Retrieve pdf metadata

nathfriant
Hi,

I use Zotero standalone 4.0.20 and Zotero for Firefox 4.0.20.2 on OSX 10.9.2.

I am unable to retrieve any pdf metadata although pdftotext 3.0.2 and pdfinfo 3.0.2 are said to be correctly installed.

This issue could also have something to do with pdf indexing as I see that while I have 1162 documents to be indexed, only 131 of them are indexed (deleting and reconstructing the index does not help in this case).

Thanks for your help!
  • aurimas
    What happens when you try to retrieve metadata?
  • nathfriant
    It says that the text of the pdf couldn't be read.
  • aurimas
    Have you been able to retrieve metadata for any of the PDFs? I.e. the 131 that are indexed?

    If you open a PDF that is failing in whatever PDF viewer you are using, can you copy text from it?
  • nathfriant
    I can copy text from the pdf. However, I don't know how to identify which files have been indexed. How could I do that?
  • aurimas
    When you select a pdf, on the right it will say "indexed: no"
  • aurimas
    Also, could you email one of the failing pdfs to support@zotero.org with a link to this thread?
  • nathfriant
    OK, I see.

    Actually I couldn't find any indexed pdf. The only indexed documents are snapshots of web pages.

    So the problem should lie with the way Zotero accesses the pdf on my computer. The following information is also maybe useful: I don't sync my pdf on the Zotero server (it would use more online storage than allowed).
  • aurimas
    Go to Preferences -> Advanced -> Files and Folders -> Show Data Directory. Close Zotero/Firefox. Delete the pdftotext and pdfinfo files. Reinstall them via Preferences -> Search

    If that doesn't help, submit a Debug ID for an attempt to retrieve metadata for one of the PDFs
  • nathfriant
    That worked! Thanks a lot!
  • adamsmith
    you'll probably want to rebuild your index, again from the search tab of the preferences, e.g. to enable full text search.
  • nathfriant
    Yes, that's done. Thanks a lot for your help!

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