Cannot use Zotero Connector For PDFs

Juliannewilson
Error Code: 595443410

When I search someone in Google scholar and then open the pdf, Zotero Connector does nothing. Here are some examples:

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1359105303008002669?casa_token=txw1veCN_EIAAAAA:9vw9KSM9PcpqbDRm-PKDXYICboouVcLYXzwGuLtYNARaDMHblSgQ9rsWDfZon9aRx1qSGsDJwodZ

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.humanscience.org/docs/Barrett (2004) Ch.1,2,3,6,8,notes Why Would Anyone Believe in God.pdf

Does it have something to do with it having "chrome-extension" in front of the url?
  • dstillman
    edited June 2, 2022
    Yes, you can't save to Zotero when viewing PDFs through the Acrobat browser extension. You need to be viewing the remote PDF directly in the browser.

    (Note that for Sage and other publisher sites you'd always want to save from the article page anyway, not the PDF, and Zotero will automatically download the PDF along with the metadata.)
  • ben.hjorth
    edited September 26, 2023
    I had this issue, which was really frustrating (many journals/platforms, like J-Stor, don't allow the Zotero plugin to download the pdf from the article page, so you have to go through to the pdf) and just solved it by removing the Adobe Extension from Chrome (jigsaw piece icon — 3 dots next to Adobe extension — "Remove from Chrome"). Now pdfs download and open in the browser and the plugin works again.

    F*ck Adobe and their pdf monopoly!
  • dstillman
    @ben.hjorth: Just to clarify, sites don't "allow" or not allow Zotero to download PDFs. Zotero implements saving from various sites, and we've always supported JSTOR. JSTOR is unique in that you have to accept the terms and conditions before saving will work, though. But you should absolutely be able to save from the article page on JSTOR and get the PDF.

    If you're having trouble with saving PDFs from a particular site, let us know in a new thread.
  • seema.patel
    So glad I found this thread. Turned off Adobe Extension on Chrome, and can finally save articles (PDF) to my library!
  • zestyzapus
    edited August 22, 2024
    The Chrome built-in pdf reader is really bad and I like using a pdf.js extension. Can I set up a proxy in Zotero to make it accessible? I tried to add proxy but it didn't work:
    Login URL Scheme: chrome-extension://oemmndcbldboiebfnladdacbdfmadadm/%u
    Proxied URL Scheme: %u
    https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u4947783/qskequydycgtk3edkvap.png
    By the way, I saw [here](https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/105610/zotero-connector-is-not-working-with-a-pdf-chrome) that it is recommended saving articles from the landing page, not the PDF. But many times a search on google just give you the pdf site and the landing page is not ranked in the top.

    A work around I have is: disable the pdf viewer extension in incognito mode. Then copy the url, press "ctrl+shift+n", paste the url, hit the Enter, and then click Zotero connector. It's not very convenient, but it does the job.
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