Mendeley .bib import with linked files

Help
#1

I have decided to move from Mendeley to JabRef since they decided to discontinue the desktop client.

My Mendeley database contains several 1000nd linked pdf entries, which I would like to migrate into JabRef. The problem I ran into is that the linked files are correctly represented in the .bib file. Mendeley exports the following:

file = {:C$\backslash$:/Users/XXXXXX/AppData/Local/Mendeley Ltd./Mendeley Desktop/Downloaded/Brown - 2017 - Physical test methods for elastomers.pdf:pdf},

This is clearly not the correct format to create the link to the file. How do I have to manipulate the entries so that they all can be properly imported?

Thank you very much already for your help.

#2

Hi,

thanks for giving JabRef a chance!

it seems like that for some reason the file field contains latex symbols:
It should be sufficient to replace the
$\backslash$ with a normal backslash, \ then JabRef should be able to parse it so that it looks like a normal windows path. Otherwise, the syntax is correct.
The path should look like C:/ or C:\. Although windows normally use backslashes, it should also work with forward slashes.

I advise copying the bib file before making any changes. You can use JabRef’s inbuilt search and replace function Edit → Find and Replace. There you have the option to limit this to the file field.