Upgrade StorageSecondary URL in Extra field overwrites the main URL field
I have added a secondary URL as
I understood from a previous post that this should not overwrite the main URL field:
However, when I use the Quick-Copy, I get the secondary URL from Extra inserted in the citation instead of the primary URL.
Is it a bug?
[PS: Side comments:
* I understand that adding secondary URLs in this way is not recommended.
But I find the "Attach Link to URI..." too difficult to use.
* I understand that some of the limitations may be fixed the future, but I just give the context of this specific feedback, to explain why I find that the problem is deeper than each individual limitations listed below
- It is not displayed in the default view (must expand the item in the main library pane)
- I have no way to know that this link exists before expanding the item
- When viewing the PDF file, the only way to see the link is to go back to the item in the library (right click on the tab header -> Show in Library) and then expand the item
- It cannot be copied or edited
- The link in the main library pane when expanding the parent item leaves a lot of empty space in the irrelevant columns
- When I click on the Link child item, the information in the right pane is limited to one line for the URI, and eventually one line for its title, with all the rest being empty space.
I simply want to see the secondary URLs directly from the default library view and on the side of the PDF file view. It would be good for me I think to see them at the bottom of the bottom of the Info pane.
It is probably not good to put this information in the Info pane, which should be reserved for citation purposes. But the Extra field is the best place I could find at the moment.
Some examples of possible use for secondary URLs have been listed in previous discussions, but I would use it for: link to author provided PDF file, link to online supplementary files or webpages, some publications may have multiple official repositories (old publications, PhD thesis, ...), different pages showing the metadata in different languages, link to PDF file + link to the page showing the item's metadata (for example for conferences), ...]
URL: https://www[...] in the Extra field.I understood from a previous post that this should not overwrite the main URL field:
https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/82055/extra-field-migration-with-multiple-urlsExisting real fields won't be overwritten by values in Extra.
However, when I use the Quick-Copy, I get the secondary URL from Extra inserted in the citation instead of the primary URL.
Is it a bug?
[PS: Side comments:
* I understand that adding secondary URLs in this way is not recommended.
But I find the "Attach Link to URI..." too difficult to use.
* I understand that some of the limitations may be fixed the future, but I just give the context of this specific feedback, to explain why I find that the problem is deeper than each individual limitations listed below
- It is not displayed in the default view (must expand the item in the main library pane)
- I have no way to know that this link exists before expanding the item
- When viewing the PDF file, the only way to see the link is to go back to the item in the library (right click on the tab header -> Show in Library) and then expand the item
- It cannot be copied or edited
- The link in the main library pane when expanding the parent item leaves a lot of empty space in the irrelevant columns
- When I click on the Link child item, the information in the right pane is limited to one line for the URI, and eventually one line for its title, with all the rest being empty space.
I simply want to see the secondary URLs directly from the default library view and on the side of the PDF file view. It would be good for me I think to see them at the bottom of the bottom of the Info pane.
It is probably not good to put this information in the Info pane, which should be reserved for citation purposes. But the Extra field is the best place I could find at the moment.
Some examples of possible use for secondary URLs have been listed in previous discussions, but I would use it for: link to author provided PDF file, link to online supplementary files or webpages, some publications may have multiple official repositories (old publications, PhD thesis, ...), different pages showing the metadata in different languages, link to PDF file + link to the page showing the item's metadata (for example for conferences), ...]
I have selected an item with a main URL in the URL field:
https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5831698v/f483.item
And a secondary URL added in Extra as:
URL: https://www.academie-sciences.fr/en/Transmettre-les-connaissances/comptes-rendus-de-l-academie-des-sciences-numerisees-sur-le-site-de-la-bibliotheque-nationale-de-france.html
This item does not have a DOI.
I have made two duplicates. On one of them, I have removed the pages.
Then I use the Quick Copy (Ctrl+Shift+C) on the two items, with "American Psychological Association 7th edition". Depending if the item has pages or not, the Quick Copy selects a different URL:
de Gennes, P.-G. (1984a). Lois d’étalement pour des gouttes microscopiques. Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des Sciences, 298(4), 475–478. https://www.academie-sciences.fr/en/Transmettre-les-connaissances/comptes-rendus-de-l-academie-des-sciences-numerisees-sur-le-site-de-la-bibliotheque-nationale-de-france.html
de Gennes, P.-G. (1984b). Lois d’étalement pour des gouttes microscopiques. Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des Sciences, 298(4). https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5831698v/f483.item
The bug is not limited to one citation style. For example with IEEE:
[1] P.-G. de Gennes, ‘Lois d’étalement pour des gouttes microscopiques’, Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des Sciences, vol. 298, no. 4, pp. 475–478, 1984, [Online]. Available: https://www.academie-sciences.fr/en/Transmettre-les-connaissances/comptes-rendus-de-l-academie-des-sciences-numerisees-sur-le-site-de-la-bibliotheque-nationale-de-france.html
[2] P.-G. de Gennes, ‘Lois d’étalement pour des gouttes microscopiques’, Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des Sciences, vol. 298, no. 4, 1984, [Online]. Available: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5831698v/f483.item
The options for the Quick Copy are as on this screenshot.
I have also tested with all plugins disabled.
Any idea why this is happening?
I don't know if this is a bug -- as you say, you're using this feature off label, which is of course fine, but I don't think anyone is going to chase corner cases related to such usage. (and I don't really see much downsides to the current behavior.)
I have added two more test items:
1) I have removed the Extra in the item with the pages, and in that case it does not show any URL:
de Gennes, P.-G. (1984). Lois d’étalement pour des gouttes microscopiques. Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des Sciences, 298(4), 475–478.
2) I have added a DOI with the main URL and Extra URL. In that case the DOI URL shows up:
de Gennes, P.-G. (1984). Lois d’étalement pour des gouttes microscopiques. Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des Sciences, 298(4), 475–478. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4918345
Indeed, checking "include URL" always keeps the main URL or DOI link. So I will be using that option to solve the problem.
If the expected behaviour is that adding a secondary URL in Extra does not affect any of the Zotero features, this is an example where it does not work.
The downside is that I will not get the correct URL in some cases, without any real reason or advantage for this behaviour.
But I understand that this is a tiny corner case that is not relevant for most users. It is good anyway to understand where it comes from and how to avoid it.
I would probably store the secondary URLs as attached links in most cases (like the link to the preprint of the paper) if they were better displayed with the item.
It is possible for example in Mendeley to add multiple URLs, so that I can directly see all the links relevant to the item.
You can expand a parent item with a single keystroke, and you can open them by double-clicking or by using the keyboard.