Annotations made in linked files using the system's PDF reader not automatically imported & updated?

stijn.decoster
My Zotero setting is to open PDFs with the system's default (Adobe Acrobat), and I use linked files.

Is it normal behavior that when I add linked files (PDFs), no annotations are shown initially? Do I need to click "add note from annotations" to import annotations from Adobe into Zotero, or is there a way to import them immediately?

Do I need to click "add note from annotations" every time I add more annotations in Adobe to reflect the latest draft, or is there a way to have annotations automatically updated in Zotero?

Thanks!
  • adamsmith
    Yes -- one of the advantages of using Zotero's PDF reader is that the annotations are part of the database, so they can be treated like regular Zotero items, including being displayed in the middle panel. For PDFs with 3rd party annotations, Zotero would have to constantly scanning all attached files to do that, which it obviously can't (and shouldn't), so you'll either have to import them or add them to a note.
  • stijn.decoster
    Thanks for your answer.

    When using Zotero's PDF reader, is there a way to easily "sync" the status of the highlights so the document looks the same when opened in Adobe?

    I don't think there is an option for this, and that this also needs to be done manually?

    I don't mind using Zotero's PDF reader, but one reason I use Adobe is that I want the annotations to be "baked in" the PDF.
  • adamsmith
    No, it's either or -- either you take advantage of the more nimble implementation of annotations in Zotero (Zotero does allow you to export papers with annotations written into them, so you're not locked in, but you can't switch back and forth quickly), or you rely on the 3rd party reader and annotations written to the file and workflows within Zotero are clumsier.
  • tim820
    To export Zotero annotations to the PDF, you use 'File\Save As' in the reader or 'File\Export PDF' in the main library pane (there may be a reason why those operations have different names, but if so I can't remember what it is). But then like annotations added in an external viewer, those annotations are then locked when viewed in the Zotero reader.
    https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/annotations_in_database#interacting_with_embedded_annotations
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