Plain text author entry

samden · February 21, 2010

I really like the principle of Zotero, but the one annoying little thing that keeps pushing me away is the way Zotero handles authors.

In every other package I have used (e.g. Endnote, Mendeley, BibTeX), authors can be typed easily into a simple text field, as (for example):
Bloggs, J.
Smith, A. (Endnote or Mendeley, authors separated by linebreak)
or
Bloggs, J. and Smith, A. (BibTeX, authors separated by "and")
Either option is very easy and quick to type.

However in Zotero, each author must be entered in a separate field. And when there are a number of authors, each new author field must be created by clicking with the mouse. And all this must be done in a (by default anyway) very cramped space down at the corner of your screen. This is extremely frustrating.

Could an alternative author entry method be developed with just a single textbox for all authors, where their names are typed separated by a linebreak, semicolon, "and" or something else? This would be far easier for the user than the current interface, especially given the small space available.

Thankyou.

ajlyon · February 21, 2010

Try Shift-Enter after entering each author name to create a new author field.

samden · February 22, 2010

Thanks, that is helpful. It is still considerably less intuitive then a simple textbox, but it does work about as well, once you learn the feature exists.

Bionatsci · February 22, 2010

Added to the tips and tricks page - feel free to copy-edit if you think the phrasing can be improved.

ajlyon · February 22, 2010

Perhaps Dan or some other administrator could add this to Getting Stuff Into Your Zotero Library page; it is protected. That page mentions adding multiple authors twice (Manually Adding Items and Editing Item Information) but doesn't note the shortcut.

In general, that page could use some more detailed explanations.