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--- kb:mendeley_import [2022/12/15 05:07] – dstillman
+++ kb:mendeley_import [2025/02/12 23:25] (current) – [How do I import a Mendeley library into Zotero?] dstillman
@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
   - Make sure that all data and files have been synced to Mendeley servers.
+    * If you use **Mendeley Reference Manager**, your data and files are already all online.
     * If you use **Mendeley Desktop**, check your sync settings to make sure that data and files are being synced, and confirm that you can open PDFs in your online Mendeley library.
-    * If you use **Mendeley Reference Manager**, your data and files are already all online.
+  - Make sure you're running the latest version of Zotero (Help → Check for Updates…).
-  - Make sure you're running at least Zotero 6, which contains the latest version of the importer as well as a [[/blog/zotero-6|new PDF reader]] that can display PDF annotations imported from Mendeley.
   - Go to File → Import within Zotero and choose the "Mendeley Reference Manager (online import)" option.
@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 If for some reason you're not able to perform a direct online import, it's possible to import from a local Mendeley database by installing an old version of Mendeley Desktop from before Mendeley began [[#mendeley_database_encryption|encrypting]] the local database. See the [[mendeley_local_import|local import instructions]] for more information.
-===== Using Mendeley-Created Citations =====
+===== Using Mendeley Citations =====
-Zotero's Word and LibreOffice plugins can read citations created by Mendeley Desktop, so you can continue using the same documents with Zotero and insert additional instances of those citations.
-In Zotero 6.0.18 (the current version) and earlier, citations created with Mendeley won't be linked to imported items in your Zotero library, but you can choose from the "Cited" section of the search results in the citation dialog to add another instance of the citation to the document. If you need to make changes to an item's metadata, you'll want to use Add/Edit Citation and replace all instances of the citation in the document with the imported item in your library.
-Starting in Zotero 6.0.19 (currently in [[:beta_builds|beta]]), Zotero can automatically link citations created with Mendeley to imported items in your library. If you previously imported your library from Mendeley, you'll need to repeat the import process using Zotero 6.0.19 or later. Select "Download new items only; don't update previously imported items" when starting the importer — the existing items will still be relinked.
+Zotero's Word and LibreOffice plugins can read citations created by Mendeley Desktop and automatically relink them to imported Mendeley items in your Zotero library, so you can continue using the same documents with Zotero.
 Citations created with Mendeley Cite are not readable by Zotero.
+Note: Prior to Zotero 6.0.19 (released in December 2022), Zotero could read and use Mendeley citations, but they wouldn't be linked to imported items in your Zotero library. If you imported your Mendeley library using Zotero 6.0.18 or earlier, you'll need to repeat the import process once using Zotero 6.0.19 or later — just select "Relink Mendeley Desktop citations" when starting the importer. (If you've already imported citations using 6.0.19 or later, this option will no longer appear.)
 ===== Known Issues =====
@@ Line 47: / Line 44: @@
 Zotero originally announced work on a fully local importer in early 2018, but a few months later, Elsevier began encrypting the local Mendeley database, making it unreadable by Zotero and other standard database tools. This change came despite Mendeley having long touted the openness of their database format as a guarantee against lock-in and explaining in documentation that the database could be accessed using standard tools. Mendeley Desktop itself had imported data from Zotero’s own open database since 2009.
-The [[https://www.mendeley.com/release-notes/v1_19|Mendeley 1.19 release notes]] claimed that the encryption was for “improved security” on shared machines, yet applications rarely encrypt their local data files, as file protections are generally handled by the operating system with account permissions and full-disk encryption, and someone using the same operating system account or an admin account can already install a keylogger to capture passwords. Mendeley later [[https://twitter.com/mendeley_com/status/1006915998841221120|switched to claiming]] that the change was required by new European privacy regulations — a bizarre claim, given that those regulations are designed to give people control over their data and guarantee data portability, not the opposite — and continued to assert, falsely, that full local export was still possible, while [[https://twitter.com/mendeley_com/status/1006919608471818240|repeatedly]] [[https://twitter.com/MendeleySupport/status/1006920802120470528|dismissing]] reports of the change as “#fakenews”.
+The [[https://www.mendeley.com/release-notes/v1_19|Mendeley 1.19 release notes]] claimed that the encryption was for “improved security” on shared machines, yet applications rarely encrypt their local data files, as file protections are generally handled by the operating system with account permissions and full-disk encryption, and someone using the same operating system account or an admin account can already install a keylogger to capture passwords. Mendeley later [[https://twitter.com/mendeley_com/status/1006915998841221120|switched to claiming]] that the change was required by new European privacy regulations — a bizarre claim, given that those regulations are designed to give people control over their data and guarantee data portability, not the opposite — and continued to assert, falsely, that full local export was still possible, while [[https://twitter.com/mendeley_com/status/1006919608471818240|repeatedly]] [[https://web.archive.org/web/20211120213432/https://twitter.com/MendeleySupport/status/1006920802120470528|dismissing]] reports of the change as “#fakenews”.
-Direct access to the Mendeley database is the only fully local way to export the full contents of one’s own research. The export formats supported by Mendeley don’t contain folders, various metadata fields (date added, favorite, and others), or PDF annotations. While Mendeley offers a web-based API, it contains only uploaded data, so relying on it means that anyone wanting to export their own data first needs to upload all their data and files to Elsevier’s servers. The API is under Elsevier’s control and can be [[https://service.elsevier.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/31598/supporthub/mendeley/p/16075/|changed]] or [[https://blog.mendeley.com/2021/03/11/mendeley-refocusing-announcement-mobile-app-retirement/|discontinued]] at any time.
+Direct access to the Mendeley database is the only fully local way to export the full contents of one’s own research. The export formats supported by Mendeley don’t contain folders, various metadata fields (date added, favorite, and others), or PDF annotations. While Mendeley offers a web-based API, it contains only uploaded data, so relying on it means that anyone wanting to export their own data first needs to upload all their data and files to Elsevier’s servers. The API is under Elsevier’s control and can be [[https://service.elsevier.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/31598/supporthub/mendeley/p/16075/|changed]] or [[https://mendeleyblog.wordpress.com/2021/03/11/mendeley-refocusing-announcement-mobile-app-retirement//|discontinued]] at any time.
 Since making this change, Elsevier has replaced Mendeley Desktop with Mendeley Reference Manager, which is essentially a wrapper around the website and doesn’t contain a real local database at all.