Zotero Merge Supplementary PDF

A Zotero 8 plugin that merges a supplementary/supporting information PDF into the main PDF attachment of a library item.

What it does

Right-click any item in your Zotero library that has exactly two PDF attachments (a main paper and a supplementary file), and select Merge Supplementary PDF. The plugin appends the supplementary PDF pages to the end of the main PDF.

• Preserves annotations (highlights, sticky notes, ink, markup) on both PDFs
• Creates a .backup.pdf of the original main PDF before overwriting
• Keeps the supplementary PDF attachment untouched

How it identifies which PDF is supplementary

The plugin checks attachment titles and filenames for keywords like: supplementary, supporting info, supp, SI, appendix, supplement

If neither PDF matches, the plugin will tell you to rename the supplementary attachment to include one of those keywords.

Installation

1. Download the latest .xpi file from the Releases page
2. In Zotero, go to Tools > Add-ons
3. Click the gear icon and select Install Add-on From File...
4. Select the downloaded .xpi file
5. Restart Zotero

Usage

1. Select an item in your Zotero library that has two PDF attachments
2. Right-click the item
3. Click >> Merge Supplementary PDF <<
4. The supplementary pages are appended to the main PDF

If the menu item is greyed out, hover over it to see why (e.g. "need 2 PDFs, found 1").

Building from source

Requires Node.js 18+.

git clone https://github.com/jrjfonseca/zotero_merge_supplementary_plugin.git
cd zotero_merge_supplementary_plugin
npm install
npm run build

The built .xpi will be at .scaffold/build/merge-supplementary-pdf.xpi.

License

AGPL-3.0-or-later