Exporting Notes to BibIX

BIO-WEST
Does anyone know of a way to export the Notes when you export to the BibIX format?
  • noksagt
    edited May 3, 2011
    EDIT: mis-read. Notes in Refer/BiBIX aren't currently possible. Nor are they standard:
    http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/makhzan/refer.html (%Z is sometimes used for this, but I don't think Zotero should use this (it isn't in the spec and multiple notes or separate notes are not possible in Refer).
  • BIO-WEST
    Not so great news.
    I have already written a conversion to go from BibIX to XML and do a few other things to the file. (This is a Word 2007 macro.) My macro is set to use %Z, so if the Notes were exported they would be converted. (Maybe it is not part of the Refer, but couldn't I select to use it anyway knowing what the consequences might be. It would definitely be a plus for me right now!) I don't currently allow for multiple notes, don't think we would have them, but I have accounted for multiple Authors and Editors, which do occur.

    The XML file is then imported into Access and used/kept for various purposes. Then we use MailMerge to create an annotated bibliography, which is a Word Document.

    If there is any better way to get the data into Access, keep it there and then create the Annotated bibliography, I would love to hear about it.

    I did look for and try a few conversions found on the web but nothing I found worked.
  • bdarcus
    Why not simply ask about to create an annotated bibliography using Zotero (maybe report --> xslt?), rather than the convoluted hack? Granted, Zotero is still weak on this, but I still think using Access for annotated bibs is odd.
  • BIO-WEST
    Good point.

    However we need the data in Access. It is being queried, manipulated, and stored in Access, which is where the client wants it to be for use and archiving. So it is necessary to get it into Access.

    Since it is in Access, doing a MailMerge with Word to create the Annotated bibliographies is quite simple. We also can have the Annotated Bibliography formatted the way we want when it is created. Not sure if xlst or whatever allows us to have the Bibliography formatted when it is created or if we would need to format all of the text.
  • noksagt
    If you want to stick with the hack, you can relatively easily switch to RIS or customize Zotero's Refer translator. I agree with Bruce that these aren't ideal and also agree that Access is a bit of a weird choice. Depending on the schema of your access database, I might be tempted to work more directly with the Zotero sqlite file or at least use one of the XML-based formats that Zotero exports (Biblio/Zotero RDF or MODS).
  • noksagt
    Not sure if xlst or whatever allows us to have the Bibliography formatted when it is created or if we would need to format all of the text.
    Not sure that you understand XSLT. You could use it to massage the files exported from Zotero into the same XML format you need for Access.
  • BIO-WEST
    I am going to have to look further into XSLT. Is this a software program that we need to purchase?

    I don't see anything in the preferences on customizing Zotero's Refer translator. Is there a place that explains this?

    Reminder that all is currently working quite well (Export BibIX, Conversion to XML, To Access, MailMerge) with the exception of the notes not being exported via BibIX.

    And thanks for all the help you have provided.
  • ajlyon
    XSLT is a language and system for converting XML from one form to another. It can be hard to get a handle on, but it's actually quite flexible and powerful, and often the best option when you have to XML formats that need to be interconverted.
  • ajlyon
    And XSLT is interpreted by many free clients, including Firefox, but also Saxon and more.

    To edit the Refer translators, take a look at the translator documentation (http://www.zotero.org/support/dev/translators) and at the actual translator, which you can find in the file "ReferBibIX.js" in the translators directory of your Zotero data directory (http://www.zotero.org/support/zotero_data).
  • BIO-WEST
    I am trying to change the Refer/BibIX translator. I have opened the ReferBibIX.js file in Crimson Editor. Where can I find or how do I pull up a library showing how to access the notes?

    In the code I see portions like "item.creators[j].lastName" which I presume means get the last name from the jth (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.) creators in item. But how do I access the notes or better yet how do I find the library that shows how to access them?
  • ajlyon
    edited May 5, 2011
    See http://www.zotero.org/support/dev/translators/coding#notes for some more detail-- the full list of internal names for fields and item types is at http://gsl-nagoya-u.net/http/pub/csl-fields/index.html
  • BIO-WEST
    Ajlyon,

    Thanks for the info. However I think your second link is not correct. It takes me to the Table of contents fo rthe Nagoya Univeristy Graduate School of Law, with the following message; "Page not found The information you seek may have been moved. Please check the sitemap below." If this is correct, I need to know which item in the Table of contents I would go into.
  • ajlyon
    There was a stray period breaking the URL. Try again now.
  • BIO-WEST
    Thanks,
    That worked!
  • BIO-WEST
    How/when are the translators loaded for use.
    I change the ReferBibIX translator by modifying the code in the ReferBibIX.js file. What needs to be done to make this new code active?
    Will just saving the file work? (I have tried this and it does not seem to use the new code.)
    Do I need to quit and restart Firefox? ( I have tried this and it did not work either.)
  • BIO-WEST
    OK,
    I think my problem was that I had copied and renamed the original ReferBibIX.js to ReferBibIX(Old).js and that file for whatever reason, probably the Translator ID, was being read causing this "Old" file to being used rather than the changed one. Once I remove this "Old" file from the translator folder the changes started to take effect.
  • ajlyon
    Yes-- if there are two files with the same translator ID, Zotero's behavior is undefined and not pleasant. In general, Zotero will run the current code of the translator for import and export all the time, and for a webpage after reloading the page. Changes in the JSON header (vitally, target expressions for web translators) won't be picked up until Firefox is restarted.

    So now this works for you?
  • BIO-WEST
    I got it to work.

    Thanks everyone for your ideas and help!
  • BIO-WEST
    I have this working on my machine fine. I had someone else remove the ReferBibIX.js file from their translator directory and place the file I created and am using into the Translator directory. When they do this, the BibIX translator does not show as an option in the export. If they put the old one back it does then show as an option.

    Any ideas why the file would work on one machine but not another?

    I checked and the filename and translator ID are the same for both the old and new ReferBibIX.js files.
  • ajlyon
    You may have to restart Firefox after swapping in the new file in order for Zotero to detect that the filename is different.
  • BIO-WEST
    I did have the user restart Firefox and it did not recognize the file. Both the old and the new translator have the exact same name.

    Zipping files and sending them through email should not cause file corruption should it?
  • BIO-WEST
    I also just checked and the user is using Zotero version 2.0.9. In the ReferBibIX.js file it says
    "minVersion":"1.0.0b4.r5",
    Thus I don't think the version of Zotero is a problem.
  • adamsmith
    I believe export translators changed slightly between 2.0.9 and 2.1 - the same translator might not work on both - people haven't been very thorough in keeping up the min version numbers.
  • ajlyon
    No, it won't work for 2.0.9, since some of the translator options are expressed differently in 2.1.
  • BIO-WEST
    Hey, thanks again. I had the user update their Zotero and Badda Bing! it now works for them.

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