RIS import to Zotero, not Endnote is not working.

I have a problem getting RIS (endnote) files to be handled by Zotero. I have checked off that I want to use Zotero for downloaded endnote files in preferences. Yet nothing special/different happens when I click on a link that creates a RIS file. A popup screen opens that asks if I want endnote web helper to handle the ris file or download. This is the same behavior when this preference was unchecked or when zotero was not installed. Have installed and uninstalled zotero. Have started browser and system in between. Nothing seems to make difference.

I am using mozilla 2 on Windoze. I have endnote 10 and the webhelper that installs with it.

Should ris be seen as a mime type to handled by a plugin in mozilla? It is not--> A RIS file is not listed in mime types when look at Tools:Options:Content:file types. There is no plugin listed that handles the ris files when go to "about:plugins".

Not sure I am understanding this correctly, but should not the "file types" list in Endnote option list "ris" as something that is handled by a plugin? If it is just relying on default behavior of mimetype in windoze directly, it will just open in endnote, yes? Do I register the mimetype in windows to some program to make zotero work?

Any thoughts? I would assume that when I click on a file that is a RIS endnote file, it would do something with Zotero: Am I misunderstanding something? Anyone else having this problem? (I need this, as many sites I need do not screenscrape successfully, but do usually offer RIS export. Cannot use this great tool routinely, till RIS links open in zotero!)

Thanks for any pointers or help.
  • I might have been ambiguous...I am referring to a clicking on a RIS citation link in Firefox browser, not--of course--a RIS file in Windows Explorer or similar.
  • What site(s) are you trying this on?

    When the pref is enabled, Zotero registers a content listener internally, so you won't see anything in Tools:Options:Content:File Types, but any files with the MIME types application/x-endnote-refer or application/x-research-info-systems should theoretically be intercepted by Zotero.
  • I tried it on the RIS export on several places but all I tried failed However, after your message, I did try several others to see if any of them works. I did find a few that work!

    These work.
    -Nucleic Acid Research works (but the first and last names seemed a litlle wrong) .
    -BMC bioinformatics works.
    -Trends in Genetics (science Direct works)
    -Journal of biological chemistry works

    --Several that did not work with an example I tried , for example...
    -Nature does not work
    -Nature Genetics does not work
    (e.g. http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v36/n9/abs/ng0904-921.html )
    -Cell does not work
    -the hubmed.org entries do not work
    e.g. http://www.hubmed.org/display.cgi?uids=15340423 export as ris
    -Nature Neuroscience
    -Mammalian Genome does not work.

    Does this help? (do not remember a quick way to determine mime type, or I might have done more diagnosis. let me know a pointer to doing that if you want me to help diagnose if different declared mime types are issue from different journals. )

    thanks!
  • Just curious if you have any thoughts on this or estimate if it might be fixed soon.

    Essentially the way it works now it is a crap shoot as to whether the citation goes to Endnote or to Zotero, with this option flagged. Without option, they ALL go to Endnote

    Great tool, but this really gets in the way of using it if it is finicky about how the Mime type is declared on site by site basis.

    thanks for the tool, though.
  • It won't work with Nature or HubMed because both put headers on their RIS, which the RIS spec (to which the RIS translator is coded) does not provide for. The spec says:

    Except for the first tag of each reference, which must be "TY - " and the last tag of each reference, which must be "ER - ," the tags within each reference can be in any order.

    Both of these sources contain headers, which the spec doesn't provide for. I intend to change the code slightly so that it's a bit more lenient here.
  • Unfortunately I am not sure if this thread is a correct place to file such a patch...
    many cites do not expose "correct" MIME type for RIS files while you export citation... being fed up with it (has sent emails to few online journals, such as Neuron) I've just patched zotero with:

    --- chrome/content/zotero/xpcom/mimeTypeHandler.js.orig 2008-10-31 15:46:10.000000000 -0400
    +++ chrome/content/zotero/xpcom/mimeTypeHandler.js 2009-08-27 08:49:25.000000000 -0400
    @@ -49,6 +49,11 @@
    if(Zotero.Prefs.get("parseEndNoteMIMETypes")) {
    this.addHandler("application/x-endnote-refer", Zotero.Ingester.importHandler, true);
    this.addHandler("application/x-research-info-systems", Zotero.Ingester.importHandler, true);
    + /* Nature uses this one */
    + this.addHandler("text/application/x-research-info-systems", Zotero.Ingester.importHandler, true);
    + this.addHandler("text/x-research-info-systems", Zotero.Ingester.importHandler, true);
    + /* Cell uses this one */
    + this.addHandler("text/ris", Zotero.Ingester.importHandler, true);
    }
    this.addHandler("text/x-csl", function(a1, a2) { Zotero.Styles.install(a1, a2) });
    }


    I guess it would be great if it would be incorporated upstream -- it might take all publishers a while (if ever) to converge to somewhat more 'standard' mime type for RIS, as zotero relies upon it
  • Next time it would probably make sense to start a new thread for something like this, but I've opened a ticket to test and add your patch. Many thanks for your contribution.
  • ok -- will do next time ;)
    it might be also useful to add
    this.addHandler("ris", Zotero.Ingester.importHandler, true);

    it shouldn't conflict with anything else but I think I've seen this mimetype somewhere as well
  • yarikoptic: I've added these MIME types on the trunk. They'll be included in 2.0b7.2. Thanks for your help.
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