is it possible to open the web URL for multiple items at once?

moore.709
This is something that just occurred to me lately, as I start tracking several dozen web sites, wanting to open and scan them almost once per day.

Is there any way, such as maybe with a plugin, to so something to the effect of
-- select multiple items
-- click something or push a key(s) and open all their URLS in the default browser
?

Another way to say it is that
we can already double-click any one item
and if it has a web URL (and not a pdf, but that's not important here)
zotero invokes the default browser with the URL.
-- How can I do multiple items at the same time, not just one?
  • AbeJellinek
    Select the items, right-click, and choose View Online.
  • moore.709
    Thanks for your reply, @AbeJellinek .

    I don't have "View Online".

    Is that maybe from a plugin ?
  • dstillman
    View Online will appear if any items in the selection have a URL or DOI assigned.

    If you're not seeing it, can you take a screenshot of exactly what you're doing, upload it somewhere (e.g., Dropbox or Google Drive), and provide a link here?
  • moore.709
    edited July 14, 2022
    Sure, @dstillman

    I don't think I've ever seen "View Online" , but maybe I haven't been looking either.

    --- what I'm doing ---

    I have tagged a bunch of websites I want to view repeatedly ( job search :) ).
    I go to the root of My Library.
    I select that one tag.
    I highlight all the items in the items pane, with clicking one and then Ctrl-A.
    Right-clicking, I get the context menu as shown.

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1r-uVKSo6m4BZkQGkyIcAyj88JbJ9jhyd/view?usp=sharing
  • moore.709
    Oh!
    As an update, I just now tried right-clicking only one item
    and I do get "View Online".

    So I tried a small number of items and I still get "View Online".
    But not with selecting all.

    Let me see if I can isolate an item that breaks it ~
  • dstillman
    edited July 14, 2022
    You're just selecting too many items. The view options only appear for a selection of up to 20 items, rather than letting you accidentally open a huge number of items at once.
    I don't think I've ever seen "View Online" , but maybe I haven't been looking either.
    Just right-click a single item (or up to 20 items) with a DOI or URL. You'll see View Online at the top.
  • moore.709
    edited July 14, 2022
    Ok ---

    So I'll update my question :) . . .

    I want on the order of 200 web pages. It's 2022 and the machine can handle it ;)

    Is there a way to select more than 20 items and View Online ?
    :-D
  • dstillman
    That's not currently configurable, sorry. We could consider it, but it's just not a great thing to do — it would cause a huge surge of requests and could easily get you temporarily blocked from a site from making too many requests at once.
  • moore.709
    I hear what you're saying,
    but I would point out my workflow personally is compatible.
    They are all different websites and I just want to be efficient.

    I can save any number of bookmarks in a folder in my browser and do it, but I prefer using zotero and using tags and taking notes in there.
  • moore.709
    That is, I'm going to open them at the same time, it's just a matter of how tedious.
  • moore.709
    edited July 15, 2022
    Comparing to other tools,
    here is how a modern browser handles it --
    simply prompts with an "are you sure? Yes/No" :
    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ea98lkfuGkULRiI9D6wxVpjFrYhIzowE/view?usp=sharing

    I think it's pretty reasonable. We're all adults :)

    And the fact is, the volume of web requests just isn't policed the same way it once was because web usage is simply so intense now, as you probably know.

    Just to state it for anyone who isn't as familiar with web pages, a single web page today is not a single web request but a cascade of dozens if not hundreds of web requests to build the page.
    So internet service providers aren't policing number of requests the way they once did.
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