First we need to download libZotero, a Python module that allows you to interact with Zotero API, withpip install libZotero

From here, we can follow each step, but when we reached for item in items: print item.bibContent to get full bibliographic information we received an error that read:

After you follow the instructions for getting Unicode, start back at the beginning. After from libZotero import zotero, then tell Python the user/group code and API Key for the Zotero library you want to use.

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#Unicode instructions (couresty of Brad Wiebe) For this to work on Windows you’ve got a few extra steps to go through first! You want to enter python -m pip install win_unicode_console into the Command Line

After a successful install you will go into your Python interpreter with the simple command Python

Next you will want to import and enable, first with import win_unicode_console and then win_unicode_console.enable()

Unicode will help your machine understand what we will be doing with Zotero and prevent the hiccups that Emily & I encountered with Professor Graham. Now you can follow the slightly different process outlined below to go through the Tutorial. There are a few nuances over when and how you input the commands shown by the tutorial

Input the following commands on the Command Line in the Python interpreter. This must be done right after you finished the Unicode process above (according to Graham the Unicode will not stick around and would have to be re-added if you close the Command Line)

The Tutorial Commands for Windows are as follows (NOTE: capitalization matters and you should only be getting »> after every command you put in unless otherwise stated): * from libZotero import zotero * zlib=zotero.Library('group','155975','<null>','9GLmvmZ1K1qGAz9QWcdlyf6L') * items = zlib.fetchItemsTop({'limit': 5, 'content': 'json,bib,coins'}) * At this point the Tutorial says you should have an output, but you should NOT. * for item in items: * At this point the Tutorial says to include the rest of the command, but it should be included after! * ` print ‘Item Type: %s | Key: %s | Title: %s’ % (item.itemType,item.itemKey, item.title) * you need to include a series of 4 spaces before this print command. A series metadata should appear. * for item in items: * At this point the Tutorial says to include the rest of the command, but it should be included after! * print item.bibContent * you need to include a series of 4 spaces before this print` command. A series metadata should appear.

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If we use the Programming Historian Library as they advise, we get no input with the command, items = zlib.fetchItemsTop({'limit': 5, 'content': 'json,bib,coins'})

As well as we don’t get the same metadata detail from command, for item in items: print 'Item Type: %s | Key: %s | Title: %s' % (item.itemType,item.itemKey, item.title)

However, by synching the information we inputted into Zotero Standalone Desktop in the tutorial, “Sustainable Authorship in Plain Text using Pandoc and Markdown” we can request the Zotero API to provide our own metadata. To synch, go to Actions>Preferences>Sync and enter our account information.

The information you inputted into the desktop are now found online. From here, you need to find your User code and API Key to tell Python where your account API is located. To do this, go to Settings>Feeds/API. Your userID will be displayed and from there you can create a ‘new private key’.

Now you can replace zlib=zotero.Library('group','155975','<null>','9GLmvmZ1K1qGAz9QWcdlyf6L') with your information, switching group with user and inputting your own user code and API Key.

This is an interesting way to see the organization of your own metadata or if you wanted to pull sources from a group’s or person’s Zotero account. However, I wasn’t sure if you could just look up the API keys for groups or if you needed to be a group member. For example, I wasn’t able to find the information they provided in the tutorial (user code and API key) on the Zotero account of Programming Historian example.

Tutorial 2: Creating a New Item

The tutorial instructions were simple and the directory of options was easy to find online so you can add various types of entries (document, videos, etc). But I received 403: Write access denied when I inputted commands and ran the commands as a script.