Upgrade StoragePoints on how Zotero on Android could be optimized for e-ink display devices
Currently I am using Zotero on a Boox air 5C device.
The experience is satisfactory, but I am noticing some areas for improvement (especially compared to native PDF software on say reMarkable or Boox devices).
I may be want to use this post as a jumping off point for a general discussion on how to improve the Zotero experience on such android devices should people be interested. At the very least I just want to share by thoughts.
A few features and suggestions which come to mind, which I think would really elevate the experience on e-ink devices:
1. First thing that comes to mind is that animations are very much geared towards a display with a fast (or well, normal) refresh rate. If there is an option to tweak animations to make them more static that would be very nice (perhaps even a checkbox somewhere "optimize for E-ink"?)
2. Following from that, I'm not sure if it is possible to detect if we are running on a device with an E-ink display (you could maybe exhaustively list all part numbers in source to detect this perhaps, sounds like a hassle).
3. An option for "snappy" page turns would be nice, page turn animations also don't make sense on an e-ink device.
3.a. In general, "snappy" page turns would also be nice for scrolling through large collections, i.e. option to have pages in collection, not only continuous scrolling list (on e-ink, scrolling = bad, avoid at all cost)
3.b. Likewise, when inspecting information of an item, having pages here instead of a continuous scrolling list would be nice.
4. A genuine bug is that it is incredibly difficult to bring up the toolbar. You have to tap the page "just right", else it is interpreted as a page turn attempt. I often have to close and re-open Zotero just go go back or bring up note-taking options.
5. Page turning using the volume buttons, if available (such as on the Boox air 5C) would be such a nice feature. I know that Boox has options to configure buttons, but their software is not the greatest so if that can be done within Zotero it would be much nicer.
6. A nice to have would be to make it possible to make buttons much larger, similar to say remarkable where they are oversized. This is a bit more friendly to e-ink where (haptic) feedback is almost non-existent (meaning small buttons = bad).
Having such features would I think really bring Zotero to the next level, as you dont need to deal with the hassle of importing PDF's to native apps and back, while still getting a similar optimized user experience.
Of course, the above are just things which come to mind to optimize Zotero for e-ink. Either as general settings to add which you can tweak, or as part of an "optimize for e-ink mode".
The experience is satisfactory, but I am noticing some areas for improvement (especially compared to native PDF software on say reMarkable or Boox devices).
I may be want to use this post as a jumping off point for a general discussion on how to improve the Zotero experience on such android devices should people be interested. At the very least I just want to share by thoughts.
A few features and suggestions which come to mind, which I think would really elevate the experience on e-ink devices:
1. First thing that comes to mind is that animations are very much geared towards a display with a fast (or well, normal) refresh rate. If there is an option to tweak animations to make them more static that would be very nice (perhaps even a checkbox somewhere "optimize for E-ink"?)
2. Following from that, I'm not sure if it is possible to detect if we are running on a device with an E-ink display (you could maybe exhaustively list all part numbers in source to detect this perhaps, sounds like a hassle).
3. An option for "snappy" page turns would be nice, page turn animations also don't make sense on an e-ink device.
3.a. In general, "snappy" page turns would also be nice for scrolling through large collections, i.e. option to have pages in collection, not only continuous scrolling list (on e-ink, scrolling = bad, avoid at all cost)
3.b. Likewise, when inspecting information of an item, having pages here instead of a continuous scrolling list would be nice.
4. A genuine bug is that it is incredibly difficult to bring up the toolbar. You have to tap the page "just right", else it is interpreted as a page turn attempt. I often have to close and re-open Zotero just go go back or bring up note-taking options.
5. Page turning using the volume buttons, if available (such as on the Boox air 5C) would be such a nice feature. I know that Boox has options to configure buttons, but their software is not the greatest so if that can be done within Zotero it would be much nicer.
6. A nice to have would be to make it possible to make buttons much larger, similar to say remarkable where they are oversized. This is a bit more friendly to e-ink where (haptic) feedback is almost non-existent (meaning small buttons = bad).
Having such features would I think really bring Zotero to the next level, as you dont need to deal with the hassle of importing PDF's to native apps and back, while still getting a similar optimized user experience.
Of course, the above are just things which come to mind to optimize Zotero for e-ink. Either as general settings to add which you can tweak, or as part of an "optimize for e-ink mode".