Upgrade Storage(Barcode) Scanner for Zotero android application
I just want to let everyone know that there is now an Android app, Scanner For Zotero, which allows you to add books to your Zotero library (or a group library) by scanning an ISBN barcode. It also allows you to edit the bibliographic information, take notes, and add tags prior to uploading the item to your library.
The version on the market costs 2 USD, so that I can hopefully recover some of my development costs, but please only download that version if you enjoy the product and can spare the small donation. The source code is GPLv3, and you can download the same .apk installer which is on the market, for free, on github.
The version on the market costs 2 USD, so that I can hopefully recover some of my development costs, but please only download that version if you enjoy the product and can spare the small donation. The source code is GPLv3, and you can download the same .apk installer which is on the market, for free, on github.
Just one issue: I can't seem to access group libraries. I create an private key which allows Read/Write access to all current and future groups, but when I try to select the library in the app, nothing shows up. I also tried setting the per group permission, but with the same result. What am I doing wrong?
May thanks in advance!
Sorry for that oversight, I'll put a refresh button in the next release.
I removed all the stored keys from the app, and for good measure, I also revoked all keys from my zotero account. Then I created a new key, giving the scanner read/write access to all my current and future groups. But again, once I'm logged in and hit 'Select Library' I could only select My Library (ie, my personal library, no groups).
Then I created a key with both read/write access to all groups, and read/write access for all individual groups checked, but when I tried using that key, the app keeps crashing, before I have the opportunity to change any settings. So then I ended up uninstalling and reinstalling the app, tried some more permutations of the key settings, but nothing gives me access to group libraries - I only every get access to My Library.
Uploading to My Library works fine, and from there I can of course move the newly entered books to any group library I want - so that works fine as a workaround. Still, I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.
Another tip for the next release: it'd be great if the list of scanned books could somehow be saved. They now seem to be linked to the API you're logged in with, but if uploading with that key fails, there is no way (that I could find) to upload them using another key. Also, it'd be great if there'd be a way to export the barcodes that were unrecognized, so I can search for those manually.
When I create a key with access to everything, ie my personal library, all groups by default, and all groups individually, I can only select my library, no groups are listed even though i have granted access.
When I create a key with access to groups only, both as the default for all groups and set per individual group, the app crashes (without the option to send a crash report; force stop is the only option i get, sorry).
I'll just keep uploading to my library and move thing from there. Thanks for all your trouble!
The workaround achieves what's needed, but it requires remembering exactly which entries need to be moved from the (huge) my library and into the group library—making it really inconvenient for managing larger groups of entries. This really detracts from the utility of this mobile app. It's great, and fixing the group library access is the only thing keeping me from rating it a 5.
A suggestion: it would be enough to 'hard code' the app to tag all items with, for instance, 'scanned with Scanner for Zotero'. It would then be easy to create a smart search to collect all the scanned items, and then move them one by one to collections or tag more appropriately. Also, this would part solve the group libraries problems mentioned in the previous comments - copy them to groups manually, but at least knowing where to find the items.
Otherwise, the app looks great and would be very useful.
Apart from this, Scanner for Zotero seems to work fine.