zbatch

zbatch is a Zotero 6 bootstrap plugin that enables batch editing a field across all items currently selected in the item pane.

Warning: Use at your own risk! Back up your database before using zbatch. Batch editing can potentially clobber data across many items at once if unexpected behavior occurs.

Installing zbatch

Download the release xpi file and install using Zotero's native Tools -> Add-Ons menu.

Building zbatch.xpi yourself

The zbatch source code within the addon folder simply needs to be put in a Zip file with extension xpi to be installed using Zotero's Add-Ons interface. I have provided a Windows batch script build.bat to achieve this. On other platforms, simply use a Zip utility to do the same (e.g., linux zip utility).

Using zbatch

zbatch inserts a new submenu into the item pane context menu. Currently supported options are:

• Clear the Extra field of all selected items Equivalent to editing the Extra field and replacing it with an empty string.

• Edit any one common field across selected items Replace a single field that is common across all selected items with a user-defined string. The string may contain one or more substitutions in the form ${field_name}, which sources the requested field individually for each item. All substitutions will be validated and prompted for acceptance before performing the edit.

Examples

Clear the Extra field of two items

1. Select both items in the Item Pane
2. Right-click -> zbatch Operations -> Clear "Extra" Field

Concatenate several fields into Extra

1. Select all desired items in the Item Pane
2. Right-lick -> zbatch Operations -> Edit Field...
3. Select the target field (e.g., extra) in the dropdown field selection menu.
4. Enter the desired replacement string (e.g., title: ${title}; date: ${date})
5. Press the Preview button to validate the string and preview any expected changes.
6. Press Accept to confirm the edit or Cancel to stop.