Saturday, July 14, 2012

Zotero Standalone and Zotero Connectors and more on citation/reference software

http://www.zotero.org/

Uh, hello, wow, finally, this is cool!! So, Zotero, my second favorite bibliography manager now has a standalone and a connector version of their software. I really liked Zotero when I first started using it, but found my way over to Menedeley Desktop once it came out. Both are very good alternatives to EndNote or even JabRef, and both have their pros and cons. Anyways, Zotero has released (since when, I don't know) alpha versions of a standalone and connector Zotero citation software. The standalone is what is says, a standalone version of Zotero (like Menedeley is a standalone) which used to require running in the Firefox web browser. The standalone is also cross-platform with downloads for Windows 2000 or later, Mac Intel, OS X 10.5 or later, and Linux 32- and 64-bit versions. I really like this because for some reason I was turned off by having to use Zotero in Firefox. I like Firefox and Zotero and all, but I use Chromium/Chrome more and just like Mendeley better. Actually, it has been awhile since I have used Zotero so I can really say what I liked or did not like. I'll have to review my older post which I will also add an update to.

Anyways, so you might be wondering or ask why am I so excited about having Zotero standalone if I use Mendeley all the time? Well, to tell you the truth, I am kind of an I like to have everything just in case I need it even though I probably don't need it or won't ever use it. I have gotten better with this obsession, but in reality it is probably for the better to have Zotero and to be able to convert between Mendeley if needed, since, as I plan to stay in academia or least research intensive, I will be collaborating with many people from around the world and who use different software. So I figure having Mendeley and Zotero on board I can cover most people's citation choices with both (not totally sure about this, I will update as I find out).

Pulled this one out of the archives.  Had it as a draft forever.  Finally installed Zotero standalone.  I founf this:

http://www.stephanieplumeri.net/blog/category/install-wizard/

which linked to this:

http://anterotesis.com/wordpress/2011/11/installing-zotero-standalone-on-ubuntu-11-10/

I couldn't get this^^ to work so after I downloaded and unpacked the file I just moved the folder to my home.  You can then double click the Zotero executable and then pin it to a launch bar.  It has this weird obsession to try to install itself in Libre every time I run it.  I don't want to atm so I clicked Cancel, it says are you sure you can install it later, I say yes OK.  It repeats!!  SO finally I clicked on the X to close the window box and it went away.  I might just let it install so it goes away.  I just figured that I am not ever going to use it in Libre so I didn't want/need to install.

I haven't tried the connectors either.  Normally Zotero works natively in FireFox, but it now has the ability to do the same in Chrome and Safari (haha, screw IE).  I didn't do this because I mainly use MD and won't be using Zotero too often.  I think I'll keep it on board for backup and just to keep up with the software.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the post, I use Zotero and MD, the chrome connector works fine, very stable, found MD better for pdfs but Zot better for web content, always interested to hear what others think and don't really feel either tool is as good as they could be but appreciate as free tools there is a limit to what can be invested.

    Thanks again for the post, much apreciate shared views on bib and citation tools.

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