Zot2Bib
Zot2Bib is a Firefox extension that helps you combine the no-typing-required bibliographic magic of Zotero with the TeX-compatibility and Mac-like goodness of BibDesk.
With Zot2Bib, any time you get something automatically added to your Zotero library, you can also have it automatically exported to one or more BibDesk documents.
Zot2Bib is Mac-only and BibDesk-only. It’s not a generic BibTeX manager (maybe it should be… but it isn’t).
Update: February 2012
Version 2.0.5 is available on mozilla.org. It’s compatible with Zotero 3.
If you’re running OS X Lion, please ensure you’ve updated to 10.7.2 or higher. In 10.7.0 and 10.7.1, AppleScript appears to be broken in a way that breaks Zot2Bib.
Why?
- Zotero’s ability to ‘scrape’ reference data from many academic websites, including Google Scholar, is incredibly handy.
- But I use LyX and LaTeX for academic work, so I want a reference database that’s BibTeX-native. I also prefer a database format and PDF file library layout I can easily understand and make part of my backup routine. And a pretty GUI. Enter BibDesk.
- Then again, storing references has to be one click, or there’s a risk I don’t bother. Hence this simple extension.
How?
- Make sure you’re running Mac OS X 10.4 or above and you’ve installed BibDesk and created a .bib file as your main database.
- Check you’re using the latest update of Firefox 3 or 4 with the latest Zotero already installed and working.
- Install the extension from mozilla.org, then restart Firefox.
- You should see see a new ‘Z2B’ icon at the bottom right of the browser. Click that, then click ‘Help’ in the pop-up menu for further instructions (you’ll need to set up one or more destination files using the preferences dialog, shown below).
Alternatives
You might also find CiteULike useful.
Change log
- 2.0.5 Restored menu icon to add-on bar.
- 2.0.4 Updated compatibility with Zotero 3 (but accidentally moved menu icon inside Zotero).
- 2.0.3 Fixed issue on systems where MacRoman is not the default text encoding (by changing text encoding of AppleScript component to UTF-8 + BOM, based on info here).
- 2.0.2 Updates for Firefox 4
- 2.0.1 Internal change only: switched AppleScript component to plain text format, to facilitate review by Mozilla.
- 2.0 Addition of multiple switchable destinations, various preferences, and an interface to manage them; fixed some character mangling issues; hosting on mozilla.org with automatic updates; compatibility with Firefox 3.5 and Zotero 2.
- 1.0.5 Updates to install manifest for Firefox 3
- 1.0.4 Updates to install manifest for Zotero 1.0.4
- 1.0.3 Minor AppleScript modifications to reflect apparent changes to AppleScript support in BibDesk 1.3.16
- 1.0.2 Reliability improvements suggested by Zotero developers, and AppleScript fixes for OS X 10.4
- 1.0.1 Bug fixes and refactoring
Disclaimer. This extension contains only sugary goodness, but please don’t hold me responsible if anything bad should happen while you’re using it.
Problems?
Since Zot2Bib has a lot of dependencies, it breaks rather more often than I’d like. If there’s been a recent update to Firefox, Zotero, BibDesk or Mac OS X (and especially AppleScript), any of these could be causing problems. Let me know! Because Zot2Bib is hosted on mozilla.org now, you should get the appropriate update automatically.
Even better, if you’re so inclined, just fork it on Github and get hacking.
Feedback?
Please email me on george mackerron com. Or, if you’re feeling particularly appreciative, I wouldn’t stop you buying me a pint.