Can't get snapshot of PDFs on internet

mwolfe
I have only been using Zotero for a few days, but I can't figure out how to get a snapshot of websites that are PDFs. I use the "create new image from current page" button to create the item in Zotero, but no snapshot is created. When I do this with other websites the snapshot is created automatically. I am using Zotero 2.1.8 Am I missing something? How can I resolve this problem? Thanks for your help.
  • adamsmith
    do you have "automatically attach associated PDFs" selected in the general preferences of Zotero?
  • mwolfe
    Yes.
  • adamsmith
    So you're looking at a pdf with a plugin, right? And you press the "Create New Item from Current Page" button and nothing happens?
    It should create an individual pdf, not attached to anything.
    See if you can create an error report right after trying this.
    http://www.zotero.org/support/reporting_bugs
  • mwolfe
    I am looking at a PDF on the internet. I press the "create new item from current page" button and the PDF is saved in Zotero. But why would it not create a snapshot of the PDF as well, just like for any other webpage, since the PDF could be removed from the website just like any other info. I do not know if the PDFs I save have plugins - I don't know how to check that.
  • adamsmith
    edited August 24, 2011
    I don't understand what you mean by a "snapshot" in that case.
    If you're just looking at the pdf, what else is Zotero supposed to save? It seems like Zotero is doing exactly what it's supposed to do.

    The pdf plugin (usually adobe reader) allows you to view a pdf file inside your browser. If you don't have a pdf plugin installed, pdfs you open from the internet will open in a new program.

    edit: also, please provide a sample URL of a page you're looking at.
  • rlvesco7
    Building on some of the previous comments, when I snapshot a pdf (only the pdf is viewable in the webpage) or even if I drag the pdf manually to a non-existing citation -- it creates a "webpage" item type.

    This behavior is new -- as older versions of Zotero would create a proper standalone PDF.

    The consequence of this is that I can not use the handy, "create metadata from pdf" command from the context menu.

    So, I'm not sure if this a is a bug or not. Alternatively, is there a way to convert an item type like "webpage" to a stand alone pdf? I tried rewriting the title -- but this did not do the trick.

    Thanks.
  • dstillman
    rlvesco7: Provide an example URL. This certainly works fine with most PDFs. It's possible you're on a framed page.
  • rlvesco7
    This is an example:

    http://homes.chass.utoronto.ca/~oreo/research/compositions/how_large_are_returns_to_schooling.pdf

    as far as I can tell, it is not framed. There are many others, similar to this one, that have caused me issues recently - but not in the past.

    The workaround has been to create a blank journal article first and then snapshot this url into the blank citation and then drag the pdf outside of the citation -- in order to use "create metadata from pdf". Obviously this is not ideal. Alternatively, I would save pdf locally an then import. Also not ideal.

    Thanks!
  • dstillman
    What version of Zotero, and how are you saving the snapshot? In both 2.1.10 and 3.0b2 I get a standalone attachment for that PDF by clicking Create New Item from Current Page or by dragging the favicon (icon to the left of the URL in the address bar) into Zotero.
  • rlvesco7
    I'm using Zotero 2.1.10 in Firefox 7.0.1 in windows 7 64 bit.

    I just repeated this experiment.

    When I press "create new item from current page" or by dragging, I get an item type of "web page" with the following title: how_large_are_returns_to_schooling.pdf (application/pdf Object).

    Here is a link to a picture:
    http://bit.ly/sud0RQ
  • adamsmith
    which plugin do you use for pdfs in FF?
  • rlvesco7
    I use foxit. http://www.foxitsoftware.com/Secure_PDF_Reader/
  • dstillman
    Works for me with the Foxit Reader plugin. But you can try the official Acrobat one.
  • rlvesco7
    Ok, I figured out what the issue is.

    You need to have the following setting checked on the general tab under preferences:

    Automatically take snapshots when creating items from webpages.

    If this setting it NOT checked, you will get the behavior described above. This, I believe, is new behavior in Zotero.

    Thanks for all the help in trying to figure this out. Zotero, and you guys, are great!
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