I actually prefer it the other way around. When the file name has the .pdf extension, it opens externally in Acrobat. I simply rename the file by deleting the extension, and it opens in FireFox.
It does not open in acrobat reader when I click on a pdf in zotero regardless if I have a extension or not. Since zotero takes a lot of space the pdf that opens in firefox will be tiny
... or, at least (perhaps easier to implement), that when opening pdfs inside firefox the default option is to open a new tab rather than replacing the currently active webpage. I am finding that all too often I "lose" something else I was already doing on the web because I open a pdf on top of it.
This is a feature that you need to change in the firefox settings; you can specify a default program to open pdf files (Adobe Acrobat/Reader) instead of the Firefox Adobe plugin.
Although I agree; I like using Adobe Acrobat Std with pdfs stored in Zotero so that I can modify them with graphics while I read. Presently that means clicking "locate file" and then manually opening the pdf. In all other pdf-reading, though, I do prefer using the Firefox plugin.
Also check out the "PDF Download" extension for general use (but that doesn't solve the integration with Zotero; Zotero will still always open with whatever is your default pdf viewer)
There's a hidden pref, extensions.zotero.launchNonNativeFiles, to always open attachments that aren't handled natively by Firefox via the OS. This lets you still open PDFs clicked on from web pages with the Acrobat plugin. Type about:config into the Firefox URL bar to find the pref and set it to TRUE.
On my machine (ubuntu 8.04, FF3RC1, zotero 1.04), Zotero opens pdf files using one particular pdf viewer (evince), whatever I do.
extensions.zotero.launchNonNativeFile is set to false. FF preferences are set to open pdfs in acroread (external, not plugin), and pdf links in web pages open appropriately in it. But, oddly, zotero insists on evince. I think it's using the system pdf viewer regardless of FF settings (though I've never figured out exactly how ubuntu/gnome links files to applications; in this case, double-clicking in nautilus opens pdfs in acroread).
Is there any way I can override zotero's choice here?
FF preferences are set to open pdfs in acroread (external, not plugin), and pdf links in web pages open appropriately in it. But, oddly, zotero insists on evince.
If a file type can't be handled internally (natively by Firefox or via a plugin), Zotero launches it via the OS. It should generally be the same as double-clicking a file in the filesystem, but I guess Nautilus has its own file association settings?
Using the OS launch mechanism was done to avoid using Firefox's external app window. This way allows users to still display the window for standard browsing (rather than setting a default action) but not be bothered with it every time they load a file from Zotero. We could just have it use Firefox's mechanism, but, then, users can also just change the OS setting. I don't know where that would be on Ubuntu/Gnome though.
Unfortunately the file-association story in Ubuntu (as far as I understand it, which is not that far) is a bit of a mess, with several overlapping systems. The forums have threads going on for weeks about things as simple as getting vim to replace gedit for opening text files.
The odd thing in this instance is that the *only* other thing in my system that opens pdfs in evince is the gnome-open command, which no-one ever uses, which is just as well as it's apparently deprecated in 8.04 (Hardy). An example of the 'mess' though is that it has been replaced by the (oh so intuitively-named) 'gvfs-open', which isn't even present in a default install. I enjoy and appreciate linux for the most part, but "the Bazaar" does throw up some oddities.
In short, I don't know enough about this to suggest a solution, and I suspect the fundamental source of the problem is The Mess rather than Zotero. Maybe I should just get rid of evince and replace it with a symlink to acroread.
@Dan: Perfect solution. Thank You! Although I do use PDF X-Change Viewer and I can edit the PDF even when it is opened in add-on, it's not as convenient as it is opened in external viewer. In the add-on mode, the FF tab only shows 'application: external' and not the title of the document. When you open it in an external viewer, you can set the options so that you can see tabs with titles of the documents.
start a new thread, please, and explain a bit more. I'm not following even on whether something isn't working or whether you just want something to work differently.
Upgrade Storage
Maybe you need to ADD the extension?
Although I agree; I like using Adobe Acrobat Std with pdfs stored in Zotero so that I can modify them with graphics while I read. Presently that means clicking "locate file" and then manually opening the pdf. In all other pdf-reading, though, I do prefer using the Firefox plugin.
extensions.zotero.launchNonNativeFile is set to false. FF preferences are set to open pdfs in acroread (external, not plugin), and pdf links in web pages open appropriately in it. But, oddly, zotero insists on evince. I think it's using the system pdf viewer regardless of FF settings (though I've never figured out exactly how ubuntu/gnome links files to applications; in this case, double-clicking in nautilus opens pdfs in acroread).
Is there any way I can override zotero's choice here?
Using the OS launch mechanism was done to avoid using Firefox's external app window. This way allows users to still display the window for standard browsing (rather than setting a default action) but not be bothered with it every time they load a file from Zotero. We could just have it use Firefox's mechanism, but, then, users can also just change the OS setting. I don't know where that would be on Ubuntu/Gnome though.
The odd thing in this instance is that the *only* other thing in my system that opens pdfs in evince is the gnome-open command, which no-one ever uses, which is just as well as it's apparently deprecated in 8.04 (Hardy). An example of the 'mess' though is that it has been replaced by the (oh so intuitively-named) 'gvfs-open', which isn't even present in a default install. I enjoy and appreciate linux for the most part, but "the Bazaar" does throw up some oddities.
In short, I don't know enough about this to suggest a solution, and I suspect the fundamental source of the problem is The Mess rather than Zotero. Maybe I should just get rid of evince and replace it with a symlink to acroread.