Zotero in safari - frustrated new user

Amandael · June 23, 2017

If anyone can please help, all I want is a zotero button in safari on my iPad. I've tried the downloads on here and got nowhere. Super frustrated. Am I missing something or is it really this difficult to add ?
I need it or any other app that works direct from safari super urgently (350 tabs open to add for a large project due soon) I have been keeping URLs in a seperate doc just in case but an app that's straightforward to add and use would save hours, Please help,

adomasven · June 23, 2017

I'm afraid currently there is very limited support for mobile platforms and Zotero. You can try the bookmarklet, it should be able to save stuff, but yours success may be limited depending on the resources you're looking at.

If you can set up iCloud Tabs and move those to a Mac with Zotero and Safari Zotero Connector installed, you should be able to save them all without problems.

Amandael · June 23, 2017

I'm not sure I understand. What is a bookmarklet?

2 second rant - I can't believe every app omg is this frustrating to get to a simple citation, a process older than any form of technology and manditory for every offical use of others works. How hard is it? Omg!

Sorry.

Ok, can't save the bokmarklet thingy either cause it wants to save to zotero and I can't figure out how to install that. It says safari mobile app but I don't know.

Is there any other apps at all anyone knows of that download and work?

DWL-SDCA · June 23, 2017

To echo Adamas there isn't yet a good way to use Zotero on an iPad. Zotero _can_ partially work on the iPad platform but only in concert with the Zotero client on a notebook or desktop machine. I have had moderate success using GoToMyPC from my iPad and running Zotero on my Mac.

I also use the bookmarklet alone with my iPad. You don't download the bookmarklet as an app -- it is "installed" like any other bookmark you add to Safari. Adding an item with the bookmarklet doesnt add it to your iPad. The item is added to your online Zotero account. The items that you add with the bookmarklet are included in your library on your computer the next time you sync your computer-based Zotero.

There is no bib management software for the iPad that works any better than this. I've tried all of them. There are attempts to get things to work on android or the Windows psudo-tablet/notebook but from what I've read the situation is much the same on those platforms.

The GoToMyPC system did the job well but there was much latency between the iPad and my computer. The delay existed with all programs so not a Zotero issue. I eventually abandoned the remote-access attempt becatse of the latency and the cost.

Zotero works its magic by manipulating a large database and that requires computing power. That power isn't available on a tablet.

Gurdas_Sandhu · June 23, 2017

"Zotero works its magic by manipulating a large database and that requires computing power. That power isn't available on a tablet. "
Not really. Zotero should not be challenging the computational prowess of most newer high-end tablets (and that's partially a compliment to Zotero's design). The lack of support on iPad is probably mainly due to incompatibility issues.

" Windows psudo-tablet/notebook" not clear what you mean by that, but if you mean a Windows (not Windows RT) based tablet, then running Zotero on that is totally fine. I have only one device, a Microsoft Surface Pro, for all my needs and I run full Zotero on it everyday.

DWL-SDCA · June 23, 2017

I was thinking of RT but, to me, the Surface Pro is closer to a notebook than to an iPad. I'm thinking not only of the tablet's processor or even RAM but primarily storage. I have an Asus thick tablet. It runs Windows 10. It has a combo-drive. It weighs considerably less than a macbook pro and only slightly more than a MacBook Air. That runs Zotero quite well. As I understood the question it was about tablets and tablet OSs. The language of tablet-form computing devices is, I guess, still somewhat ambiguous and evolving.

I in no way meant to disparage Zotero's design.

I more or less was saying that it is best to use the right tool for the job. An iPad is great. I run my webserver and 600K record database through an iPad interface. But the iPad doesn't house the Zotero or my website's database.