Zotero is amazing in many aspects compared to its counterparts, but I'm really wondering, why there is no quick way to get a link (a reference) to a specific paper in our collection?!
I'm using desktop version of Zotero, and I want to share a link with the other members of my Zotero group, so when they click on it, they view a specific paper with all the comments I've made. But neither in the right click menu, nor in the top toolbar, there is no button I can view/copy that link quickly. I have to open the paper in Zotero web app, then copy the url from the address bar of browser!! (So to get a link like this: https://www.zotero.org/groups/4828683/XXX/collections/WC2KYTWE/items/LPFFPFGJ/attachment/7EM9MULK/reader)
(The thread you posted to was about how to share Zotero items, and the answer was to use Zotero groups. You're already using Zotero groups, so you're asking something different. I've moved this to a new thread.)
What kind of link are you looking for, exactly? A link to the item in the web library or a link to the item in the desktop app (which would require everyone you give the link to to have Zotero installed and synced)? You can copy the latter using the Zutilo plugin, but we're planning to make that available in Zotero proper in an upcoming version. We could provide a way to get a link to the web library as well, though it would probably have to make some network requests first to make sure the item has been synced and is available online.
Thank you for your prompt response and for moving it to the right thread.
Any kind of link would work, as long as my group members can see the paper and comments. But ideally, it should be a URL mambers open in their browser and view the item, if they have the desktop version, they can choose to open in desktop, and inevitably, they should sync, at least the paper which is shared.
Such a link is useful even for a single person, without sharing with others. Many times I want to put a link in my notes (say for example in Google Keep) or in my mindmaps (Xmind) and I want to be able to view that paper easily, just by clicking on that link.
It would be really useful to have a way to share selected entries (with attached PDF, tags, and notes) just by right clicking and generating a link that points to online library. The key should be, anyone who has the link should be able to access those selected item without needing them to have a zotero account. For example, I have added 3 papers in my library along with their PDFs, notes, and tags. I'd like to share just those 3 papers with a friend who doesn't have a zotero account so that he can just view (or maybe provide comments as an added feature in the future) those papers, pdfs, notes etc. Such a feature is available on Paper pile by selecting, right clicking and selecting "Share via link". https://paperpile.com/h/guide-sharing/#:~:text=Share via link or email&text=Your papers are ready to,an email on your behalf.
This avoids needing the friend to have a zotero account or creating group libraries with every single person I want to share just a couple of papers. Would love to have such a feature.
P.S. I didn't know if this is the right place to ask for this but I though I could just piggyback on this thread because it seemed relevant.
Generating a link and sharing with the public is a very good feature @rachitsh, but even without public access, it would be very useful for an individual or a group who all have Zotero accounts. For the first step we can start with internally accessible links.
I hope @dstillman can reflect on this feature request and we see this in near future updates. Such links can act like gates for inviting more people to use Zotero, gates circulating through web and social networks.
Bumping this for creating links to share with people within a group. I have a paper I wanted to share with some peers, and the most intuitive way is to send them a link to access in Zotero directly, but that doesn't exist. So I have to tell them to go searching for a specific reference, which is just clunky.
You can add the Quick Copy of the “Item URI” Translator from adamsmith to a right-click menu or to a shortcut with the QuickCopy items script.
You can also use the Copy Zotero link script to get zotero:// links that open directly in the Desktop app. You can even link to specific annotations to share in the group.
If you want to go further in sharing links in a Zotero group, you can use the Better Notes plugin. You can put all the zotero:// links in a Standalone Note in Zotero and discuss the links directly in Zotero notes.
Unfortunately, the zotero:// links can only open in the Desktop app, so they won't work in the Web Library or in the Mobile Apps. Ideally, these links should work like Evernote links: when opened within the app, they open the target in the same app (Desktop, Web or Mobile). The same link can be used from outside of Evernote, either to open in a browser with links starting in https://, or to open in the Desktop app with the same link starting with evernote://. I don't know if this is something planned in Zotero?
Thanks @mjthoraval - this came so close to being what I needed.
I'm a +1 for the feature request that others have highlighted here - a link to a PDF (ideally page number too) so I can link my files to Mural.co mindmaps.
The zotero:// links I mention can already link to a PDF file in Zotero or even specific annotations that you have made there. Can you clarify which feature you are missing?
@mjthoraval - Sure. The solution above works for my Obsidian and Zotero desktop system, as long as I'm mind-mapping in Excalidraw. It doesn't work if I'm using an online tool for mind-mapping, such as Mural.co.
GIVEN I'm working on a web-based whiteboard (Mural.co) WHEN I create a mindmap AND I want to create a hyperlink text to a specific PDF page OR annotation in my Zotero Web Library THEN I want a `https://` link that can be resolved to the correct location in my Zotero Web Library
Also, it's not clear how to use the solution to create a link to a specific page. I can create links to a specific PDF or annotation, but haven't figured out how I can get a returned page only. My workaround is to drop an annotation onto a page, get the link to that, and then edit it.
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Zotero is amazing in many aspects compared to its counterparts, but I'm really wondering, why there is no quick way to get a link (a reference) to a specific paper in our collection?!
I'm using desktop version of Zotero, and I want to share a link with the other members of my Zotero group, so when they click on it, they view a specific paper with all the comments I've made. But neither in the right click menu, nor in the top toolbar, there is no button I can view/copy that link quickly. I have to open the paper in Zotero web app, then copy the url from the address bar of browser!!
(So to get a link like this: https://www.zotero.org/groups/4828683/XXX/collections/WC2KYTWE/items/LPFFPFGJ/attachment/7EM9MULK/reader)
What kind of link are you looking for, exactly? A link to the item in the web library or a link to the item in the desktop app (which would require everyone you give the link to to have Zotero installed and synced)? You can copy the latter using the Zutilo plugin, but we're planning to make that available in Zotero proper in an upcoming version. We could provide a way to get a link to the web library as well, though it would probably have to make some network requests first to make sure the item has been synced and is available online.
Any kind of link would work, as long as my group members can see the paper and comments. But ideally, it should be a URL mambers open in their browser and view the item, if they have the desktop version, they can choose to open in desktop, and inevitably, they should sync, at least the paper which is shared.
Such a link is useful even for a single person, without sharing with others. Many times I want to put a link in my notes (say for example in Google Keep) or in my mindmaps (Xmind) and I want to be able to view that paper easily, just by clicking on that link.
This avoids needing the friend to have a zotero account or creating group libraries with every single person I want to share just a couple of papers. Would love to have such a feature.
P.S. I didn't know if this is the right place to ask for this but I though I could just piggyback on this thread because it seemed relevant.
I hope @dstillman can reflect on this feature request and we see this in near future updates. Such links can act like gates for inviting more people to use Zotero, gates circulating through web and social networks.
https://zoteromusings.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/zotero-item-uris-from-client/
You can use the Actions and Tags plugin to make this a bit easier.
You can add the Quick Copy of the “Item URI” Translator from adamsmith to a right-click menu or to a shortcut with the QuickCopy items script.
You can also use the Copy Zotero link script to get zotero:// links that open directly in the Desktop app. You can even link to specific annotations to share in the group.
If you want to go further in sharing links in a Zotero group, you can use the
Better Notes plugin. You can put all the zotero:// links in a Standalone Note in Zotero and discuss the links directly in Zotero notes.
Unfortunately, the zotero:// links can only open in the Desktop app, so they won't work in the Web Library or in the Mobile Apps.
Ideally, these links should work like Evernote links: when opened within the app, they open the target in the same app (Desktop, Web or Mobile). The same link can be used from outside of Evernote, either to open in a browser with links starting in https://, or to open in the Desktop app with the same link starting with evernote://.
I don't know if this is something planned in Zotero?
I'm a +1 for the feature request that others have highlighted here - a link to a PDF (ideally page number too) so I can link my files to Mural.co mindmaps.
GIVEN I'm working on a web-based whiteboard (Mural.co)
WHEN I create a mindmap AND I want to create a hyperlink text to a specific PDF page OR annotation in my Zotero Web Library
THEN I want a `https://` link that can be resolved to the correct location in my Zotero Web Library
Also, it's not clear how to use the solution to create a link to a specific page. I can create links to a specific PDF or annotation, but haven't figured out how I can get a returned page only. My workaround is to drop an annotation onto a page, get the link to that, and then edit it.
e.g.
`zotero://open-pdf/library/items/GY3PRWLW?page=13&annotation=TQL3NVPD`
It is edited to become:
`zotero://open-pdf/library/items/GY3PRWLW?page=13`