Upgrade StorageZotero as Zettelkasten
I am using Zotero (yes,solely) as Zettelkasten.
Here is my workflow.
First, I take literature notes while reading PDFs and import annotations from them to Zotero. Then I use these notes to make zettels in Zotero in a collection called Zettelkasten. I use Zotero's function to assign related notes and literature, also tags function to tag my notes.
I am not numbering my zettels yet since I can easily go between my notes using tags and relations.
Why not Obsidian, Zettlr or any other program?
Yes, they offer longevity by using markdown but since I am an academic, I will always be bound to Zotero till it is no longer supported. Even then, I can export my notes using some tweaks for SQL and HTML that Zotero is using to store my files.
Another reason for using MS Word for me is, most templates for papers being avaiable in MS Word for my submissions. I was not sure how to export Obsidian or Zotero notes to MS Word seamlessly, but you can just search for your note title in MS Word via Zotero plugin's import notes option. (The first line of the not is the title for Zotero notes, so you can make it Heading 1 and type your title there) So, when I am writing, looking for zettels for inspiration is more seamless with Zotero than any other markdown editor.
My purpose for writing this post is to show that we shouldn't need many softwares and plugins to maintain our workflows. I know using solely Zotero is not fancy nor charming because of the basic interface and all, but it also saves me time for maintenance that I had to do with Obsidian.
Here is my workflow.
First, I take literature notes while reading PDFs and import annotations from them to Zotero. Then I use these notes to make zettels in Zotero in a collection called Zettelkasten. I use Zotero's function to assign related notes and literature, also tags function to tag my notes.
I am not numbering my zettels yet since I can easily go between my notes using tags and relations.
Why not Obsidian, Zettlr or any other program?
Yes, they offer longevity by using markdown but since I am an academic, I will always be bound to Zotero till it is no longer supported. Even then, I can export my notes using some tweaks for SQL and HTML that Zotero is using to store my files.
Another reason for using MS Word for me is, most templates for papers being avaiable in MS Word for my submissions. I was not sure how to export Obsidian or Zotero notes to MS Word seamlessly, but you can just search for your note title in MS Word via Zotero plugin's import notes option. (The first line of the not is the title for Zotero notes, so you can make it Heading 1 and type your title there) So, when I am writing, looking for zettels for inspiration is more seamless with Zotero than any other markdown editor.
My purpose for writing this post is to show that we shouldn't need many softwares and plugins to maintain our workflows. I know using solely Zotero is not fancy nor charming because of the basic interface and all, but it also saves me time for maintenance that I had to do with Obsidian.
The best workflow is one that works for you.
Do you modified anything because of zotero and better notes version's change?
Thanks a lot!
I would also suggest having a look at Annotation Summary plugin: https://github.com/OneOneLiu/zotero-annotation-summary
The fact that it organises highlights by colours and tags might add another layer of organisation.
I still want to maintain my system solely on Zotero but I get bored easily. One day of boredom led me to switch back to Obsidian with around 40 plugins on top of it. I wish I could have keep myself back. @victorianist09