Non-techy tries to create a CSL

86ul · March 20, 2021, 7:31pm

Dear fellow users of CSL,

As a student in Arts and thus a non-techy, I am wondering what is the best way to create a suitable CSL according to the guidelines of my faculty. That is an adaption of the Turabian, which is an adaption of the Chicago style. It is to work better with Zotero, than to do edit all references by hand; which we do now at my faculty.

I have already tried your very helpful editor in both Firefox and Vivaldi on a Mint. Which is great for normal CSLs, but my faculty wants something special, unique in referring to multimedia and archive pieces, for example. Which results in a RAM hungry browser, with 32gb not an issue, unless it requires to much, so that the browser crash from time to time. Most changes are saved, both automatically and done by frequent downloading the recent CSL file. Thus with patience I can keep working on this project.

But I am wondering if there is a beter solution, than just accept those crashes? I have already read some of interesting threads in this section, thus I know Atom works great with CSL. Thus I am (more) interested to know which extension(s) I should use, to make it clickable as your very helpful editor, if that is even possible. And I have read the docs of your website’ on CSL. Looking forward to use CSL 1.0.2 (July '21) and CSL 1.1 ('22). And to have a suitable CSL created automatically based on the previous work could be an options, but than I learn next to nothing about CSL…

Because I have already tried some with the editor, I know I have some other questions as well, but -if I may from the mods- I would like to ask those questions here too, when I am reading to ask those questions. Like, how to do Ibid only for the very same page in my work, but to do the short reference on the next page.

Either way and tldr: Is there a easier way to edit a complex CSL in Atom, for example?

Although I work with Mint, I think my faculty prefers to work with Windows. Thus both an app and extension for both OSs is ideal.

EDIT: Use Discourse on my phone, thus several typos…

bwiernik · March 20, 2021, 9:21pm

Honestly, I recommend just working with a code editor like the style editor in Zotero. CSL is a code language, but one that is highly verbal. I think you will find it easier to just look at the actual code and see the few options and style conventions than to use the editor.

Otherwise, you can request a custom style by following these steps:

github.com

citation-style-language/styles/blob/master/REQUESTING.md

# Requesting CSL Styles

Below are instructions to request new CSL styles and to report problems in existing styles.

We only have a few volunteers who respond to incoming requests, so please follow our instructions closely to make the process more efficient. 
While we typically work for free, we do charge for, e.g., creating styles for universities or departments ([contact us](http://citationstyles.org/contact/) for pricing). 
You can also try to [edit CSL styles](https://github.com/citation-style-language/styles/blob/master/STYLE_DEVELOPMENT.md#editing-styles) yourself.

## Requesting a New Style

1. First, make sure the style you're requesting isn't already available. 
   The easiest way to check this is to search the [Zotero Style Repository](http://www.zotero.org/styles), which has all our styles.
2. If we don't have the style, try a quick search of the [Zotero forums](http://forums.zotero.org/) to see if there is already a Zotero forum thread for the style you want to request. 
   If there is an existing thread, check whether you can provide any missing information that we might need to create the style. 
   The thread might also contain (technical) reasons why we currently cannot support your style.
3. If you can't find an existing Zotero forum thread, create a new one. 
   **If you have already started a thread, just update it; do not create a new one.** 
   Name your post "Style Request: [name of style]", and include the following information:

    * A link to online style documentation (e.g. for a journal, this would generally be a link to the journal's "Instructions to Authors" section).

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86ul · March 22, 2021, 5:22pm

Thus you advice to write, than to click a custom CSL?

I will send this thread to someone of my faculty.

Either way I keep you all posted

retorquere · March 24, 2021, 5:12am

The advice was to write it or request one to be made for you. Instructions on how to request a style are included in the Readme that was posted.

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Non-techy tries to create a CSL

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