Pen annotation support in Windows

buipet
There is a lot to love about the ability for annotations in the Zotero PDF reader. However, there is something I really had hoped (and frankly expected) would have been implemented by Zotero 7. That is better support for pen annotation, such as on a Surface Pro (or other Windows) tablet. Here are 3 things I find critically missing (compared to PDF annotation software):

1. Distinguishing between pen and finger/hand. It ought to be possible (and indeed is in other software) to use the pen time for annotation (just as with the mouse) while using fingers for scrolling.
2. The ability to select text with the pen (just as it is possible with a mouse) before choosing the exact colour and type of annotation. This should also make it possible to select text for copying.
3. An undo button. This appears to also be missing for mouse annotations.

I really hope these can be implemented soon. I'm surprised that they aren't already.

Thanks!

Bui
  • martynas_b
    Yes, we hope to address all of these issues. Thanks for reporting.
  • buipet
    Thanks for this. Is there any idea of timeline for this?
  • tiagolopesdeazevedo
    Thanks too.
  • martynas_b
    In Zotero 7.0.10, there are some potential fixes to enable text selection with a stylus. I'm waiting for someone to confirm if it's better now.
  • MrKookalabanza
    Zotero absolutely sucks with pen support on windows surface devices. It is bascially unusable with the bulit in PDF reader. Reasons are:

    - There is no distinction between touch and pen even in the latest beta version. If you select the highlight tool with the pen and then want to scroll, you will just highlight a bunch of text with your finger. You have to manually exit out of the highlight tool to scroll, then go back into the tool. Very slow and frustrating experience.
    - There are no undo buttons so you cant undo any annotations. The edit undo menu optoin is also greyed out permanantly. The only way to remove annotations is to try and delete them with a long finger pres sto get a right click menu delete option.

    none of these problems exist on the Zotero Ipad or andorid version when used on devices when used with the stylus. Can we please get this fixed? thank you
  • pcinque
    I tested 7.1 Beta 24 with my Surface Pro 9 (Windows 11).

    Stylus:
    I can use the stylus to select text in a note and in PDF.

    Touch:
    In a PDF I can use touch to select text in a PDF only when I first click on the Highlight tool in the reader.
    Otherwise the the two blue selection icons show briefly then popup menu for viewing options takes over.
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