Exporting References

Export your references to share with others, back up your library, or use in other applications. Academic References supports multiple export formats.

Why Export References?

Share with Collaborators Send reference lists to coauthors in their preferred format.

Backup Your Library Keep a local copy of your references.

Use in Other Tools Move references to Zotero, Mendeley, LaTeX editors, or other software.

Create Reading Lists Generate bibliographies for courses, syllabi, or research guides.

Export to Note Apps Send to Notion, Obsidian, or other knowledge management tools.

Accessing the Export Tool

Navigate to References > Import/Export and select the Export tab.

The export interface

Export Formats

Format	Extension	Best For
BibTeX	.bib	LaTeX, Zotero, Mendeley, JabRef
RIS	.ris	EndNote, Mendeley, most reference managers
CSL-JSON	.json	Web applications, modern tools
Notion CSV	.csv	Notion databases (recommended)
Notion Markdown	.md	Notion pages as tables
Notion JSON	.json	Notion API integration
Obsidian	.zip	Obsidian vaults (one note per reference)

Exporting All References

1. Go to References > Import/Export > Export
2. Select All References
3. Choose your format
4. Click Export
5. Save the downloaded file

Exporting Selected References

From the Export Tool

1. Select Selected References
2. Search or browse to find references
3. Check boxes next to references to include
4. Choose format
5. Click Export

From the Reference List

1. Go to References > All References
2. Check boxes next to references
3. Select Export from Bulk Actions
4. Choose format in the popup
5. Download the file

Exporting a Category

1. Filter references by category
2. Select all visible references
3. Use bulk export

Or:

1. In Export tool, select By Category
2. Choose the category
3. Export

Exporting a Collection

1. In Export tool, select By Collection
2. Choose the collection
3. Export

Format Details

BibTeX Export

BibTeX is the standard for LaTeX and widely supported:

@article{smith2020,
  author = {Smith, John A. and Jones, Mary B.},
  title = {The Impact of Research},
  journal = {Journal of Studies},
  year = {2020},
  volume = {10},
  number = {2},
  pages = {42-50},
  doi = {10.1234/example}
}

Options:

• Include abstracts – Add abstract field
• Include keywords – Add keywords from tags
• Citation key format – How to generate keys (author-year, author-title, etc.)

RIS Export

RIS works with EndNote and most reference managers:

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Smith, John A.
AU  - Jones, Mary B.
TI  - The Impact of Research
JO  - Journal of Studies
PY  - 2020
VL  - 10
IS  - 2
SP  - 42
EP  - 50
DO  - 10.1234/example
ER  -

Options:

• Include abstracts – Add AB field
• Include notes – Add N1 field

CSL-JSON Export

Standard JSON format for web applications:

[{
  "type": "article-journal",
  "author": [
    {"family": "Smith", "given": "John A."},
    {"family": "Jones", "given": "Mary B."}
  ],
  "title": "The Impact of Research",
  "container-title": "Journal of Studies",
  "issued": {"date-parts": [[2020]]},
  "volume": "10",
  "issue": "2",
  "page": "42-50",
  "DOI": "10.1234/example"
}]

Options:

• Pretty print – Human-readable formatting
• Include all fields – Export every available field

Notion Export

Academic References provides three formats optimized for Notion:

Notion CSV (Recommended)

The best format for Notion database imports. Creates a CSV file with UTF-8 BOM encoding for proper character support.

Default Columns:

• Title, Authors, Year, Type, Journal
• DOI, URL, Abstract, Tags, Status, Notes

Available Columns: You can customize which columns to include:

Column	Description
Title	Reference title
Authors	Formatted as “Last, First; Last, First”
Year	Publication year
Date	Full date (YYYY-MM-DD format)
Type	Reference type (article, book, etc.)
Journal	Container/journal name
DOI	Digital Object Identifier
URL	Web address (auto-generates from DOI if available)
Abstract	Truncated to 500 characters
Volume	Volume number
Issue	Issue number
Pages	Page range
Publisher	Publisher name
ISBN	Book ISBN
ISSN	Journal ISSN
Tags	From WordPress (comma-separated)
Status	Reading status
Notes	Personal notes (truncated to 1000 chars)
Starred	Yes/No
Created	Date added to WordPress
Modified	Last modified date

Options:

• Include Abstract – Add abstract column
• Include Notes – Add personal notes column
• Delimiter – Comma (default) or semicolon

How to Import into Notion:

1. Export as Notion CSV
2. In Notion, create a new database or open existing
3. Click “…” → “Merge with CSV”
4. Upload the exported CSV file
5. Map columns to properties

Notion Markdown

Creates a markdown table you can paste directly into Notion pages:

# References Library

| Title | Authors | Year | Journal | DOI | Status |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Study of... | Smith, J. | 2024 | Nature | 10.1234/... | Reading |

---
*Exported from Academic References on 2024-01-15 10:30:00 UTC*

Best for: Quick sharing in Notion pages rather than databases.

Notion JSON (API Format)

Exports references in Notion API page format for developers who want to programmatically create Notion pages:

{
  "exported_at": "2024-01-15T10:30:00+00:00",
  "count": 25,
  "pages": [
    {
      "properties": {
        "Title": { "title": [{ "text": { "content": "..." } }] },
        "Authors": { "rich_text": [...] },
        "Year": { "number": 2024 },
        "Type": { "select": { "name": "article-journal" } },
        "Tags": { "multi_select": [{ "name": "methodology" }] }
      },
      "csl_data": { ... }
    }
  ]
}

Best for: Developers integrating with Notion API or building automation.

Obsidian Export

Creates a ZIP archive containing one Markdown file per reference, perfectly structured for Obsidian knowledge management.

What You Get:

• ZIP file with all selected references
• One .md file per reference (filename from title)
• YAML frontmatter with all metadata
• Body with citation, abstract, links, and notes
• Ready to extract into your Obsidian vault

YAML Frontmatter Fields:

---
title: "The Study Title"
authors:
  - "John Smith"
  - "Mary Jones"
year: 2024
date: 2024-03-15
type: "article-journal"
doi: "10.1234/example"
url: "https://example.com"
journal: "Nature"
volume: "45"
issue: "3"
pages: "123-145"
publisher: "Springer"
isbn: "978-3-16-148410-0"
issn: "1234-5678"
tags:
  - "methodology"
  - "statistics"
status: "completed"
starred: true
aliases:
  - "The Study Title"
  - "10.1234/example"
created: 2024-01-10
modified: 2024-01-15
---

Body Content:

# The Study Title

## Citation

Smith, J., Jones, M. (2024). *The Study Title*. Nature, 45(3), 123-145.

## Abstract

[Full abstract text here]

## Links

[DOI](https://doi.org/10.1234/example) | [URL](https://example.com)

## Notes

[Your personal notes here]

## Related

Options:

• Include Abstract – Add abstract section (default: yes)
• Include Notes – Add personal notes (default: yes)
• Include Tags – Add WordPress tags to frontmatter (default: yes)
• Include Backlinks – Add Related section for linking (default: yes)
• Date Format – YYYY-MM-DD or custom format

How to Use in Obsidian:

1. Export references as Obsidian format
2. Download the ZIP file
3. Extract to your Obsidian vault folder (e.g., /References/)
4. References appear as linked notes
5. Use Dataview plugin to query by frontmatter fields

Obsidian Tips:

• The aliases field enables searching by title or DOI
• Tags sync with your Obsidian tag system
• The status field works well with Dataview queries
• Use the Related section to build your literature graph

Export Options

Fields to Include

Select which metadata fields to export:

• Basic (title, authors, year, source)
• Extended (volume, pages, DOI, URL)
• Full (all available fields)
• Custom (select individual fields)

Date Range

Export references from a specific time period:

• All time
• This year
• Last year
• Custom range

Reference Types

Filter by type:

• All types
• Articles only
• Books only
• Select multiple types

Scheduled Exports

Set up automatic exports for backup:

1. Enable Scheduled Export
2. Choose frequency (daily, weekly, monthly)
3. Select format
4. Choose delivery:

Exporting from Frontend

If enabled for users:

1. Users visit their dashboard
2. Select references to export
3. Choose format
4. Download file

Configure in References > Settings > Frontend.

Troubleshooting

Export file is empty

• Check that references exist and are published
• Verify selection includes references
• Check filter settings

Characters display incorrectly

• Ensure UTF-8 encoding
• Some tools need encoding specified
• Try different format

Format not recognized by target app

• Verify correct format selected
• Check target app’s import requirements
• Try alternative format

Large export fails

• Export in smaller batches
• Increase PHP memory limit
• Use server-side export option

Missing fields in export

• Check “Fields to Include” settings
• Some formats don’t support all fields
• Field may be empty in source reference

Best Practices

1. Regular backups – Schedule weekly BibTeX or RIS exports
2. Test imports – Verify exported files work in target applications
3. Document format – Note which format works for your tools
4. Include all fields – Export more than you need; easier to filter later
5. Use categories – Organize before exporting for cleaner output

Next Steps

• Importing References – Import into WordPress
• Supported Formats – Detailed format comparison
• Zotero Sync – Automatic sync instead of manual export