Use the annotation view

The annotation view is a sidebar panel that lists a Zotero item's annotations. You can browse highlights, drag them into your notes, and choose whether the view follows your active tab, the Zotero reader, or one item you pin.

Open the annotation viewCopy Anchor Link

Open the command palette and run:

ZotLit: Open Zotero annotationsCopy →

The Zotero annotations panel opens in the right sidebar. A ribbon icon (highlighter) also opens the view.

By default, the view follows your active tab. When that tab is neither a literature note nor a Zotero PDF, it shows Open a literature note or a Zotero PDF to see annotations.

To open a Zotero PDF in an Obsidian tab, see Open an item's PDF in Obsidian.

Choose what the view followsCopy Anchor Link

The annotation view has three follow modes:

Select the mode button at the start of the view's toolbar to switch. The same three switches are in the view's pane menu, and each has a command of its own.

The view keeps the mode you chose until you choose another one. When its source cannot answer, the view says so in place instead of switching for you.

Choose an attachmentCopy Anchor Link

When the item has more than one attachment, a picker under the toolbar names the one on screen with its annotation count, and remembers your choice per item.

A Zotero PDF tab and the Zotero reader each choose the attachment themselves, so the picker stands down while one of them does.

To read the attachment on screen in Obsidian, select the mode button, then select Open PDF. The same item is in the view's pane menu. It is not shown when an Obsidian PDF tab already shows that attachment.

Filter the listCopy Anchor Link

The toolbar has two filters. Each opens as a small popover under its button.

• Filter by tag: lists the tags on the annotations. Type in the search field to find a tag, then select one or more tags.
• Filter by color: lists the colors of the annotations. Select one or more colors.

The list shows the annotations that have any of the selected tags and any of the selected colors. After you select a tag or a color, the button shows your choice. To clear it, open the popover and select Clear selected tags or Clear selected colors.

Sort, group, and save the viewCopy Anchor Link

The view's More options menu (⋮) has Sort, Group by, and Filter… for the cards. Save as query file… keeps what the view shows as a query file that you can open in a tab or embed in notes. See Save the annotation sidebar as a query file.

Select several cardsCopy Anchor Link

Select a card to select it alone. To select more than one card:

You can also press Shift+Up or Shift+Down to extend the selection one card at a time. Press Escape to clear the selection.

With the cards selected, you can:

• Delete them: press Delete or Backspace, then confirm. You can also right-click a selected card and select the delete item, which shows the number of cards.
• Change their color: press a key from 1 to 8. The keys follow the order of Zotero's color palette. You can also right-click a selected card and select Change color.
• Copy their text: press Ctrl+C (Windows and Linux) or Command+C (macOS), or right-click a selected card and select Copy annotation text. ZotLit copies the quoted text of each card, or its comment when it has no quoted text, with a blank line between cards.

Deleting and changing colors are edits, so editing must be enabled. One undo reverses the change on all the cards. See How to edit PDF annotations in Obsidian for undo and for the other edits.

Locked annotationsCopy Anchor Link

A lock icon beside a card's page number marks an annotation that ZotLit cannot change. Point to the icon to see the reason. For example, Zotero imported the annotation from the PDF file, or another member of a group library created it. See How to edit PDF annotations in Obsidian for what you can still do with a locked annotation.

Pull annotations into a noteCopy Anchor Link

1. Open the note where you want to insert the annotation.
2. Drag an annotation row from the sidebar to the required editor position.
3. Wait for the insertion to complete. Image and ink excerpts are prepared before their links are inserted.

To insert without dragging, put the cursor in the note where you want the annotation. Then right-click the annotation card, or open its More options menu, and select Insert into note. ZotLit inserts the same text that a drag inserts. The item is not available when no note editor is active.

ZotLit uses the profile of the annotation item's literature note, or the Default profile when that item has no note. Edits made while you wait move the insertion position with the text. Press Escape to cancel a pending insertion. After insertion, one Undo removes the inserted content.

With Import attachments enabled, inserted excerpts are saved as image files in the vault. With it disabled, new excerpts use an unavailable-image explanation and source link. Viewing cards or selecting a target note creates no saved image files.

You can view and insert excerpt images with both PDF readers closed. A failed image request produces fallback text or a preserved image, and the operation reports uncertain or unavailable results in one summary.

Context menu actionsCopy Anchor Link

Right-click an annotation row, or open its More options menu, for additional options:

• Edit quoted text: opens an editor for the quoted text of a highlight or underline. See Edit the quoted text.
• Copy backlink: copies a link back to the annotation's location in the PDF.
• Copy annotation text: copies the quoted text, or the comment when the annotation has no quoted text.
• Copy citation: copies a formatted citation for the annotation's parent item.
• Copy annotation key: copies the annotation's Zotero key.
• Insert into note: inserts the annotation at the cursor in the active note, as a drag does.
• Explore template data: opens the Template Data Explorer with the annotation's data.
• Delete annotation: deletes the annotation from Zotero after you confirm. See Delete an annotation.

When several cards are selected, the menu has only the items that act on all of them. See Select several cards.

See alsoCopy Anchor Link