zotero's pdf reader panel configuration


Starting to learn how to use zotero - it's amazing - many thanks to the devs and community.

After years of having a book to my left and jotter to the right plus using programs where reviewer comments are on the right hand side, it seems to be hurting my brain having the highlight annotations in the left hand panel. I'm right handed and it feels as if i'm crossing my right hand over the document to write in the left hand margin. I've started using zotero's highlighter + colour stichy notes then importing these annotations into obsidian via mgmeyers' obsigian-zotero-integration plugin. Therefore all my annotations whilst reading in zotero are in the left hand panel - which I'm finding uncomfortable. Maybe attributable to an odd kinesthetic/spatial memory quirk? I tried using stacked, (right panel at bottom which is nice) but I'd really want the left panel on the right. Maybe I'm missing a configuration option?

TLDR: Is there way of moving the left hand panel (annotations) to the right hand side?

  • Not possible, sorry. A plugin could do it, but I'm not aware of any that do currently.

    I assume you know this, but to be clear, you don't actually have to use the left sidebar for annotations. You can just close it and add your comments to the annotations in the PDF view itself. You can also create a note from all of a PDF's annotations and read it in the right-hand pane, though that's a one-off snapshot and not intended to replace the live view of annotations.
  • Thanks for reply :) Think I saw someone using 'highlighter' app on OSX and mistook it for zotero's editor/reader. Hopefully I'll get used to zotero layout and activate dormant sectors of my brain.

    I didn't know that - thanks. However when I closed the panes a tiny little box opened up to edit in - how can i make it larger? See: https://ibb.co/JkcBxpc

    WIth some flatpak apps on Fedora (e.g. Digikam) I've had to enable a highres settings for app GUIs to render properly - maybe this is a factor.

    My workflow will typically be reading - highlighting - adding comments to highlights as when I import into obsidian it will look like this: https://ibb.co/GFjWnnW

    Fedora 38 workstation (wayland)
    Zotero 6.0.26 (flathub)
    Monitor is a UHD (4k)
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