quick-Copy, Quick-Copy format, select Pandoc citation. This ensures that DocDown will recognize the citekeys. For Automatic export, select “On change.” This will ensure that as you add more citations to Zotero, they will be recognized by Better BibTex. Also, make sure that the file location indicated in the Automatic export is the one where you exported your collection.
Then, in Zotero settings, Select Export. For Quick Copy Item Format, select Better Bibtext Citation Key Quick Copy. For Note Format, select Markdown + Rich Text, and make sure the checkboxes are checked to “Include Zotero links”
When writing in Scrivener, to insert a citation, select it in your Zotero library and drag it to where you want to insert it in Scrivener. You can select one source or multiple sources at the same time. The text will appear in Scrivener as a citekey in brackets formatted [@authorshorttitleyear].
To insert a prefix (“See …”) insert that text after open bracket and before the citekey (e.g. [See @authorshorttitle2020].
To insert a page number or range, insert p. and the number after the citekey and before the end bracket (e.g. [@authorshorttitle2020 p. 45)]).
To insert a suffix, insert it after the text of the citekey and before the end bracket (e.g. [@authortitle2020 p. 45 argues that…]).
If you like convenience, then, in Scrivener, go to Settings. In the General settings, for Citations, for your Bibliography manager, select Zotero. Then, when you want to insert a citation, you can hit ⌘Y and Zotero will automatically become live. Doing this does not affect the above workflow; it just makes things easier.
To Compile: In Scrivener, go to File and select Compile. For format, select Compile to “Multimarkdown.” Check “Convert rich text to multimarkdown.” Leave Escape characters unchecked. Select Compile. Decide where you’re going to export your file, then check the “Open Compiled document in” and select “Docdown.” Hit Export.
Now, in the folder where you’ve exported your file, open the .docx version in Word.
In Word, select Zotero, and hit “refresh.” If you are using inline citations, for example, APA, select that, and you’re done.
If, like me, in Scrivener you insert your citekeys right into the text, and you want footnote citations, if you select, say, Chicago full note for your citation style right away, Zotero will insert them in the body of the text rather than converting them to footnotes. To avoid this, do the above steps and, the first time you open the document in Word and refresh, select an inline citation format (e.g., APA), and click “OK.” Zotero will reformat the citekeys to APA. Then, in Word go back to the Zotero menu, select Document Preferences, and change to the format you’d prefer (for me, Chicago full note). Check OK. Zotero will now reformat your references as footnotes.
The below Mac-only workflow assumes that your goal is to write in Scrivener 3.4 (latest version) with regular formatting, using Zotero 7 (latest version) for citations, and want the final version to be in Word format with live citations that can be changed if necessary. You must already have Scrivener, Zotero, and Word installed, and the Zotero plugin for Word installed. This only works on MacOS, because it requires the installation of DocDown, which is MacOS-only.
The best part: Neither the setup nor workflow require any coding or use of the command line. Once it is set up, at least on my machine, although it take more initial setup, the workflow may be easier than the old ODT/RTF scanner workflow that no longer works with Zotero 7.
Install DocDown: https://github.com/lowercasename/docdown/wiki/Initial-setup. Follow steps 1-4 (the below is slightly duplicative).
Install Better BibTex plug-in for Zotero: https://retorque.re/zotero-better-bibtex/installation/index.html
This step is explained in the DocDown instructions: In Zotero, go to File, then Settings. Select Export Collection. Choose Format Better CSL JSON, and check Keep updated. When exporting, note where you put this file, ideally somewhere that stays backed up and is unlikely to be erased.
In Zotero Settings, select Better BibTex. For the Citation keys, because I have many sources with duplicate authors, I selected the key “auth.lower + shorttitle(3,3) + year” and checked “Force citation key to plain text.” For Quick-Copy, Quick-Copy format, select Pandoc citation. This ensures that DocDown will recognize the citekeys. For Automatic export, select “On change.” This will ensure that as you add more citations to Zotero, they will be recognized by Better BibTex. Also, make sure that the file location indicated in the Automatic export is the one where you exported your collection.
Then, in Zotero settings, Select Export. For Quick Copy Item Format, select Better Bibtext Citation Key Quick Copy. For Note Format, select Markdown + Rich Text, and make sure the checkboxes are checked to “Include Zotero links”
When writing in Scrivener, to insert a citation, select it in your Zotero library and drag it to where you want to insert it in Scrivener. You can select one source or multiple sources at the same time. The text will appear in Scrivener as a citekey in brackets formatted [@authorshorttitleyear].
To insert a prefix (“See …”) insert that text after open bracket and before the citekey (e.g. [See @authorshorttitle2020].
To insert a page number or range, insert p. and the number after the citekey and before the end bracket (e.g. [@authorshorttitle2020 p. 45)]).
To insert a suffix, insert it after the text of the citekey and before the end bracket (e.g. [@authortitle2020 p. 45 argues that…]).
If you like convenience, then, in Scrivener, go to Settings. In the General settings, for Citations, for your Bibliography manager, select Zotero. Then, when you want to insert a citation, you can hit ⌘Y and Zotero will automatically become live. Doing this does not affect the above workflow; it just makes things easier.
To Compile: In Scrivener, go to File and select Compile. For format, select Compile to “Multimarkdown.” Check “Convert rich text to multimarkdown.” Leave Escape characters unchecked. Select Compile. Decide where you’re going to export your file, then check the “Open Compiled document in” and select “Docdown.” Hit Export.
Now, in the folder where you’ve exported your file, open the .docx version in Word.
In Word, select Zotero, and hit “refresh.” If you are using inline citations, for example, APA, select that, and you’re done.
If, like me, in Scrivener you insert your citekeys right into the text, and you want footnote citations, if you select, say, Chicago full note for your citation style right away, Zotero will insert them in the body of the text rather than converting them to footnotes. To avoid this, do the above steps and, the first time you open the document in Word and refresh, select an inline citation format (e.g., APA), and click “OK.” Zotero will reformat the citekeys to APA. Then, in Word go back to the Zotero menu, select Document Preferences, and change to the format you’d prefer (for me, Chicago full note). Check OK. Zotero will now reformat your references as footnotes.
All citations were rendered as plain text and not recognised by Zotero (I had it set to live citations). It also did not convert a single element of the formatting correctly.
It needs better documentation, particularly the need to insert a citation between square brackets. It assumes a lot of knowledge.
To get your formatting to be preserved: When you're in Scrivener and have selected Compile, and Markdown for the Compile format, then click on the little gear button. Select the checkbox for "Convert rich text to MultiMarkdown, but leave the "Escape special characters" unchecked.
And, when first opening the resulting document in Word, the citations will not be live. Using the Zotero plug-in in Word, hit "refresh" and that should make them live.
Again, the above is what worked for me, but might not work for everyone. You might need to play around a bit.