What Kind of Database Does the PDF Reader Use, and Is It Exportable?

cabin-chair
Hi,

Reading here I can see the efficiencies that keeping the PDF annotations in a Db offer.

https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/annotations_in_database

Please can you explain a bit about the type of Db that it is?

Is there any way we could read it?

Or - limited programming kng here - is there any language and script we'd need to run the Db through in order for it to be readable?

If so, is this a THING? What I mean is, how do y'all as developers see our users' access to the Db of annotations for PDF? Encourage us to take a look? Or, advise us to be hands off?

Thanks!

Cab
  • fcheslack
    https://www.zotero.org/support/zotero_data#data_directory_contents

    Annotations are just stored in the same place as all your other Zotero data, in an sqlite database. https://www.sqlite.org/index.html

    You can certainly examine it if you like. It's not encrypted or anything. There are various graphical front-end applications that can read sqlite files. You should just make a copy of the database file somewhere else on your computer to play with if you're not sure what you're doing. You should not make any actual modifications to your real database outside of Zotero.
  • cabin-chair
    BEAUTIFUL! Fabulous! That's EXACTLY what I needed to know. Thank you SO MUCH! Detailed and very kindly explained. REALLY grateful! :))))))))!!!
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