Realizing epub reading as a built-in function of Zotero would be perfect.
If that's not planned, maybe we could just do it in a plugin with the epub.js mentioned above to provide the same experience as Zotero's built-in PDF reader for epub attachments.
I don't have much time recently. Anyone are interested about this idea?
Would be absolutely crucial, if possible, in the short-term. A proper way to link epub and other ebook formats, not necessarily read and annotate them.
+1. I think adding HTML support at the same time, and annotations like https://web.hypothes.is/ for each, would be nice too (since ePUB and HTML are very very similar). I believe the official Zotero Connector chrome extension already supports archiving web pages using SingleFile anyway, so if HTML imports are natively supported, I'd argue that they should ideally be completely supported within Zotero too, annotations and all.
See https://github.com/elias-sundqvist/obsidian-annotator which uses Hypothes.is as a backend and already offers annotation support for PDF, ePUB, and HTML, all separately from the source file the same way Zotero currently does for PDF. You can make the argument that ePUB and HTML lack mature standards for annotation, but if they're just being stored in a Zotero-specific format in its database anyway, this doesn't seem to be much of an issue.
So the question really is if someone from the team responds here, or the +1 will be added to infinity, with no progress whatsoever.
Zotero devs commonly don't comment on feature requests unless a feature is imminent/available for testing or there's a need for comment or discussion (or occasionally minor requests that get an issue for tracking right away). That doesn't mean they're not aware of it.
FWIW, they've also been quite clear on a number of occasions that +1 comments/upvotes have absolutely no effect on whether a feature gets implemented, so there's really no need/use to continue this. If you want updates in case they do post here, you can subscribe to this thread using the gear icon at the top.
@axre In the case of this request and similarly with the many other user requests, it is _not_ that the developers ignore or dismiss the desired changes. As someone who has made requests for program and UI changes, over the years, I understand the frustration at not hearing a reply.
However, I’m understanding about the reasons why these requests are not each publicly responded to by the developers. Some of the reasons that I think are relevant: 1) Although the development team has grown over the years, so has the scope of the project. Zotero functions within multiple operating systems and platforms. Any change must be considered in light of how it might be implemented on each (and the misunderstands if aspects of Zotero would look or function quite differently across platforms.) 2) The OSs, word processors, and browsers aren’t static and sometimes are changed in ways that stress the compatibility of Zotero’s interface with them. Zotero must be constantly updated to keep functioning. Witness the pinned topic on page 1 about how changes in Google Chrome are affecting Zotero. Some of these things are announced in advance giving the developers time to plan but other cases require unanticipated rapid response.
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If that's not planned, maybe we could just do it in a plugin with the epub.js mentioned above to provide the same experience as Zotero's built-in PDF reader for epub attachments.
I don't have much time recently. Anyone are interested about this idea?
@joaonsalmeida how to you read and annotate epubs currently on iOS?
Would love to hear @dstillman 's thoughts about it!
See https://github.com/elias-sundqvist/obsidian-annotator which uses Hypothes.is as a backend and already offers annotation support for PDF, ePUB, and HTML, all separately from the source file the same way Zotero currently does for PDF. You can make the argument that ePUB and HTML lack mature standards for annotation, but if they're just being stored in a Zotero-specific format in its database anyway, this doesn't seem to be much of an issue.
This is more of a necessity for the platform really.
FWIW, they've also been quite clear on a number of occasions that +1 comments/upvotes have absolutely no effect on whether a feature gets implemented, so there's really no need/use to continue this. If you want updates in case they do post here, you can subscribe to this thread using the gear icon at the top.
However, I’m understanding about the reasons why these requests are not each publicly responded to by the developers. Some of the reasons that I think are relevant:
1) Although the development team has grown over the years, so has the scope of the project. Zotero functions within multiple operating systems and platforms. Any change must be considered in light of how it might be implemented on each (and the misunderstands if aspects of Zotero would look or function quite differently across platforms.)
2) The OSs, word processors, and browsers aren’t static and sometimes are changed in ways that stress the compatibility of Zotero’s interface with them. Zotero must be constantly updated to keep functioning. Witness the pinned topic on page 1 about how changes in Google Chrome are affecting Zotero. Some of these things are announced in advance giving the developers time to plan but other cases require unanticipated rapid response.