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kb:mendeley_import [2018/08/28 20:19] – [Extracting Mendeley Annotations and Highlights] bwiernikkb:mendeley_import [2018/08/28 21:37] – [Extracting Mendeley Annotations and Highlights] dstillman
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 In addition to the database encryption discussed above, there are a few other issues to be aware of when importing from Mendeley. In addition to the database encryption discussed above, there are a few other issues to be aware of when importing from Mendeley.
  
-  * Mendeley stores PDF annotations and highlights in its database rather than storing them in the file where they would be accessible to other PDF readers, so Zotero extracts annotations to a note stored under the item, with links back to the original page. Highlights are not imported. To embed annotations and highlights into the PDF files themselves so they can be imported into Zotero, you have several options:+  * Mendeley stores PDF annotations and highlights in its database rather than storing them in the file where they would be accessible to other PDF readers, so Zotero extracts annotations to a note stored under the item, with links back to the original page. Highlights are not imported. To embed annotations and highlights into the PDF files themselves so they can be imported into Zotero, you have a couple options:
     - Mendeley provides an option to generate a PDF with annotations and highlights added back to the file, but it can only be run for one file at a time. If you’d like to import PDFs with annotations and highlights, you could use that option for select files and then replace the imported files in Zotero (right-click on the item and choose “Show File”) with the annotated versions.     - Mendeley provides an option to generate a PDF with annotations and highlights added back to the file, but it can only be run for one file at a time. If you’d like to import PDFs with annotations and highlights, you could use that option for select files and then replace the imported files in Zotero (right-click on the item and choose “Show File”) with the annotated versions.
-    - To embed You can also try using the third-party [[https://github.com/cycomanic/Menextract2pdf|Menextract2pdf]] script to write annotations and highlights back to the PDFs in Mendeley before importing into Zotero. See the [[#Extracting_Mendeley_Annotations_and_Highlights|instructions below]].+    - You can also try using the third-party [[https://github.com/cycomanic/Menextract2pdf|Menextract2pdf]] script to write annotations and highlights back to the PDFs in Mendeley before importing into Zotero. See the [[#Extracting_Mendeley_Annotations_and_Highlights|instructions below]].
   * It’s not possible to directly import group libraries. To import items in group libraries, simply copy the group items to a collection in your Mendeley library before importing. You can then create a Zotero group and drag imported collections or items to that group.   * It’s not possible to directly import group libraries. To import items in group libraries, simply copy the group items to a collection in your Mendeley library before importing. You can then create a Zotero group and drag imported collections or items to that group.
   * Mendeley allows any field to be added to any type. When importing into Zotero, if a field isn’t valid for a given item type, the field is placed into the Extra field. When possible, those will be used automatically in citations (e.g., Original Date), and future versions of Zotero will automatically convert those to any real fields that become available.   * Mendeley allows any field to be added to any type. When importing into Zotero, if a field isn’t valid for a given item type, the field is placed into the Extra field. When possible, those will be used automatically in citations (e.g., Original Date), and future versions of Zotero will automatically convert those to any real fields that become available.
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 If you're running the latest version and something doesn’t come through how you expect or you run into any trouble, let us know in the [[https://forums.zotero.org/|Zotero Forums]]. If you're running the latest version and something doesn’t come through how you expect or you run into any trouble, let us know in the [[https://forums.zotero.org/|Zotero Forums]].
  
-===== Extracting Mendeley Annotations and Highlights =====+===== Preserving Mendeley Annotations and Highlights =====
  
-To use the Menextract2pdf script to save Mendeley annotations and highlights to all of the PDFs in your library, follow these steps:+As [[#known_issues|noted above]], Mendeley stores PDF annotations and highlights in its own database rather than in the PDF itself where they would be accessible to other PDF readers, and while Zotero will extract annotations to child notes with links back to the PDF, embedded annotations and highlights will not be imported. 
 + 
 +To use the third-party Menextract2pdf script to save annotations and highlights back to all of the PDFs in your library before importing into Zotero, follow these steps:
  
 ==== macOS or Linux ==== ==== macOS or Linux ====
  
   - Close Mendeley   - Close Mendeley
-  - Make a backup of your [[https://service.elsevier.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/22098/kw/database/supporthub/mendeley/|Mendeley data directory]], including the ''Downloaded'' folder that holds your PDF files (and other other locations on your computer where you have PDF files you wish to save Mendeley annotations to)+  - Make a backup of your [[https://service.elsevier.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/22098/kw/database/supporthub/mendeley/|Mendeley data directory]], including the ''Downloaded'' folder that holds your PDF files (and other locations on your computer where you have PDF files you wish to save Mendeley annotations to)
   - Download and unzip the Mextract2pdf script from [[https://github.com/bwiernik/Menextract2pdf/archive/master.zip|here]]   - Download and unzip the Mextract2pdf script from [[https://github.com/bwiernik/Menextract2pdf/archive/master.zip|here]]
   - Open Terminal, navigate to the unzipped Mextract2pdf folder, and run the following command (filling in the correct file paths):   - Open Terminal, navigate to the unzipped Mextract2pdf folder, and run the following command (filling in the correct file paths):
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   - Install [[https://www.python.org/downloads/|Python]]   - Install [[https://www.python.org/downloads/|Python]]
   - Close Mendeley   - Close Mendeley
-  - Make a backup of your [[https://service.elsevier.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/22098/kw/database/supporthub/mendeley/|Mendeley data directory]], including the ''Downloaded'' folder that holds your PDF files (and other other locations on your computer where you have PDF files you wish to save Mendeley annotations to)+  - Make a backup of your [[https://service.elsevier.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/22098/kw/database/supporthub/mendeley/|Mendeley data directory]], including the ''Downloaded'' folder that holds your PDF files (and other locations on your computer where you have PDF files you wish to save Mendeley annotations to)
   - Download and unzip the Mextract2pdf script from [[https://github.com/bwiernik/Menextract2pdf/archive/master.zip|here]]   - Download and unzip the Mextract2pdf script from [[https://github.com/bwiernik/Menextract2pdf/archive/master.zip|here]]
   - Open Command Prompt, navigate to the unzipped Mextract2pdf folder, and run the following command (filling in the correct file paths):   - Open Command Prompt, navigate to the unzipped Mextract2pdf folder, and run the following command (filling in the correct file paths):
kb/mendeley_import.txt · Last modified: 2022/12/27 16:40 by dstillman