Linux Mint Zotero - Want to change pdf editor

cathalheavey · May 19, 2021

Hello,
I want to change the pdf editor in Zotero from Document Viewer to Okular. The default editor on my computer is Okular which I set using nemo. However Zotero keeps using Document Viewer. Does anyone know how to resolve this issue?

Cathal

fcheslack · May 19, 2021

System defaults in Linux are complicated and can be set in a lot of different ways for different Linux flavors

https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/file_handling_issues#pdfs_opening_in_wrong_application_on_linux_systems

but you can also now set the application Zotero will use to open PDFs directly from the preferences (Edit > Preferences > General > Open PDFs using)

cathalheavey · May 19, 2021

Thanks for your reply. I read your link and tried the two approaches. Setting the default file in ~/.local/share/applications/defaults.list did not work. I did not have a file so I created one. I then tried to change the default pdf reader within zotero. I got this to work with the FoxitReader, but my problem is that I cannot locate the okular executable file. I ran which okular and it pointed to /usr/bin/okular. But the file was not listed there. Any ideas how to resolve this?

hvalim1 · May 28, 2021

I also have the same problem as @cathalheavey ; I cannot find the okular executable within the "Choose Application" wizard in Zotero, although I know that it is there (in /usr/bin/okular).

qqbb · May 28, 2021

@hvalim1: You might be using a sandboxed third-party package of Zotero. If that's the case, try adding an exception to the sandbox. Alternatively, install the official Linux tarball or the zotero-deb package instead. The latter should be easier to install and doesn't have this issue.

See here for more details:
https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/83968/view-pdf-cant-get-it-to-skip-open-with-dialog
https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/87490/default-pdf-viewer-on-fedora-kde