Feature request: LiquidText integration

ChrisWaloszek
Hello ZoteroTeam,

there are great new tools to read, annotate and summarize PDF articles (similar to those available in Citavi) both on mobile devices and desktop:

- LiquidText: https://www.liquidtext.net
- MarginNote: https://www.marginnote.com

These programs allow to export the annotated articles as PDF. However, it is a very tedious procedure to replace the original PDF file in the literature library with the annotated version. It would be much nicer if they could sync/the original could be replaced by the annotated file seamlessly.
The only downside is that once a PDF has been exported LiquidText annotations can not be edited anymore. Only the original LiquidText file is yet editable in the program. Thus, it would be even better if the LiquidText file could be stored next to the annotated PDF file too. This would allow to continue editing, for example when re-reading a paper.

The MindMaps available to Docear users also sound helpful/useful for creating literature reviews (see feature comparison here: http://www.docear.org).

Many thanks for conisdering an integration into a future version of Zotero!
Best

Chris
  • ChGrimm
    Can I upvote this request... I love both LiquidText and Zotero. Combining them would be so great!
  • charlieharrysmith
    I'd like to add my vote for this feature too! It would be incredibly useful for reading papers and somehow getting my notes back into Zotero.
  • arielhasidim
    upvoting for liquidtext!
    especially because when you work with iPad+Mac you have iCloud which mean i can work and update PDFs simultaneously from both machines, but Zotero copy the PDFs to the software local folder which makes a problem.
  • dhao
    Upvote for MarginNote 3!
  • josnickers
    I am upvoting this in support for liquidtext.
  • m.c.vons
    likewise - please on lt
  • chrisoutwright
    For me it would be great if one could simply open the PDFs from the Zotero-Cloud and send the changes back to it (notes, highlights), while keeping a local copy with the workscreen elements, or converting them into a note or an additional file to send back to zotero.

    The only issue is how to sync in between: When reopening the file in liquitext, will it first need to check if the local file is out of date and get back to Zotero-Cloud for updates? How will it convene the local elements from a former version from the cloud with the now "new" PDF someone else edited (new highlights etc.) in the meantime, potentially with a different device (annotating on PC via zotero-app and pdf editor).

    The only way here, would be an additional file-format, that interlinks the modified PDFs so as to rebuild the first structure (all liquidfile-specific references etc.), while combining the modified elements (just annotations, highlights, notes), into a file liquidtext can then again send back to Zotero. Syncing with different devices and file versions and kinds of modifications is really tricky, but one would need to agree on the work flow. Maybe something like the papership app on ipad, before the sync was broken to to newer Zotero version. I would like to see that with liquidtext, I would pay premium for.
  • schmedu
    I found a way to use Zotero with LiquidText and DropBox. You need the plugin ZotFile to make this work.

    Follow the instructions in this video (turn on the subtitles)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvqWsUSVXjk

    Afterwards, your files will be synced to DropBox.

    Important: If you import a file now into LiquidText from your DropBox folder, every time close this LiquidText project, there will be a prompt asking you, if you want to send the changes to the original (DropBox) file. Click "Send Changes".

    You can also click configure LiquidText to always send the changes back to the original file (meaning for every project) or you can specify it to save it always for this project.

    Now you can
    a) excerpt text from the pdfs into the workspace (not imageselect)
    b) annotate text with the text selection tool (not the yellow pen or marker)
    c) add comments to your pdf

    And all this text will be loaded as a Zotero note if you right click on one Zotero item and choose Manage Attachments > Extract Annotations

    Cheers
  • changwep
    Upvoting for LiquidText!!!
  • wangkunkun
    Upvoting for LiquidText, LiquidText have windows/MacOs/iOS……
  • adomasven
    For those who would like to see Zotero integration with LiquidText: this is not the forum to post on. LiquidText currently has no support for plugins of any kind whatsoever, so you need to ask LiquidText developers to either add Zotero integration outright or at least add a plugin system so that a plugin can be developed. Without a plugin architecture it is impossible for either Zotero or third-party developers to create such integration.
  • cptwomey
    Hmm. I think I'd like some integration between Zotero and LiquidText, but what would that mean? PaperShip on iOS (or eventual native Zotero) would open the PDF in LiquidText. But how would a LiquidText project be saved? Those comment get attached to a separate record?

    Is schmedu's instruction set sufficient for single PDF projects? I think so, although perhaps a bit cumbersome. (And that should work with Zotero storage as well, I think)
  • cptwomey
    Hmm, upon further fiddling, Zotero Storage can’t really be directly accessed within iOS (outside of PaperShip) so I guess this means one would have to should shift out of Zotero Storage and to Box, One Drive, or DropBox...but as I recall those weren’t quite as smooth to set up and sync. Sigh.
  • bwiernik
    What would need to happen is for LiquidText to offer integration with Zotero’s API.
  • mateMat
    edited October 13, 2020
    Good question ! @bwiernik
    Upvote for this joined effort!!!

    Or any other effort toward iPad reading and annotation, actually.
    Papership is dying, support email does not exist anymore... it was great. Sigh
  • danieltomasz
    The ball should be in the Marginnote developers/community yard, there already is topic there about academic workflows (Marginnote allow some plugins functionality)
    https://forum.marginnote.com/t/academic-use-workflow-hints-please/1156/23

    LiquidText developers are active on twitter, you could ask there or through support, so far they are busy with sync-between-devices function
  • bwiernik
    @mateMat Zotero is currently developing its own iPad app
  • Daidaitiger
    Upvote Margin note 3- Zotero! While it would also be fine with Zotero iPad for reading and reviewing as long as notes could be stored and searched attached to the original file.
  • roangel
    Upvote, great idea, love liquid text and the current workflow, would be awesome to have the liquid text file in Zotero as well to be able to re annotate!
  • Stef-Kuypers
    Definitely an upvote for integrating LiquidText with Zotero. It would make my life quite a bit easier.
  • danielborek
    LiquidText has now Zotero integration
    https://twitter.com/LiquidTextCorp/status/1466879883863375876
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