creator not found

bolejj
Are there valid reasons for a creator not being found when using his name in the default search box? When the box is set to "Title, creator, year" the creator will not be found. If I set it to "everything" then the item is found, but probably because the creator's name is somewhere in the indexed content... I'm assuming, and not found via the creator field.

If this is a know bug then let me know. Otherwise what debugging evidence do you need?

Actually, some of the items by the creator are found, but not all, and all have the creator's name in the "author" field in the right panel.

Additionally, for the same item -

When I search by 'everything' and find it, then 'shift-drag' its annotation to Obsidian, the pdf-annotation link in Obsidian back to zot does not work. Zot will open but will not find the item.

The Obsidian link back to a pdf-annotation does work for other items.

QUESTION - Could this behavior have something to do with the 'text layer' of this document? I use the X1 indexing app, and it does not display this pdf properly. I think, maybe indicating something not standard with the 'text layer' of the pdf.
  • bolejj
    Working off of the assumption that it is a PDF problem I used Acrobat to resave the PDF.
    1) open the pdf and save using the 'Save as Other' option.
    2) Then the 'Optimized PDF' option
    3) Then on the pop-up check the 'Transparency' option and "make compatible with" set to acrobat 10 or later.

    After doing that the link from Obsidian works and the search in Zot works, finding the creator just by using the 'Title, Creator, year' option in the search box.

    QUESTION: Is there a tool to find all of the PDFs with this type of problem? So, I can then fix them with the above process.
  • adamsmith
    It sounds like there may be some confusion here -- a PDF itself *never* has a creator in Zotero. It may be attached to a metadata item that has a container -- so only if you see the PDF attached to a Zotero item and the Zotero item has an author/editor/translator etc. would you find it.
    It's pretty certain that nothing about the PDF itself would change anything about this, so what you're observing after making changes to the PDF is likely related to something different.
  • bolejj
    No, no confusion. Just terminology. Zot uses the word 'creator' within the search box drop down of options. That is all that is meant by my use of that word, and why I used that word.

    So... it wasn't until I ran the pdf through acrobat as described that zot could then find the pdf by the author's name using the drop down option of 'title, creator, year'.

    This particular pdf is screwy. Even after the acrobat changes it still displays a garbled in the X1 app. It is fine in zot.

    You can close this ticket/post. Zot is behaving as expected now.

    If you can make suggestions or point me to doc addressing how to deal with screwy PDFs, that would be helpful.

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