Save to Zotero as a PDF

When I open a website and want to save the pdf to Zotero, I only find the button Save to Zotero (webpage with/without snapshot) and I can save the pdf neither in Google Chrome nor Firefox, even if I open a PDF in the browser, and I've tried to reinstall the addon in Firefox. Is there a way to fix it?
  • edited January 9, 2021
    Do you have the Zotero app open?

    Does this happen on this PDF?

    Can you provide a Debug ID from the Zotero Connector for loading (not saving) a PDF and getting the webpage icon?
  • Thank you for your information.

    Yes, I have the Zotero open and the Debug ID from the Zotero Connector is D968218044 when I try to save a PDF on the website. I can't see the option as "Save to Zotero (PDF)".

    This is also the case when I try to save the PDF you provided. In the dropdown menu, I clicked Zotero Connector-Save to Zotero, then there was no further option. However, after downloading this PDF on my computer, I selected "this PDF" with a right mouth click, I saw Zotero Connector-Save to Zotero-Save to Zotero (PDF). Then I clicked this, the red cross appeared in the Zotero Connector, and for this error the Debug ID in Zotero is D662178420.

  • For the first Debug ID, you're not actually viewing a PDF — you're viewing a webpage, perhaps with a PDF embedded in a frame. You can see from the URL (ending in "overview") that it's not a PDF. Zotero should automatically detect PDFs in frames, but possibly only if nothing is detected on the parent page. You can check whether "PDF" shows up as an option if you right-click on the save button. (I can't remember if it will appear as a secondary option in that case.) If not, in Firefox you can right-click on a frame and choose This Frame → Show Only This Frame.
    This is also the case when I try to save the PDF you provided. In the dropdown menu
    What drop-down menu? All you should be doing normally is clicking the save button in the toolbar — there's no menu involved normally. Just go to that URL and click the save button, which should be a PDF icon.
    However, after downloading this PDF on my computer, I selected "this PDF" with a right mouth click, I saw Zotero Connector-Save to Zotero-Save to Zotero (PDF).
    I don't understand what you're describing here, but it's not something you want to do. If you download a PDF to your computer, you would just drag the file from your disk into Zotero to add it. Browser extensions can't access files you've already downloaded.
  • Thank you for your reply.

    I am not sure how I judge whether the Zotero could detect the PDF on the webpage. In my case, the PDF is normally converted to a hyperlink on the webpage and when I click it, the file will be downloaded automatically. But seemingly the Zotero connector is unable to detect the PDF.

    To test whether the "Save to Zotero (PDF)" runs smoothly, I also drag a PDF in my computer to the browser and click the save button in the toolbar, but there are only two options as Save to Zotero (Web page with/without snapshot).
  • If Zotero recognizes a page as a PDF, it shows a PDF icon for "Save to Zotero". What happens when you click on the link dstillman gave above?
    https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf
    Does that open in your browser or does it download?

    Local PDFs (i.e. ones that are opened from your disk rather than from the web) cannot be saved from the browser. If the URL doesn't start with http or https, Zotero can't save from the browser.
  • edited January 14, 2021
    When I click the link you provided, the PDF will be downloaded automatically.

    I found that if I first click the hyperlink to download that PDF on the webpage, Zotero would recognize the PDF since the button in the toolbar would turn to "Save to Zotero (PDF)“. Then when I try to click the button and save PDF to zotero, the tooltip says, "Saving failed. Is Zotero running?". I follow the guideline in https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/connector_zotero_unavailable and it displays "Zotero Connector Server is Available".

    However, except for the situation above, there is no PDF icon for "Save to Zotero" in my browser.
  • That means there's a problem within your browser and you need to follow the steps on that page. It's not something we can help with otherwise, since it's not a Zotero problem.
  • edited January 14, 2021
    When I click the link you provided, the PDF will be downloaded automatically.
    Though I'm not sure what you mean by "download" here. Again, for this to work, you need to be viewing a PDF at an http:// or https:// URL. You can't be viewing one at a file:// URL, which is a file that's already been downloaded to your computer that you're just viewing in your browser.
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