Zotero PDF Reader - Feature Requests

ZenonMarko
Thank you for the included PDF reader. I am trying it and out and very impressed so far; hope this will become my main way of working with PDFs (especially since recently, since upgrading to OS Monterey on Mac perhaps, the external PDF links via URIs no longer open to the proper pages).

A few feature requests:

- allow setting of default window width and/or zoom level for PDFs to open (either per document or globally). (I tend to run Zotero in full wide-screen mode, but do not wish for PDFs to open in that mode!)

- add a preference to make PDFs open in new windows rather than tabs

- add a modifier-key to make a PDF open in a new window rather than a tab

- add floating notes (as in Acrobat and Mac Preview)

- allow Command-clicking on title bar of PDF window (Mac) to see file path of the PDF, and go to that file in the Finder if one clicks it

- allow shortcut to open the document in another specified PDF viewer (e.g. Acrobat). This is important if one wishes to use features not implemented in Zotero's PDF viewer (such as OCR).

Thank you for consideration of these wish-list items.
Thank you again also for the superb ongoing work on this essential tool.

  • dstillman
    - add a modifier-key to make a PDF open in a new window rather than a tab
    Shift
    - allow Command-clicking on title bar of PDF window (Mac) to see file path of the PDF, and go to that file in the Finder if one clicks it

    - allow shortcut to open the document in another specified PDF viewer (e.g. Acrobat). This is important if one wishes to use features not implemented in Zotero's PDF viewer (such as OCR).
    We're definitely not going to do the first, and we're unlikely to do the second. If you're using the built-in reader, changes to the external file (e.g., deleting pages) could cause problems in Zotero (e.g., causing all annotations to be on the wrong page). If you really want to do this, and understand the implications (or lack thereof, for OCR), you can just use Show File on the item. When viewing the PDF, you can right-click on the tab to get back to the item in the library.

  • stefanket
    So we should not OCR the pdf from outside of Zotero?
  • dstillman
    No, as I say, OCR is fine. But other changes cause problems, which is why we're unlikely to expose this beyond Show File.
  • ZenonMarko
    @dstillman
    Thank you. The existence of the Shift modifier key is extremely helpful.

    As for opening in another PDF viewer, your concerns make sense, of course.
    What of the following idea then: Implement the option to open the document in another specified PDF viewer, which automatically also closes the document in Zotero...? This would avoid the conflict situation by only opening the document in a single PDF editor at once. (Of course, the user could forget that it's open in the other viewer later on, and re-open that same document in Zotero...once again generating the conflict. But that situation is a risk in the Show File approach as well).
  • ZenonMarko
    A further request (or should this be a new thread?):

    If possible, PDFs should always open to the first page, or to the page set in the URI attached to the Zotero item. Instead, I notice that they open to the last page viewed when the document was last closed. (If some prefer the latter behavior, perhaps this can be a preference).

    Thank you....
  • dstillman
    It's not about having the PDF reader open. The point is just that, if you delete a page in the PDF, all your Zotero annotations are going to be in the wrong place. Same goes even just for understanding that Zotero annotations won't appear in the external reader. If you know that you're doing something that doesn't interfere and what to expect, you can use Show File.

    (Yes, please create new threads for new issues.)
  • ZenonMarko
    @dstillman Thank you for the clarification. Will create a new thread for thoughts on this.

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