Feature Request: Native Google Docs Integration for Web Library (No Desktop App Required)

blueowl

I am looking to move my workflow entirely to the cloud. Currently, the Google Docs integration requires the Zotero Desktop application to be installed and running.

Please consider adding server-side integration for Google Docs directly to the Zotero Web Library. My goal is a zero-install environment where I can manage citations purely through the browser, without relying on local plugins or desktop software. I would be willing to pay for this as a premium feature.

tnajdek

Zotero is primarily a desktop application. While we invest effort in making the web library a powerful and useful resource, it is intended to complement the desktop app. You can see the list of limitations here.

A standalone Google Docs integration is planned, but not in the immediate future. For the time being, this feature requires using Zotero with a connector.

blueowl

Googlebooks will arrive this fall so we need standalone Google Docs integration this summer!!!

adamsmith

Highly unlikely that will happen as per the above.

dstillman

@blueowl: Just to clarify, are you asking for something that works even without the Zotero Connector browser extension, or just without the desktop app?

blueowl

I am looking for a solution that functions independently of the Zotero Connector Browser Extension, specifically, a dedicated, native, Google Docs Plugin.

dstillman

We have no plans to do that, no. The Zotero Connector is a core part of using Zotero — even if you weren't using the desktop app, that's how you'd want to do most saving to the web library to actually get the items to cite. What's wrong with using a browser extension?

blueowl

@dstillman The correct vocabulary is a Google Docs Add-on. Microsoft Word Online also supports add-ons.

blueowl

@dstillman The Zotero Connector is a standard browser extension. On Googlebook, Chromebook, and Android Desktop Mode the app version of Chrome does not support desktop-style browser extensions. Because the Connector is designed to bridge the gap between the browser and a desktop application, it cannot function in such an environment where Zotero desktop software can not be installed, only the Zotero app, or where the browser does not allow the extension to run.

dstillman

On Googlebook, Chromebook, and Android Desktop Mode the app version of Chrome does not support desktop-style browser extensions.

You can certainly run browser extensions on Chromebooks, which run the desktop version of Chrome by default. (You can also run the Linux version of Zotero on Chromebooks, for that matter.)

I don't know if Google has said what version of Chrome Googlebooks will run, but even if it's the Android version, presumably the Android version will support browser extensions at some point. Firefox on Android and various third-party browsers do, so there's no technical limitation. This is something for Google to address, not us. Browser extensions are a key part of what make browsers powerful, including for integration with third-party services.

Because the Connector is designed to bridge the gap between the browser and a desktop application, it cannot function in such an environment where Zotero desktop software can not be installed, only the Zotero app

No, that's not correct. Again, the Zotero Connector saves directly to the online library. If you're using Zotero, you want to be using it if at all possible. (Direct saving to the Android app is vastly more limited, even compared to iOS, due to Android limitations.) A future version of the Zotero Connector will likely support Google Docs integration with the web library without needing the desktop app.

Microsoft Word Online also supports add-ons.

Yes, and we've built a new Office add-in for Word (which we haven't been able to release it for several years due to bugs that we've been waiting for Microsoft to fix), but it still uses the Zotero Connector and depends on the desktop app to work. A future version will work directly with the web library, because Office add-ins also work in Word on iOS and Android. That's not currently the case with Google Workspace add-ons, which aren't currently available on iOS. Until that changes, I don't see us creating a Workspace add-on.