Using Zotero's PDF reader with external files?

macrospect

I'm having a hard time getting a definitive answer to this question. I gather that the built-in PDF reader can only be used with stored files, because every time I set Zotero to open in the built-in reader, it creates a new (stored) file despite the fact that I have a linked file. But I have never seen this stated directly. Does anyone know for sure? (I'm asking because, in an ideal world, I would use the reader for linked files. I know that the marks made in the built-in PDF reader can only be viewed within Zotero, and I'm okay with that. But for storage/$ reasons, I just don't want to use the stored files in Zotero.)

Thanks!

adamsmith

No, that's not the case. You would have to describe in more detail what you are seeing, but the pdf reader works for linked files.

macrospect

Sorry, somehow I missed this reply. I did ultimately get the PDF reader working without creating a new stored file each time. In case others have this problem, I believe that the fix was located in a setting within Zotero (though it's too long ago for me to remember the exact one).