Unable to download the PDF from ACM, with find avaliable pdf.

topthewave
I've been having trouble using Zotero's automatic PDF download feature to get PDFs from the ACM Digital Library lately. Even open access PDFs won't download, so it doesn't seem like a proxy issue. I checked the logs, and they show a redirect problem. My Debug ID is D1016325448.

I hope you can help me solve this issue. Thank you!


Redirected to https://dl.acm.org/action/cookieAbsent

For test.
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3600006.3613176

  • dstillman
    edited July 4, 2024
    Because of anti-bot measures on ACM, you'll need to save from your browser to get a PDF. Find Available PDF won't work.

    We're working to improve this in the future.
  • hayounnoh
    is there anything i can do to solve it? because sometimes it saves and sometimes it doesn't. i don't understand the pattern. when does it save and when does it not?
  • dstillman
    As I say, it's due to anti-bot measures of the site, so it's going to depend on how many items you save at once, and possibly your current IP address, geographical location, or other factors. We're working to change how Zotero saves attachments to try to avoid these sorts of problems.
  • idarmon
    Zotero is not that helpful is it is not saving pdfs! I have been trying lately to save pdf extensions, without success, I thought it was because I didn't have enough storage so bought more but am now faced with the same issue... I would say this quite undermines Zotero's purpose?
  • dstillman
    edited July 6, 2024
    @idarmon: Zotero saves PDFs just fine on the vast majority of sites. As I say above, twice, some sites like ACM have begun using more stringent anti-bot measures, and we're working to change how Zotero saves PDFs to work better in those cases. In the meantime, if you encounter a site where PDF downloads fail, you can always save a PDF to disk and drag it onto the item in Zotero. It's a bit hyperbolic to say that problems saving PDFs on a few sites "quite undermines Zotero's purpose" — please try to avoid comments like that here.

    If you're not able to save PDFs from most sites, there's likely a more general problem with your setup, and you should start a new thread with more details.
  • idarmon
    Thank you and apologies for hyperbolic comment! I have done that - dragged the pdfs.
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