[Share] Select a random item

[dschaehi]

Description

Select a random item from the list. Very useful if you want to get inspired from papers downloaded years ago.

Event

None

Operation

Script

Data

/**
 * A description of this script.
 * @author Jae Hee Lee
 * @usage 
 * @link https://github.com/windingwind/zotero-actions-tags/discussions/
 * @see https://github.com/windingwind/zotero-actions-tags/discussions/
 */
const ZoteroPane = require("ZoteroPane");
if(item) return;
var iv = ZoteroPane.itemsView; await iv.selectItem(iv.getRow(Zotero.Utilities.rand(0, iv.rowCount - 1)).id)

Anything else

No response

[zubairy]

Thanks for the code. But why does it execute twice in a row when I run it in the plugin? It works fine when running it in the Zotero JavaScript console (only runs once)

[windingwind]

https://github.com/windingwind/zotero-actions-tags?tab=readme-ov-file#custom-script

[zubairy]

has added if(item) return; to avoid duplicate operations, thx

https://github.com/windingwind/zotero-actions-tags?tab=readme-ov-file#custom-script

[dschaehi]

Thanks. Modified the code.

[thelazyoxymoron]

I used Gemini to modify this script to open the selected item for reading:

/**
 * Selects a random item from the current view and opens its primary attachment for reading.
 * @author Jae Hee Lee (Original), Modified by AI Assistant
 * @usage Use with Zotero Action Tags plugin triggered globally (not on a specific item).
 * @link https://github.com/windingwind/zotero-actions-tags/discussions/
 * @see https://github.com/windingwind/zotero-actions-tags/discussions/
 */
const ZoteroPane = require("ZoteroPane");

// Don't run if triggered directly on an item
if (item) return;

var iv = ZoteroPane.itemsView;

// Check if there are any items in the current view
if (iv.rowCount === 0) {
    Zotero.Notifier.show("warning", "Select Random and Open", "No items in the current view.");
    return;
}

// --- Select Random Item ---
let randomIndex = Zotero.Utilities.rand(0, iv.rowCount - 1);
let row = iv.getRow(randomIndex);
if (!row) {
    Zotero.debug("Select Random and Open: Failed to get row at index " + randomIndex);
    return; // Safety check
}
let selectedItemID = row.id;

// Select the item visually in the Zotero pane
await iv.selectItem(selectedItemID);

// --- Open Attachment ---
// Get the Zotero item object from the ID
let selectedItem = await Zotero.Items.getAsync(selectedItemID); // Use getAsync for better performance/safety

if (!selectedItem) {
     Zotero.debug("Select Random and Open: Failed to get item object for ID " + selectedItemID);
     return; // Safety check
}

// Find the best attachment (usually the first PDF or snapshot)
let attachment = await selectedItem.getBestAttachment();

if (attachment) {
    // If an attachment was found, open it
    try {
        await ZoteroPane.viewAttachment(attachment.id);
        Zotero.debug(`Select Random and Open: Opened attachment ${attachment.id} for item ${selectedItemID}`);
    } catch (e) {
        Zotero.Notifier.show("error", "Select Random and Open", `Error opening attachment for "${selectedItem.getField('title') || 'selected item'}": ${e.message}`);
        Zotero.debug(`Select Random and Open: Error opening attachment ${attachment.id}: ${e}`);
    }
} else {
    // If no suitable attachment was found, notify the user
    Zotero.Notifier.show("info", "Select Random and Open", `Item "${selectedItem.getField('title') || 'selected item'}" has no suitable attachment to open.`);
    Zotero.debug(`Select Random and Open: No suitable attachment found for item ${selectedItemID}`);
}

Assigned CMD + Shift + r to this script, and now I can open a random item for reading.