Annotating on the iPad and having it show up on your Mac ... should this work?

darrencroton
Hi. Perhaps I'm just missing something, and apologies if so.

I have Zotero set up correctly on my MacBook Pro and my iPad (everything with the latest OS). My library syncs fine (e.g. if I add or delete on one device, the change is reflected on the other).

Now the problem. In Zotero on my iPad I open a paper's PDF, highlight some words, add a note, and scribble some ink. I let this sync on all devices. I then open the PDF on my Mac and ...(drumroll)... nothing. Huh? Have I misunderstood the word "sync"?

Weirdly, if I right-click on the paper in Mac-Zotero and "Add Note From Annotations" a note appears with just the note I added on the iPad. But nothing else. So I know there has been some kind of communication.

I would expect that when I annotate on my iPad and it syncs, the annotations should appear in all my instances of Zotero (once they sync). Does it not work that way? I can't imagine why it wouldn't work that way. Are annotations siloed to only appear on my iPad? And if so, why?

Please help! :)
  • dstillman
    You have to open the PDF in the built-in PDF reader, not an external PDF reader, if you want to see the annotations.

    https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/annotations_in_database
  • darrencroton
    Thank you! This was in no way obvious.

    I see the logic in keeping the annotations seperate to the PDF. But in the wider world of pretty much every PDF annotation app out there, this workflow sits alone on an island way off in the distance. Really, the annotations should always be on the PDF because that's where the user has put them.

    Anyway, I'm sure that's an old argument and decisions have been made. At least I understand how it works now. I appreciate your reply.
  • dstillman
    But in the wider world of pretty much every PDF annotation app out there, this workflow sits alone on an island way off in the distance. Really, the annotations should always be on the PDF because that's where the user has put them.
    But Zotero isn't a standalone PDF app that opens files directly. It's an integrated system with a library model and multi-device, multi-user syncing. Annotations are stored in exactly the same place as other Zotero library data and notes.

    Note, also, that you had to change your default PDF reader for this to come up. The defaults just work.
  • darrencroton
    Yep I know. I was playing with the settings and that's where I ended up. And then when I tried to annotate things didn't work as expected. That's my fault. But there was no indication that this would happen. And it's not obvious that this would happen.

    I understand your point about Zotero being much more than just an annotation app. But it is still that. Which is a major usage case. So following expected behaviour (the annotations I make stick to the file I annotate) isn't unreasonable.

    But anyway, I see how it works now and all is good. As a new user (and I think what I've done isn't unreasonable), a "you're doing it wrong" doesn't help anyone. Perhaps the devs can reflect on this and find a way to streamline things. Searching through online comments, I know I'm not the only one who wonders where their annotations have gone when they look at the actual PDF.

    Again, I appreciate your help.
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