Feature Request: Add & Delete Page(s) from a PDF

edited January 13, 2024
>>> Start Edit <<<

Some comments have helped clarify this request, a summary of the comments is here:

1. Thanks to @mjthoraval for pointing out that pages can be deleted with existing Zotero functionality, using the "Show Thumbnails" view on the left-hand sidebar. I've tested this, and it works great, also deleting the page from the PDF in the source folder. Interestingly, when this is done, the page numbering in the "Show Annotations" view does not change. For example, if pages 50, 51, and 52 have annotations, and page 51 is deleted, the remaining annotations still show as located on pages 50 and 52. I'm glad to see this behavior, and I consider this half of my feature request closed.

2. Some commentators have mentioned adding blank pages. This is not the full capacity of what I hope to be implemented. What I need to be able to do, in one way or another, is two things:
>Replace a bad page, with the replaced page capable of being annotated. I work with a lot of scanned PDFs, and sometimes the image is blurry or the text isn't highlighting correctly. In those cases, if using the example outlined in Edit #1, I need to be able to replace Page 51 with a newly-scanned Page 51 (inserted between pages 50 and 52), then be able to annotate the new Page 51.
>Add missing pages. For example, if I have a PDF scan of book pages 20-50, but as I'm reading/annotating I realize book pages 37-38 are missing, I need to be able to add those pages between pages 36 & 39. Pages 37-38 would need annotation capability.

My apologies for any lack of clarity in my original post.

>>> End Edit <<<

First, big thanks to the devs. Zotero is nothing short of amazing.

There's one workflow I'm concerned about. If I make a number of annotations on a PDF, but then realize there's a missing page, a poorly scanned page, or an extra page, then I would want to be able to either delete a page of the PDF, or add a page to a specific location in the PDF. The only way I see to currently accomplish this is to delete the PDF from Zotero and re-upload, then redo the annotations.

Said differently, I'd like to be able to add/delete PDF pages without losing my annotations.

I'm wondering if some other workaround would work, such as replacing the PDF in the source folder with a new PDF of the same name (with the added/removed/changed page), but I'm concerned about breaking whatever identifier Zotero uses to find the PDF, or that the annotations would be lost.

Any feedback would be appreciated, thank you again for your work.
  • Hello,

    me too I would be happy to add white pages and delete one page from the opened document to be able to add annotation there.
    Thanks a lot
  • You can delete pages from the Thumbnails tab in the left-hand sidebar of the PDF reader (from a right-click), but not add pages.
    Some changes you make in external PDF readers will cause problems in the built-in reader — e.g., adding, deleting, or reordering pages will cause annotations to appear on the wrong page.
    https://www.zotero.org/support/pdf_reader#using_an_external_pdf_reader
  • Thanks @mjthoraval for pointing those things out. I'm glad to hear pages can be deleted. Though what I really need to be able to do is add a page and annotate it. Hope it's implemented at some point.
  • You're talking about adding blank pages, which you would then add annotations to?
  • edited January 13, 2024
    Thanks for your comment @dstillman. I added an "Edit" section to my original post to clarify what I'm requesting.
  • You can just post a follow-up comment — no need to edit the original post.

    So you're basically looking to insert all pages from another PDF into a given spot in the PDF in Zotero? We'll look into that.
  • @dstillman - exactly. Wish I had thought of how to say it more succinctly like this.

    Thank you very much for looking into this.
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