Feature request: Preference for "automatically create note from annotations"

Hi all,

here is a feature request, based on the following issues I regularly encounter: I work on a pdf in zotero pdfreader and highlight various bits of text. Then I move to something else. Then I return and close the pdf, and I forget to have my notes turned into annotations. Now I cannot see in zotero whether I have already read and highlighted the pdf.
I could imagine two solutions:
a) zotero somehow indicates with a symbol in the main zotero pane (possinle to toggle as a column, in the same way I can toggle whether an item has notes attached) that a pdf has highlights but that these highlights have not been converted to notes. This would allow me to search for items with pdfs with highlights but no notes.
b) a (hidden) preference that, if toggled, would prompt zotero/zotero pdf reader to automatically convert highlights to a note, whenever a pdf is closed and existing highlights have not been turned into notes.

I hope this makes sense
mm
  • Automatically creating/updating annotation notes when the pdf file "changes" as an option would be great and a big timesaver.

    So +1 :)
  • bumping this again, in the hope to get some attention from devs. Would be helpful to know if this is considered doable and meaningful
  • I am very interested in this. It would be great to have. Specialy with the updating annotaiton notes
  • Yes, please. Thanks for considering this!
  • Yes, this would be an amazing feature to have
  • Yes please - would be so helpful!
  • +1 for me, as well.
  • This would be a very useful feature - running into this issue a lot
  • Same here! +1
  • Same here +1
  • +1 for automatically extracting annotations
  • edited August 2, 2024
    @miggug
    To do (a) you can do the following:

    In Zotero add the Notes and Attachment columns to the list view.
    Install Ethereal Style plugin which provides more columns you can use - select Annotations in Style settings, then add Annotation column to the list in Zotero.

    This looks like the following:


  • edited August 2, 2024
    Re (b) "a (hidden) preference that, if toggled, would prompt zotero/zotero pdf reader to automatically convert highlights to a note, whenever a pdf is closed and existing highlights have not been turned into notes."

    This could be done using the Action and Tags plugin by writing a script. However, it would could end up being difficult to cater for cases like:
    The annotations have all been placed in one note.
    Even if the annotation is placed in a separate note you might subsequently add/change the note contents

    This is a niche workflow so best done using scripting rather than a feature for all users IMO.
  • +1
    With the BetterNotes plugin is possible to turn annotations into notes one by one, directly from the pdf reader tab, but there's no automatic setting to turn each newly created annotation into a note.
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