View button in 2.1b?

mjsilver

Hi -

I may be just missing it but where is the 'View' button in 2.1b from 2.0? We link all our metadata to web-based storage via the URL field then click 'View' to open it so it is very important for us.

Thanks
Mat

dstillman

There's a new menu above the metadata pane. Double-clicking on the item is also equivalent to View.

mjsilver

Thanks for the quick reply Dan. Double clicking worked but clicking the 'View online' button in the dropdown doesnt take me to the URL in the URL field. Instead for a paper it went to science direct.

Cheers
Mat

dstillman

Is the URL in the URL field a file:// URL?

mjsilver

file:///z:/zotero/Janzen 2006.pdf - a link to our web based storage.

dstillman

OK, so this is a little complicated.

First, that's not web-based storage. That's a network share.

More importantly, the URL field is meant for the canonical URL for the item—the location of its primary representation on the web—and not something specific to your use. View Online is designed with that in mind, and it won't take you to a file:// URL from that field.

Your usage is a bit unusual, but you should really be using an attachment. On Windows, Attach Link to File should work fine for this, since that's what you're doing. In the next 2.1 build, as long as you're attaching PDFs, they'll be opened before either the snapshot or the URL field when you double-click the item (and View PDF will show up as the first item in the Locate menu for such items). In 2.1b7 the snapshot will be opened, since the current code favors snapshots with a URL matching the parent item, so if you switch to using attachments you'll have to expand the parents and double-click the attachments directly until the next build is out.

Double-clicking the item will cease to open the file:// URL in the next build, since it's meant to be equivalent to the first action in the Locate menu, which in the absence of an attached PDF is View Online.

You can also click the URL label in the metadata pane to take you to the URL in the field. This currently works for file:// URLs as well, but you're still using that field in a way it's not meant to be used, and ongoing changes to Zotero that assume proper usage could easily break things that you expect to work.

mjsilver

Hi Dan

The link provided is to web-based storage. We use zumodrive which allows us to create a file path that looks like a network share.

I believe I got the idea of linking to it using the URL field from a previous comment from one of the Zotero team quite a while ago. It was in response to the many people who wanted to link to a single full text copy on a network drive or web storage solution. So while this may not be the intended use of the field, it has worked perfectly for us as a solution thus far.

I have highlighted an item and tried to 'Attached link to file' however it is greyed out for all my items and so is inactive - the same for another person here. Under what conditions is 'link to file' active?

Thanks for you assistance
Mat

adamsmith

I doubt that someone from the Zotero team would have recommended this - the solution for this issue have always been links, which have existed since Zotero 1.0 (and probably before) - the problem with making use of features in a way that's not intended is, as Dan notes, that it may be broken by future developments. In addition, you should be aware that this will mess with many of the citation styles on the repository.

Attach link to file is to attach a link to a file (located somewhere on your disk or the internet) to an existing item. It is active when you have any bibliographic item selected, but not for files, attachments, or notes.

mjsilver

Hi adam

Quite right and my apologies. I searched my emails and it was a recommendation of an IT advisor of ours.

As stated above however, I did select the item and tried the link to file, however it is greyed out and inactive. Any thoughts as to why that may be?

adamsmith

huh - these are items in a group library, right? I can actually replicate that - I don't think that's intended and I don't remember that being the case.
Someone with more experience dealing with groups help me out here

edit: see below - I was wrong - it's intended and has always been the case.

dstillman

The link provided is to web-based storage. We use zumodrive which allows us to create a file path that looks like a network share.

Well, it doesn't matter where the files are actually stored. If you're accessing it via a drive letter, it's a network share as far as your computer is concerned.

As stated above however, I did select the item and tried the link to file, however it is greyed out and inactive. Any thoughts as to why that may be?

Oh, this is a group library. So attached files aren't supported. Attached web links are, so if you do in fact have web-based access to these files—that is, via http:// URLs, not file:// URLs—you could add them as attached web links. Zotero won't currently open PDF web links over snapshots via double-click, but it's possible that it could.

But, yeah, basically you're using Zotero in a pretty unusual way. I'd still advise you to use the functions as they're made to work, opening attached web links manually for now if possible. Then there's at least a chance that the workflow issues can be resolved.

mjsilver

Thanks for your responses guys.

Yes it is a group library. It surprises me that there are not many other groups that want to have a single copy of an item in say a network drive or web storage. Is that what you are saying is rare?

Is there a particular reason why the 'link to file' function cannot be activated for group libraries? This would seem to be a very simple solution for the workflow but there may well be technical reasons why it cannot be implemented.

dstillman

Yes, your usage is very rare. This is the problem that Zotero File Storage is meant to solve in the easiest and most user-friendly way possible for as many users as possible. Bear in mind that you're actually paying for another service, and one that's not designed specifically for Zotero as Zotero File Storage is.

Zotero is flexible enough to be used in other ways—you can certainly continue using web/network storage in various ways—but there's no guarantee that it'll work as well.

Is there a particular reason why the 'link to file' function cannot be activated for group libraries?

There's no particular reason to think a file will be accessible—or accessible via the same path—on two different computers. And on OS X, because of the way paths are stored, I don't believe it would work at all.

But, again, if your service provides HTTP-based access, you could use that instead.

mjsilver

Like us, all the groups we know that have group libraries use them as a 'within organisation' tool as they cannot afford Endnote and Zotero meets their needs - they are environmental groups, public and NGOs.

This means that like us, they always have access to the same file path as the storage is accessible to all users of the organisation.

The file path option opens the document immediately for us, whereas if we use a http, it opens a page to download the item so it is nowhere near as convienient. For the time being we will continue to use the URL field, however a solution more in line with indended use would be appreciated in the future.

You should know that your product is assisting many environmental groups here in Australia that could otherwise not afford to manage their information this effectively. This will in time result in better quality investment decisions and therefore environmental outcomes. So your good work is having some far reaching benefits - keep it up!

Cheers
Mat

dstillman

The file path option opens the document immediately for us, whereas if we use a http, it opens a page to download the item so it is nowhere near as convienient.

This is getting very specific to your particularly usage here. I don't know what ZumoDrive displays for HTTP URLs, but opening a file URL shouldn't be any different from opening a direct HTTP URL. If you're seeing a "web page", that's an issue with the service you're using.

In any case, the next version of Zotero 2.1 will open file:// URLs on attached web links (but still not on parent items) from View Online or double-click if there's no URL in the parent item URL field and no other links/snapshots. Assuming you're using a PDF plugin in Firefox, you can add web link attachments (whether with file:// or http:// URLs) by opening the file in Firefox and selecting Attach Link to Page.

Hope that helps. Unfortunately you're way outside of standard usage and trying to replicate what Zotero File Storage already provides, so that's about all we can do for you.

You should know that your product is assisting many environmental groups here in Australia that could otherwise not afford to manage their information this effectively. This will in time result in better quality investment decisions and therefore environmental outcomes. So your good work is having some far reaching benefits - keep it up!

That's great to hear. Thanks.