Uploading files
In short: In the Library tab, click Add Publications → Upload Anything, then drop files or folders on the drop zone. SciNodes reads PDFs and reference exports (RIS, BibTeX, .nbib, .enw, .ciw, CSV, TSV, .xlsx, .txt), unpacks ZIPs and walks folders. Choose My references + corpus or Corpus only, then click Add N publications. Each file shows its own status, and publications already in the corpus are marked as duplicates instead of being added twice.
Steps
- Open the project and click the Library tab.
- Click Add Publications → Upload Anything.
- Drop files or folders on "Drop your files or folders here, or click to browse". To pick a folder without dragging, click Browse for a folder.
- Check the list. Each file shows its name, folder and size, and a tag for the database it came from when SciNodes recognizes it. Remove any file with its remove button.
- Under Add to, choose:
- My references + corpus: "File them in your library and add them to the project corpus".
- Corpus only: "Add them to the project corpus without filing them".
- Click Add N publications.
- Watch the progress list. When it says "Publications added", a summary line shows how many were added, duplicates, skipped, not supported and failed.
- Click Add more publications to upload another batch.
You can switch to another tab while files are processed. The upload carries on.
Supported formats
| What | Formats |
|---|---|
| PDFs | |
| Reference exports | RIS (.ris), BibTeX (.bib, .bibtex), PubMed (.nbib), EndNote (.enw), Web of Science (.ciw), CSV, TSV, Excel (.xlsx), plain text (.txt, format detected from its content) |
| Containers | ZIP files, and whole folders including nested subfolders |
| Databases recognized | Dimensions, Lens, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science |
| Reference managers | Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote (export as RIS or BibTeX) |
Not supported: legacy Excel .xls (save it as .xlsx or CSV), Word documents and images. A ZIP inside a ZIP is skipped.
Per-file statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Waiting… | Queued. Reference exports go first, then PDFs. |
| Importing publications… | A reference export is being imported |
| Reading the PDF… | Extracting text and details from a PDF |
| Looking up metadata… | Matching the PDF against the catalog for clean details |
| Creating the publication… | Saving the publication to your corpus |
| Attaching the PDF… | Storing the PDF with the publication |
| Added / Imported | Done |
| Duplicate / Already in the corpus | The publication was already there, or appeared earlier in the same batch |
| Not supported | SciNodes doesn't read this format |
| Failed | Something went wrong. The detail says what. |
A reference export's detail line reads like "42 publications — 40 added, 1 duplicate, 1 skipped (no title)". Entries without a title are skipped. A very large file may show "first N publications of a larger file".
Limits
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| ZIP contents | 500 files, 100 MB per file, 500 MB unpacked in total |
| Reading one PDF | 60 seconds |
| Catalog lookup per PDF | 20 seconds, then saved from the file's own details |
| Uploading one reference export | 5 minutes |
| PDF size | 64 MB. See Fetching and uploading PDFs. |
Files beyond the ZIP limits are skipped and counted.
When your AI credits run out
Catalog lookups for PDFs use your weekly AI credits. If the budget runs out mid-upload, a banner shows "Weekly complex compute budget spent." with the reset time, followed by "Remaining files were saved from their own details, without catalog metadata." Those files still get added, with the details SciNodes could read from the PDF. See Credits and usage.
Troubleshooting
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| "Legacy .xls isn't supported — save it as .xlsx or CSV." | Re-save the spreadsheet as .xlsx or CSV and upload it again |
| "This format is not processed — PDFs and reference exports (RIS, BibTeX, .nbib, .enw, .ciw, CSV, TSV, .xlsx) are." | Export your library in one of these formats |
| "N files in that folder skipped — not a format we read." | Nothing to fix. Those files were left out. |
| "The PDF is password-protected — remove the password and try again." | Save an unprotected copy and upload that |
| "The PDF took too long to read." / "The PDF could not be read." | Try again. If it keeps failing, add the publication with Manual Entry and attach the PDF from its details panel. |
| "No catalog match — saved from the file's own details." | The publication was added. Check its title and authors in the details panel. |
| "Catalog lookup unavailable — saved from the file's own details." | Same as above. The catalog didn't answer in time. |
| "Added, but the PDF could not be attached." | The publication is in. Upload the PDF again from its details panel. |
| "The import took too long to answer. Check your library before adding this file again — it may still finish." | Wait a minute and check the Library before re-uploading |
| "Could not import the file — try again." / "Something went wrong while adding this file — try adding it again." | Try again. If it keeps failing, contact support. |
| "Added to the corpus. "My references" wasn't ready, so the publications weren't filed there — you can file them from the corpus list." | Select them in the list and file them into My references |
FAQ
How do I import my Zotero or Mendeley library?
Export it from Zotero or Mendeley as RIS or BibTeX, then upload the file. See Bring your reference library.
Can I upload a whole folder of PDFs?
Yes. Drop the folder, or click Browse for a folder. Subfolders are included, and files SciNodes can't read are skipped.
Do uploaded PDFs count as private?
Yes. PDFs you upload stay private to you. See Privacy and your data.
Why were some entries in my RIS file skipped?
Entries without a title can't be added. The file's detail line shows how many were skipped.