[iOS] Feature Request: Shareable Linked Files in Attachments

miracle_xyz
When there are "Linked Files" in attachments, I can open the file on the desktop, but can only "delete" it on the current iOS APP. (See the red rectangular in the screenshot here: https://sm.ms/image/uOixGaU7mqyzQBJ )

But these files actually have links (URLs). What I want is to make these links **shareable** - i.e. I can copy the link, share it to a shortcut and open it using another iOS APP, etc. This feature could be a big step to my workflow automation.
  • dstillman
    But these files actually have links (URLs).
    I'm not sure what URLs you're referring to here. Can you provide an example? Linked files are just files on your computer. They don't have URLs.

    In any case, Zotero doesn't support viewing of linked files on iOS.
  • miracle_xyz
    Sure. Let me give you an example.

    Every item/attachment (even linked files) has a `key` - if you inspect elements on the web library, you'll find a `data-key` attribute.

    Plug this `key` in Zotero's Web API:

    https://api.zotero.org/users/{your-user-id}/items/{key}?key={your-api-key}

    This request returns a json like this:

    {
    "key": "{key}",
    ...
    "data": {
    "key": "{key}",
    "linkMode": "linked_file",
    ...
    "path": "/Users/miraclexyz/Library/Mobile Documents/iCloud~md~obsidian/Documents/XYZ@personal/Acadamic/Cao et al. - 2020 - How to Talk When a Machine is Listening Corporate.md",
    }
    }

    What I want is the `data.path` string. If this `path` becomes shareable, I can share it to a shortcut which parses the path and converts it into an iCloud/Obsidian URL scheme, so I can directly open it using other APPs (eg. Obsidian).
  • dstillman
    OK, that's not a URL — it's a file path. Since the path isn't valid on iOS, I don't see this being made available in the app (and if you're using a Linked Attachment Base Directory, there wouldn't be a full path anyway).

    We can consider making the filename copyable from the context menu, though.
  • dstillman
    We'd have to investigate the details, but it's also possible we could also add some native support for Shortcuts, such that you could "share" an item with a shortcut and get its JSON (among other formats), which would allow further processing.
  • miracle_xyz
    If there's a "Share"/"Copy" button near the Delete one, and I could pass the file path or the JSON into a shortcut (eg. via "Shared Sheet"), that'd be extremely helpful.
  • jeremyvancleve
    "We can consider making the filename copyable from the context menu, though."

    yes, this would be very helpful for locating files that aren't located in Zotero but in another cloud storage provider.
  • IsaacWang
    Has been almost a year. Any update on this question? If the file path can be extracted from the attached linked file, it can be very convenient to open files from other iOS app with another cloud storage.
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