Available for beta testing: Recently Read collection

dstillman Zotero Team
In the latest Zotero beta, we've added a Recently Read collection to the top of the collections list. This is a virtual collection that shows the items in a library with attachments you've opened in the last two weeks, most recent first. It includes a Last Read column, which you can also add to other views if you'd like to.

Opening an attachment or changing pages will bump the item to the top of the list. (Changing pages will only update its last-read time once every few minutes.)

This data syncs between devices, so you can quickly find a file on another device that you've read elsewhere. We'll be adding this view to the mobile apps soon.
  • warguelles
    Excellent, I highly appreciate it! Particularly because it will sync between devices!!!

    Thank you!
  • warguelles
    Just a question...
    Will it be possible to search within this virtual collection in the future?
  • foss-
    Highly useful addition - thanks! Search indeed would be appreciated.
  • danielborek
    This is a great feature! I just installed Zotero 9 along with Zotero 8 just to test it :)
  • dstillman Zotero Team
    edited 21 days ago
    @warguelles, @foss-: In Advanced Search, you mean? There's an Attachment Last Read condition. (For now, you have to use "Include parent and child items of matching items" to match other conditions against the parent item.)
  • warguelles
    edited 20 days ago
    No, at least I'm referring to a simple search (Title, creator, year). Since items opened in the last two weeks will be included, I think this would make it possible to quickly find a specific article without having to scroll through the entire list.

    Right now, the search box appears, but it doesn't work.
  • anbuwi
    This is great!

    Just as a sidenote, a period longer than two weeks would be even better and the best solution probably if it was possible to set a custom period.
  • oyvindbs
    Fantastic news! Just checked the other day for this feature. This was my main issue with moving to read in the Zotero reader. Before, when I read in other readers I always sorted by the modified column. Thank you for bringing it back!
  • warguelles
    I'm referring to a simple search (Title, creator, year). Since items opened in the last two weeks will be included, I think this would make it possible to quickly find a specific article without having to scroll through the entire list.
    Just to let you know, that it is working in beta.15

    Thanks!
  • ryanwwest
    This is awesome! I've been using an 'AAA now reading' manual collection for this to keep it 'pinned' to the top of my collection list - it's pretty hard to scroll through a lot of collections on android with a Boox ereader.
  • garabedian
    Great addition, thank you!
  • foss-
    @dstillman: I also was referring to the top right search field, which did not have an effect for the recently read view. However in 9.0-beta.16+6140088b0 this is behaving as expected. So for me the issue is resolved.
  • hurak
    Excellent, thanks! I have been longing for something like this for years, see https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/96613/feature-request-recently-open-item#latest.
  • elenahe
    This is so helpful - thank you all for your great work!
  • AAHDokter
    I love this feature!! Thank you!
  • burgarth
    Great news! Perhaps the limit to two weeks is too restrictive? Why not have an eternal list, or one that is limited by the number of entries, if that is too costy?
  • AbeJellinek Zotero Team
    @burgarth: In the next beta, Recently Read will show older items if you haven't read anything recently. And we'll consider making the window wider if it seems like two weeks isn't enough.

    But you can already see a full list of every item you've read by enabling the Last Read column in your library and sorting by it. And you can create a saved search that filters by Attachment Last Read (probably with "Include parent and child items" checked) to get a custom view that works however you want.
  • guochangqing
    Great！
  • warguelles
    Just a warning that in one of the latest beta versions (I'm not sure which one specifically), the app stopped syncing the “Recently Read” list.

    Windows 11
  • dstillman Zotero Team
    @warguelles: Not seeing any problems here. Make sure you have the latest beta on all machines.

    If you can reproduce this, provide a Debug ID for opening a file and syncing on one computer and for the first sync after that on the other.
  • warguelles
    Yes, I have both PCs with the latest beta version. It seems that now it is working fine. I had made some screenshots, and it seems there was a big group of items from 26 & 27 March I opened at home, which did not appeared at office. But now it seems OK.

    Nevertheless, here are the Debug IDs:
    Office: D1251674687 (opening one document and syncing)
    Home: D1352703841 (syncing)

    9.0-beta.21 in both PCs
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