iOS App: Bugs or by design? A couple of issues.

sicahjes

I just started trialing the iOS beta, it seems good so far, but I thought I would post some bumps I encountered.

Add Parent Item
I can’t seem to add a parent item to PDFs if my library(those without a parent item, of course). I tried clicking edit, but the option to add a PI isn’t there. Also, in edit if I click ‘add creator’ nothing happens.

Journal Article Opens Browser on Tap
I think this may be for journal articles that do not have an attachment/pdf, but when I tap on many of my journal articles, it automatically takes me to the associated URL. If this is by design, I would recommend changing it. I see that there is an info icon, but is is far more intuitive to tap on the name and then choose your action from there.

Attachment Not Opening
After a sync, I tried to open an item that I knew had a PDF with annotations (using Beta). Prior to the sync, it was taking me to a browser, now nothing happens. I need to click on the info icon to go to the parent item page (other item types go to this on tap, e.g. statutes, reports etc.). Once there, if I tap on the attachment nothing happens.

On the page prior to this (next to the info icon) is a PDF icon with a question mark on it. I'm sure this is telling me something, but I'm not sure what since I'm synced.

erazlogo

On "attachment not opening": I also got a bunch of PDF icons with question marks, but I figured it was because some of my attachments were longer than Zotero could process. When I shortened the titles, they synced and I could open them in iOS app.

dstillman

I can’t seem to add a parent item to PDFs if my library(those without a parent item, of course).

Create Parent Item is currently only available on the desktop.

Also, in edit if I click ‘add creator’ nothing happens.

Most of that edit pane shouldn't be there for attachments. The only thing editable for attachments is title and tags. We'll fix that.

when I tap on many of my journal articles, it automatically takes me to the associated URL

Tapping the row is equivalent to double-clicking the item in Zotero. As in Zotero, if there's no PDF or snapshot, it will open the DOI or URL. [Edit: It looks like we're not currently opening non-PDF attachments, snapshots, URLs, but that's a bug.] Opening PDFs and URLs is likely to be by far the most common and desired action in the iOS app, and you shouldn't have to tap through a metadata pane every time to do it.

But since it does fall back to the metadata pane if none of those things exist, it may make sense to either give an indication of when it will use one of the non-PDF options, so you have a better sense of what will happen when you tap it for those items, or to just remove the fallback to the item pane and do nothing, so it's clear that you always have to tap (i) to open the item pane.

On the page prior to this (next to the info icon) is a PDF icon with a question mark on it.

Are you able to open the PDF in your web library? If not, it hasn't been uploaded from your computer, and you should see Files Not Syncing.

When I shortened the titles, they synced and I could open them in iOS app.

@erazlogo: Far more likely they just weren't online for some reason, and renaming them locally caused them to reupload. If you see this again, check the online library first.

erazlogo

@dstillman Online, the pdf appears in the attachments pane but it is greyed out and I can't open it; in the list view I don't see an icon for PDF for this item. In the iOS, it appears with a question mark both in the list and in the attachments pane. But whatever it is, I can fix it.