[5.0] Share items with group members, with link to the group item

What is the best way to have group members look up an item in the group library? Let's say I am writing an email in Outlook to a group member and want that person to read/view a bunch of papers (that exist in the group library). I can select these papers and drag/drop them in my email, which creates the bibliographic entry. But the recipient still has to go search for these items in the group library. Is there a way for me to add hyperlinks to the items, or something that improves the workflow for the recipient?
  • edited August 1, 2017
    You could copy links to the items in the group using the Zotero Item URI instructions here: https://zoteromusings.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/zotero-item-uris-from-client/

    (That will take you to the online interface. You could try the Zotero Select links, but I’m not sure if those work across different users’ libraries.)

    Probably the easiest would be to tag the items you want with a tag that begins with punctuation (e.g., _John)—then your colleague can just Filter on that tag to see all of the referenced items. When they are done with the item, they can remove the tag.
  • Thanks, @bwiernik Those are really helpful. Though I seem to agree, for now, using Tags might be the most convenient.

    Regarding Item URI: That takes you to the online entry for an item. Very useful when sharing bibliographic information with a non-member. But somewhat less useful if I need the group member to open the item in their local library (where the PDF is).

    Regarding Zotero Select: If I paste a link in Firefox, it will open Zotero 5.0 but does not select the item. So, not useful, but maybe it worked differently in Zotero for Firefox?
  • Ah, it looks like Zotero Select links aren't currently working correctly (I see a few reports of that on the forums.) It should be fixed at some point in the near future.
  • If I paste a link in Firefox, it will open Zotero 5.0 but does not select the item.
    This is fixed for 5.0.8, which should be out later this week.
  • Zotero 5.0.8 is out now with the zotero://select fix.
  • @dstillman Thanks, tested and works fine now. Will this work for group libraries and across all users of that library?

    Will this work in Chrome and Safari, too?
  • Yes, it works for group libraries too. Note that, while the old URL format works, there's a new format that's better to use going forward: zotero://select/library/items/:itemKey: or zotero://select/groups/:groupID:/items/:itemKey:. (We'll likely support zotero://select/users/:userID:/items/:itemKey: as well in the future, but for now /library/ means the current library and works without a Zotero account.)
    Will this work in Chrome and Safari, too?
    Different browsers might have different security restrictions on what links are allowed. From Zotero's perspective this is just an external link from the system.
  • I created a zotero://select link for an item from a computer running 5.0 and tested it on a computer running 4.0.29. Both machines are Windows 10 and I tested in Firefox. On the 4.x system, pasting the zotero://select link in Firefox will open the Zotero tab, but not select the item. If I have Zotero open and then paste the link, the correct item is selected.

    Here's what the links look like for an item in my personal library and a group library:
    zotero://select/items/0_3SNCA9QR
    zotero://select/items/1991822_MAUKTEQW

    @dstillman How do I get the new formats you mention? Ctrl+Shift+C still gets me the old format.

    I could not make this work in Chrome and Zotero 5.0. I have the Chrome connector installed.

    - Can you briefly describe what happens when I paste a zotero://select link in a browser? Does it use the browser connector, or does it directly interact with Zotero via some system settings?

    - Do these links work only in a browser, or can they work from Word? But its not a hyperlink, so not sure how to use it in Word.
  • 1) @adamsmith Could you update the Item URI and Zotero Select translators on your site? Could these be built into Zotero?

    2) It is working for me on Mac in Chrome with Zotero 5. Chrome seems to want to default to searching for the link in Google, but you can select to actually open the link (versus Google Search) in the address bar options dropdown.

    3) When Zotero installs, it associates itself with the "zotero://" protocol, telling your computer to use it to open that type of link (much the way that your browser is associated with http:// protocol links). It doesn't use the connector.

    4) The links have nothing really to do with your browser. In Word, if you click Insert-> link, and paste the zotero:// link, it will be formatted as a clickable link. Same for OneNote and other applications.
  • Yes, will do
  • Thanks, @bwiernik

    2) Now working for me in Chrome on Windows 10. It was doing a Google search and your tip fixed that.

    3) and 4) Nicely explained!
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