Non-expiring links to PDFs in group web library?

ed.oerthbio
My team recently adopted Zotero for organizing references that basically used to be a bunch of inconsistently named PDFs in a shared OneDrive/Teams folder. Zotero is a clear improvement for organization and searching, but we haven't yet found a good way to send people links to particular items or PDFs. The ideal link would be a single click that opens the PDF, particularly since most members of the team lack full-text journal access so a URL to a journal website isn't useful.

If I'm browsing the Web Library in Chrome and double click on an item in the library or click the "download attachment" button in the right-hand pane, the attached PDF opens in a new browser tab. I can copy the "files.zotero.net/..." URL on the "download attachment" button or the browser tab that is viewing the PDF, and send it in a text or email to someone else with access to the group library. That has the general behavior I'm looking for, at least the first time I send the link. However that URL stops working shortly after the first use, within minutes, giving a "This URL has expired" error message. Can that expiration period be removed or significantly increased?

Is there another way to generally accomplish what I'm looking to do? When using the Web Library to access our group library, I can copy the URL from the web browser and paste it into a chat or email to send it to other team members. That URL opens something similar to what I see in the web browser, including the exact collection I'm browsing and the right-hand pane with the selected item. However it's still a few more clicks to get to the PDF, and if there are many items in a collection it's not obvious to the recipient what I'm trying to send a link to.

I've tried using Zutilo and it seems to generate similar URLs that lead to the web library or desktop app, but still I haven't found anything that generates a one-click link that opens a PDF.
  • dstillman
    That URL opens something similar to what I see in the web browser, including the exact collection I'm browsing and the right-hand pane with the selected item. However it's still a few more clicks to get to the PDF
    It's not — you just need to double-click on the item that's already selected.

    There'll be a dedicated URL for the PDF when we add the new PDF reader to the web library. For now, just sending the URL of the parent item is the best option, and they just need to double-click.

    (The collection part you mention is true, so it might make sense to switch to the library root first.)
  • ed.oerthbio
    Thank you for the answer, I'll update my internal how-to guide to better explain how URL sharing works.

    As a tangentially related issue, following links to the web library (or simply refreshing the browser) initially shows something that looks like a mobile or small browser window UI. It changes to a UI similar to the desktop app once clicking anywhere within the browser window. It's a small issue but it gets slightly in the way of the "here's a screenshot of what things should look like" guide I have for my team.
  • dstillman
    That doesn't sound right. Can you take a screenshot of what you're seeing, upload it somewhere (e.g., Dropbox or Google Drive), and provide a link here?
  • tnajdek
    Also relevant: on what sort of device are seeing this? Does it have a touchscreen or some sort of pen-based input? Could you also try another browser?

    There is some heuristic involved in deciding best version for given device and above would help us improve the logic. We're also considering adding a way of overriding this behaviour for specific browser.
  • ed.oerthbio
    I'm primarily using a Thinkpad X390 Yoga laptop, it does have both touch and stylus input so you might be on to something there. When I use it to open the web library I get this sort of view:

    https://oerthbio-my.sharepoint.com/:i:/p/ed_anderson/EfB61w0StLlNtiRm6N3Qm2MB4UiTLMyxRWsj2_FZhJAExw?e=c5LHd8

    Once I click anywhere in the window I see something like this:

    https://oerthbio-my.sharepoint.com/:i:/p/ed_anderson/ERUh2TWjDeNOuTDGD91I1HcB25yFPN66GFgGCvSnLFEeMg?e=XxKrXw

    If interact with the web library using touch or stylus the first UI stays (or switches back from the second UI)

    I have the same behavior on my laptop using Chrome or Firefox, Windows display scaling set to 100% or larger, or using the laptop screen or an external monitor. If I make the browser window much smaller (about 1/2 the width of the laptop screen or less for the external monitor) the mobile-like interface is always shown which I assume is by design.

    However when I access the web library on a Windows 10 desktop, I always see the more compact 2nd UI (unless I resize the browser window to be much smaller).
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