Standalone not started - entry not saved but user not informed

beogl

Dear Zotero,

I guess you did not cheat me intentionally, but I was a bit fooled.

When I tried to save a reference you kindly said "Saving...", but when I later checked there was no new entry.

Should not Zotero Standalone browser plugins inform you that it can not save because the application has not been started?

adamsmith

If Standalone isn't open, Zotero saves to the server. Once you sync you'll likely see the item in question.

beogl

Thanks adamsmith, that is nice. I did not know about it.

However it did not save to the library I had opened last time on that computer. Perhaps it could use the library I had as the current library the time I last synced?

adamsmith

it will sync to the account that you're currently logged into on zotero.org - that's the only way this can work.

beogl

Theoretically it could keep track of the last library I saved to on my pc. It might need some changes to Zotero, of course.

adamsmith

oh, by library you mean collection?
Some more control on that is planned - I don't think it'll remember the last collection, but likely go into a specific collection for server-side translation or so.

beogl

Sounds nice. But in my case it is often a collection inside a group library. Will that be covered too?

Actually there are two principle ways this could work:

- Remembering my library and collection on the current computer.
- Remembering the same, but the last one on any computer I synced from.

dstillman

Those aren't good options—the last selected collection on one computer shouldn't affect where things are saved in a different program on a different computer—but there'll be some solution here, and it will cover group libraries.

beogl

For me they might be good options. I might be working with the same thing from different computers.

It is a bit like reading a book on your tablet or on your phone. You want them to sync the reading positions, notes, etc.

dstillman

That's fair, but with an e-book reader you have immediate feedback of where you are as soon as you open it on the new device (and in some apps it asks you for confirmation). In many cases I believe it also only goes in one direction, taking you to the further position you've been to, which isn't really comparable to this.

For a feature like this to make sense it has to be predictable, but that's not really possible with what you're suggesting. Think of using Zotero on multiple computers. What happens if you click on Collection 1 on Computer A, but then go to Computer B where Collection 2 is already selected and you add some items. What's the last-used collection? Now say that you did both of those things a week ago, or that you did one earlier on one computer but only synced after the other one had already done so. There are too many variables here.

This likely has to be either a server-side preference or an option in the connector itself (and if the latter, there's a separate issue for the bookmarklet). There could be some sort of post-save option as well, but that could be a little stressful.

(This is also complicated by the difference between saving from the connector with Standalone open and with it closed.)

beogl

Good points, Dan.

Isn't it a bit like two scenarios? One scenario could be that you work with one collection, but from different computers. (That could be for example your desktop computer and your tablet.)

The other scenario could be that you work with different collections from different computers.