Edge browser that comes with Windows 10

RandyKiel
Will Zotero soon have a connector for the Microsoft Edge browser as it does for Google Chrome and Safari?
  • adamsmith
    unlikely. The bookmarklet works, though:
    https://www.zotero.org/downloadbookmarklet
  • aurimas
    This can't possibly happen until Edge starts supporting extensions. Even afterwards, it may take some time, especially if Edge does not attract much user base. I did read somewhere that Edge might be able to use Chrome extensions, in which case this would be a quick port.
  • bwiernik
    The announcement from Microsoft indicated that Edge would support both Firefox and Chrome extensions, but it was unclear the extent of the support. The browser currently doesn't support any extensions though, as you noted.
  • dstillman
    (There is no chance that it will support XUL-based Firefox extensions like Zotero, though, so it'd have to be the Chrome extension or a version based on that.)
  • sebrattansen
    Hi guys

    Just wondering if there's any update on this. I like Chrome but because it sucks my battery life, I'd like to switch to Edge. Plus it's quite a bit faster on my Surface. Is there any chance of a native extension for Edge?

    Thanks
    Seb
  • marcus koe
    @adamsmith. Sorry for the bookmarklet it says we should drag he link to bookmarks, but that doesn't work on EDGE. How do you do this thanks!
  • adamsmith
    I don't remember if this used to work back when I wrote it, but last time I checked there was no reasonable way to get bookmarklets (of any kind) to work in Edge. Without that, not much we can do (and imo it's a sign that Edge isn't as of yet a serious browser).
  • bwiernik
    edited August 18, 2016
    The Windows 10 Anniversary update (build 1607) now supports extensions in Edge.

    Microsoft has released a tool to guide conversion of Chrome extensions to Edge extensions (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/app/9nblggh4txvb). I followed the tool's instructions to modify the Chrome connector for basic compatibility. With no substantive changes, the basic detection/icon functions work. However, none of the communication between Chrome with Zotero Standalone or with the Zotero server works. So, an Edge connector extension seems possible at this point, but will require some developer time to get it working. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like all of the necessary Edge API documentation has been released, so there's no telling when a connector will be able to be released.
  • ironmike62
    Are there any updates in this regard?
  • adomasven
    Half a year ago when we checked, Edge support for browser extension features was fairly incomplete, development tools buggy and documentation/community sparse, which deterred us from working on it. We are planning to look into it again in some not-too-distant future, as Edge seems to be moving forward at a decent pace, but in the meantime we welcome community help. The extension code is here, someone just needs to get it to run on Edge successfully.
  • MAR.Garcia
    I also agree that Edge has now improved a lot! It is quite much faster and efficient than Chrome or Mozilla on Windows 10.
    I really hope to see the Edge extension for Zotero in a near future.
  • zxd.zhang
    I like zotero very much for its powerful function. It is a great pity that ZOTERO don't support Edge.I really hope to see the Edge extension for Zotero in a near future.
  • LiborA
    edited April 25, 2017
    Microsoft has implemented "a new HTML, JavaScript and CSS based extension model into Edge. This new model is Chrome-compatible which means that existing Chrome extension developers will be able to migrate their extensions to Edge with minimal changes." (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/extensions). Maybe any developer can prepare Edge connector, but I think, it is not a priority yet.
    EDIT: next info https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/extensions/guides/porting-chrome-extensions
  • bwiernik
    Last I checked, there were still missing APIs in Edge that Zotero needs to connect with Standalone and/or the Zotero server.
  • docja
    @sebrattansen and @RESSLab are right. Edge is much faster than other browsers on Windows 10, and has most of the same functionality of the others now. Zotero is the only extension that's really important to me that is not supported for Edge. I hope this will change in the near future.
  • LiborA
    edited June 25, 2017
    @docja Zotero connector cannot be prepared for the Edge without all necessary functionality on the Edge side. Zotero developers can define this functionality (@bwiernik can you do this?), but that's all. Your message should be targeted on the Edge developers.
  • adomasven
    edited June 25, 2017
    @LiborA FWIW this may no longer be true. We just haven't got around to attempting to convert the extension to Edge since the last attempt.
  • bwiernik
    The last time I tried, the pipes that Zotero uses to connect from the connector to either the Zotero sever or to an external program weren't yet implemented in the Edge API, so while you could install the Connector, it couldn't actually send the data anywhere. I haven't checked again since the recent Windows 10 Creators Update, so it's possible that it might work now.
  • docja
    @LiborA, @adomasven, and @bwiernik: Thanks for your comments. I'll bet that a lot of Zotero users would be really happy if the new W10 update makes this possible.
  • bwiernik
    I'm sure. Believe me, I am one of them.
  • adomasven
    I looked into getting the connector to work on Edge, but sadly, there's no good news to report.

    While we don't need every webextension API to support the baseline functionality, translation, in Edge, unfortunately, even getting that to work is tricky. While the required APIs are reported as implemented, in reality they are very buggy/don't work at all. It's not out of the question that it may be possible to find workarounds for these bugs, but with the current state of the toolchain it is work in the dark and thus too time consuming.

    We'll see again in half a year.
  • sebrattansen
    I'm mainly using Edge now (it's gotten a lot better in the last year or so). A semi-workaround until there's a native extension is to just export references to a RIS file, and then open the RIS file in Edge. It should automatically open Zotero and import the references.
  • bwiernik
    edited July 19, 2017
    You could also see whether the Zotero bookmarklet works to save the step of downloading RIS.

    https://www.zotero.org/downloadbookmarklet
  • Mark.E
    For anyone who is part of Microsoft's "Insider" program to receive preview builds of Windows 10, you can use the "Feedback Hub" to let them know this is an issue you want them to prioritize. Someone has submitted a request for this, so if enough people upvote it they may get the message (I suspect we're too much of a niche demographic to turn the tide in their development plans for Edge, but it's worth a shot). Just search "Zotero" in feedback hub, it's the only result.

    In the meantime, the bookmarklet is working for me on the current preview build, so if it's not working in the current public build, it should work whenever the next W10 update goes out. I like being able to choose the folder an item gets imported to, though, so sticking with Firefox for now.
  • LiborA
    The bookmarklet works everywhere (Edge, IE, etc.), but bookmarklet is not the same as the connector. Its functionality is extremely limited.
  • bwiernik
    (For some time, the bookmarklet didn’t work in Edge because Microsoft had disabled that functionality.)
  • ThirlwallAssociates
    The updated version of Edge in the W10 Fall Creators Update has the new option to edit the URL of favourites. I've got the bookmark to work by using the code for Chrome for Android as the URL, as long as the Zotero app is open.

    I'm not sure it pulled all the information it could from a site (I'll check against citations created with Firefox) but it is workaround for now.

    Perhaps someone could tweak it further?
  • albertopa
    I got the bookmarklet working by copying the link in the "Desktop" button and using that as URL for a bookmark.

    However, a complete extension would be very welcome. I see there was some progress in the GitHub repository, but nothing happened after July ( https://github.com/zotero/zotero-connectors/issues/42 ). Have things improved with the Fall Creator Update?
  • patrickrwalden
    I was just wondering if an extension for Edge will ever be a possibility? The bookmarklet does not work on all sites. It's been a few years since the browser came out.
  • adamsmith
    As per the ticket above it's generally a goal, but last time someone checked it wasn't possible with reasonable effort.

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