Import pdf as shortcut

I have a subdirectory structure with many pdf files, which I would like to import into Zotero. I found here https://guides.library.oregonstate.edu/zotero/addPDFs that simply drag-and-dropping items from explorer to Zotero does the job.

I made a few tests, and usually very good information is retrieved from pdfs into Zotero items.

There are a couple of features I could not get, perhaps they ar not available (and if so, I find them useful enough to make this a request):
1. Dropping a whole tree, and have Zotero traverse it looking for files. As of now, I can only drop files.
2. Have shortcuts added as attachments to the created Zotero items, instead of the files themselves (via a configuration option for this), so the disk space taken does not duplicate.

Can this be done?
  • 1. https://github.com/retorquere/zotero-folder-import
    2. You can add items as links using "Link to file" under the green plus sign (which does allow for batch import) or holding a modifier key while dragging & dropping -- on Windows that's ctrl+shift+drag, I assume it's the same on Linux and cmd+shift+drag on Mac but haven't checked on the latter two.
  • edited March 20, 2023
    You are 100% correct.

    What Ctrl+Shift+drag is missing is the creation of an hyperlinked table of contents for each attachment, read from the tag structure of the pdf, such that clicking on any of its links opens the pdf at the location of the item. Such table of contents is created when adding the pdf via "Attach link to file", and it is very useful, so I guess it is worth having Ctrl+Shift+drag create it.

    The [zotero-folder-import] add-on in mode "Link to file" seems to be "a Ctrl+Shift+drag on steriods", since the result is exactly the same but with a much simpler operation. So the table of contents is also missing.

    I have added the issue here, although it looks to me more related to Zotero than to the add-on. I guess if behaviour of Ctrl+Shift+drag is changed, that will be replicated in the add-on. Alternatively, perhaps the add-on may mimic the behaviour of "Attach link to file" instead.
  • That's a Zotfile feature, nothing to do with Zotero. In Zotero's PDF viewer, the hyperlinked ToC is always available where bookmarks exist
  • edited March 20, 2023
    Great.
    I should add that, now, using Ctrl+Shift+drag does get the table of contents.
    I can't reproduce what I saw before.

    What I can reproduce is that adding via [zotero-folder-import] does not get the table of contents. Which, on a file-by-file basis, can be fixed via Select the PDF item -> Right click -> Manage Attachments -> Get table of contents.
  • Pretty sure you can run the latter in bulk. I'm still curious why you want the ToC in a separate note though? Why not just use the feature in the pdf viewer?
  • 1. You are right! "Get table of contents" works on multiple selection.
    2. I like the ToC in the right panel since I use a lot Adobe Acrobat as an external PDF viewer. So, with the ToC I can go straight to any bookmark from Zotero. I can live without it, but it's a convenient feature.
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