ZotLitLearn

About 10 minutes

Annotate Zotero PDFs in Obsidian

Highlight the PDF in Obsidian to add a card to your literature note.

You need Lesson 1 (Completed literature note)Zotero 10 (Open on this computer)

You end with

A new highlight and comment in your note

The literature note shows the new highlight card automatically added under the Annotations section.

0 of 6 done

  1. Step 1 of 6Open the paper's PDF

    In Zotero library, select your paper from Lesson 1 (here Sandve et al. 2013), then Open PDF on its card.

    The PDF opens in Obsidian with dimmed annotation tools and the sidebar heading Following the active tab · Reading only.

    You should see

    The PDF opens with dimmed annotation tools, and the sidebar reads Following the active tab · Reading only.

    If you see something else

    Ask in the community →

  2. Step 2 of 6Allow editing in Zotero

    Select the sidebar heading, then Allow editing. Switch to Zotero. In the dialog, select Always Allow.

    Obsidian displays Zotero editing is enabled. and the annotation tools at the top right appear in colour.

    You should see

    Back in Obsidian, the notice appears: Zotero editing is enabled. The tools appear in colour.

    If you see something else

    The tools stay dimmed

    Do this step again and select Always Allow.

    None of these. Ask in the community →

  3. Step 3 of 6Select a passage

    Drag across a sentence in the PDF.

    A floating toolbar beneath the selected sentence shows Highlight, Underline, four colours, and Add comment.

    You should see

    A toolbar appears under the selection with Highlight, Underline, four colours, and Add comment.

    If you see something else

    Ask in the community →

  4. Step 4 of 6Add a comment and highlight

    Select Add comment, type a comment of your own, and select Highlight.

    The highlighted text turns yellow, and a card showing the page number, excerpt, and comment appears in the sidebar.

    You should see

    The passage turns yellow, and a card showing the page, excerpt, and comment appears in the sidebar.

    If you see something else

    Ask in the community →

  5. Step 5 of 6See it in Zotero

    Switch to Zotero and open the same PDF.

    The PDF opened in Zotero shows the same yellow highlight and comment.

    You should see

    The PDF in Zotero shows the same yellow highlight and comment.

    If you see something else

    Ask in the community →

  6. Step 6 of 6See it in your note

    In Obsidian, open the note for your paper.

    The literature note shows the new highlight card automatically added under the Annotations section.

    You should see

    The Annotations section shows a new card for the highlight.

    If you see something else

    Ask in the community →

Lesson 2 complete

You can now highlight PDFs in Obsidian and see annotations in your literature note.

Two more chores

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