Copy in bibtex format -- how?

Szabolcs
Is there a way to copy to the clipboard in bibtex format rather than export the bibtex to a file and copy manually from there? I seem to remember there was a way, but can't find it ... maybe my memory is cheating me.
  • dstillman
    Use Quick Copy.
  • Szabolcs
    Thank you. Another way I found (before I read your reply) was installing the generic bibtex style from http://www.zotero.org/styles
  • dstillman
    The BibTeX translator should give you better output. (We didn't write and don't maintain the BibTeX style.)
  • Szabolcs
    Does copying by Alt-Ctrl-C give the same result as drag-and-drop? (The latter is very cumbersome with a touchpad, and doesn't work very well on Windows)
  • dstillman
    Yes.
  • Szabolcs
    OK. When using the kb shortcut, everything is on a single line while with drag and drop the line breaks are there. I guess it must be some windows/unix style line-break issue. Anyway, it doesn't affect me if line breaks are there or not.
  • dstillman
    Strange. No one has reported that before. This is Windows? What are you pasting/dragging into?
  • Szabolcs
    edited September 13, 2010
    I was wrong ... I pasted and dragged into different programs. When pasting into Notepad, there are no line breaks. (Notepad won't accept drag and drop). When either dragging or pasting into ms word, the line breaks are there.

    Anyway, I do not need the line breaks to be there, this does not affect me the slightest.

    EDIT: Yes, WinXP.
  • Yudis Asnar
    Why I can't do this trick in Zotero@MAC.
    It is weird, isn't it?

    I can do Quick Copy when I choose the output format anything in "Bibliography Style", but once I use any option under "Export Formats" then. it seems Quick Copy doesn't work.

    anyway can resolve this situation?

    thx
  • Szabolcs
    I'm back to Zotero after many years due to too many deal-breaking issues with Mendeley ...

    It would be very convenient to provide this feature without the need for additional, difficult to find configuration. Why can't there be a standard "Copy as BibTeX" item, _in addition_ to a standard "Copy Citation" item? I need both features.
  • dstillman
    (While I know it's fun to resume a 14-year-old thread, it's much better to start new threads for new issues. Your question isn't really related to your question from 2010.)
    Why can't there be a standard "Copy as BibTeX" item, _in addition_ to a standard "Copy Citation" item?
    Because Zotero isn't a BibTeX manager, and Zotero supports many, many more export formats than Mendeley. We don't privilege BibTeX.

    If you're using a BibTeX-based workflow, you want to be using the Better BibTeX plugin, which adds all sorts of advanced BibTeX functionality.

    There are plugins that let you trigger Quick Copy of multiple formats. I'll let others recommend those.

    In Zotero 7, currently in beta, you can set your Quick Copy to BibTeX (or one of the BBT BibTeX varieties) and also copy a bibliographic reference from the new customizable item pane header if you use "Bibliography Entry" mode. (To be clear, this is "Copy Bibliography" (Ctrl-Shift-C), not "Copy Citation" (Ctrl-Shift-A). Not sure which you mean.)

    But BBT provides many other ways of working with BibTeX, so you may not need Quick Copy with that.
  • Szabolcs
    Thanks, I'll check the Better BibTeX plugin. My comment is related to the original question in the sense that I wasn't able to find how to copy BibTeX (it's hardly discoverable), and googling led to my old question that I've forgotten about long ago ...
  • mjthoraval
    Why can't there be a standard "Copy as BibTeX" item, _in addition_ to a standard "Copy Citation" item? I need both features.
    The "Copy Bibliography" menu option (corresponding to the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+C, or to drag-and-drop) lets you copy the references in whatever format you want, including BibTeX. This export format is set in your Settings → Export → Quick Copy → Item Format. It is limited to one Quick Copy Item Format in Zotero without plugins, but can be extended with a plugin, as mentioned by dstillman.

    In order to keep both the "Copy Bibliography" and the "Copy as BibTeX" functionalities, you need a plugin to configure a second Quick Copy into a configurable shortcut and in the right-click menu on items:
    - In Zotero 6, you can use the Zutilo plugin: search for "QuickCopy items" in this page.
    - In Zotero 7 (Beta), you can use the Actions and Tags plugin (A&T): use this Action Script after installing the plugin.

    On top of this (as mentioned by dstillman), the Better BibTeX plugin (BBT) gives you a lot more functionalities, including new export formats:
    https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u265723/cw65yebbzlz3l02jn90y.png
    And Quick Copy parameters:
    https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u265723/gtiine8ppolrtyxl54kj.png
    You can therefore add another right-click menu and shortcut for "Copy Citation Key" for example.

    To clarify on the Export settings, note that there are two main categories in "Item Format": "Citation Styles" and "Export Formats".
    - "Citation Styles" will give you two options in the Edit menu, with their corresponding shortcuts:
    https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u265723/8p08urmzymlhffwnn26w.png
    - "Export Formats" (which are configured by the "Export Translators") will only give you one option in the Edit menu, corresponding to the Ctrl+Shift+C and drag-and-drop:
    https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u265723/jgqckw29ub4ye2x94ms0.png

    This distinction is explained in the Export webpage in the documentation:
    Quick Copy allows you to quickly export items in the specified format. You can set your Quick Copy Default Format to either a citation style, such as Chicago Manual of Style (note), or a bibliographic export format, such as BibLaTeX or Zotero RDF. Press Ctrl/Cmd-Shift-C to copy the full reference to the clipboard. You can also drag the item to any text box in another program. If you set your default format to a citation style, press Ctrl/Cmd-Shift-A or hold down Shfit before dragging to copy the in-text ciation or footnote.
    The distinction between these two categories could probably be improved in the settings:
    - With an explanation in the description of Quick Copy in the Settings
    - With stronger emphasize on the name of the categories in the drop-down menu to better separate them, as the line mentioning the category can easily be confused with the other citation styles or export formats lines.

    It also took me some time to understand all this. And most people to whom I introduce Zotero to also ask me "How can I copy the BibTeX information of the paper?". They are usually searching for a simple "Copy as BibTeX" from a right-click on an item. Then they look into the Edit menu, but the options available ("Copy Citation" and "Copy Bibliography") do not really help finding the feature. And finally, the confusion between the two types of Quick Copy is where I loose them, as they usually expect both types to be usable at the same time.

    The current setup described above is functional and powerful, but I agree that it is difficult to find for new LaTeX users, and quite technical (you need to find the information of the Export Translator in the Config Editor to configure the secondary Quick Copy parameters). Having an option to configure a secondary copy option directly in the right-click menu of items would be really nice (not only for LaTeX users). Otherwise, a direct integration in BBT would be nice also here.
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