Extracting Annotations from GROUP libraries

BMontrosse-Moorhead

Hello. I am wondering if it is possible to extract annotations from a document in a group library. I use Zotfile, which works great on documents in my library. However, when I try to annotate a document in my group libraries, the option to extract citations does not come it. Is it possible to do this? Or, is this not available on group libraries. Because group libraries are shared, I get why this might not be an option. However, just wanted to check. Thanks!

dstillman

This might be a slight misunderstanding. The latest version of ZotFile removed the ability to extract annotations across all libraries, because that's now supported by Zotero itself. But we haven't enabled the annotation functionality in groups yet, so you won't see the new built-in options (e.g., "Add Note from Annotations") there quite yet. We should be enabling that within the next few days.

adamsmith

(I think ZotFile has never done anything in groups at all -- the ability to do this with Zotero will be completely new)

dstillman

No, it just didn't convert to linked files, since those aren't supported in groups. Annotation extraction still worked on group files. This was just an oversight on our part in coordinating the ZotFile dev, but we're working to enable the built-in annotation features in groups ASAP.

dstillman

@BMontrosse-Moorhead: Annotations can now be added to notes in group libraries in the latest beta.

adamsmith

@dstillman -- this is great! While we still have some people using stable in the group, what will happen if
a) a group from the beta version is synced with a 5.0 version (I assume no issues there?)
b) a pdf annotated using the Zotero PDF reader is opened by someone in the group not using the reader (again, I assume no issues?)
c) someone tries to open a noted with extracted annotations from the beta in the stable version (this one I assume will be somewhat problematic? but what exactly will happen?)

dstillman

@adamsmith:

a) a group from the beta version is synced with a 5.0 version

If there are Zotero annotations, there'll be a warning message shown if you hover over the sync icon, but no visible error. (In a personal library, we show a warning icon in the toolbar when there's unknown data from a newer version.)

b) a pdf annotated using the Zotero PDF reader is opened by someone in the group not using the reader

The annotations just won't show up in the external reader.

c) someone tries to open a noted with extracted annotations from the beta in the stable version

The old note editor will show the new note as is, with the extracted annotations but (obviously) without any of the enhanced features (e.g., jumping to the PDF or item, toggling annotation colors, recreating deleted citations). Even edits shouldn't be a problem. There might be something you can do in the old editor to strip the new metadata, but not that we're aware of. (iOS and the web library are both still using TinyMCE, so we've tested this extensively.)

adamsmith

Thanks! That seems quite usable