open-with-zotero

This tool allows you to jump directly to the corresponding item in the Zotero desktop app by right-clicking a PDF file stored in Zotero’s local storage directory in Windows Explorer and selecting the "Open with Zotero" option.

🛠️ What It Does

• Extracts the 8-character subfolder name (e.g., N7SMB24A) from Zotero’s local storage directory that Zotero assigns to each library item and using it to generate a zotero://open-pdf/library/items/ URI, which opens the item directly in Zotero.
• Adds an "Open with Zotero" option to the Windows right-click menu for PDF files stored in Zotero’s storage folder. This lets you jump directly to the file's corresponding item in the Zotero desktop app.
• Able to work with tools like AnyText Searcher: after finding a file via text search, you can quickly open it in Zotero.

🧩 Files Included

File	Purpose
open_with_zotero.bat	The main source code
open_with_zotero.exe	Compiled executable (Windows only)
register_to_right-click_menu.bat	A .bat file used to add open with zotero button on the righ-click menu (require Run as Administrator )

🔧 How to Use

1. Download the repository and ensure open_with_zotero.exe and register_to_right-click_menu.bat are in the same folder.
2. Run register_to_right-click_menu.bat as Administrator to add the option to the right-click menu.
3. Navigate to a Zotero storage folder (e.g., Zotero/storage/N7SMB24A).
4. Right-click a PDF file → choose "Show more options" → click Open with Zotero.

📝 Notes

• The tool assumes the PDF file is stored in a standard Zotero storage subfolder.
• open_with_zotero.bat and open_with_zotero.exe offer the same functionality; however, the .bat version will briefly display a terminal window when executed, while the .exe version runs silently in the background.
• If you prefer to use the .bat version, update the register_to_right-click_menu.bat file by changing: set WHICH_TO_REGISTER=open_with_zotero.exe to set WHICH_TO_REGISTER=open_with_zotero.bat
• If you move the repository folder to a different location, you must re-run register_to_right-click_menu.bat to update the right-click menu registration with the new path.