Hello people!
I've been trying to supercharge my Joplin usage as my main organization tool. Up until now, I saved some of my PDFs inside of it, but this was always a little rough to me, and I had duplication issues: The majority of my PDFs are saved in Zotero because of my work (I'm a researcher), while some, more personal ones, are saved in my computer's folders. The PDFs would constantly get out of sync as I'd make notes inside them in different versions of the same file, creating a mess. So I just had this idea about the possibility of linking files OUTSIDE Joplin into it.
I found this "Zotero Link" plugin that allows me to create links that open directly into Zotero. This already fixed my main use case.
Now, for the second use case, how do I create a link to a PDF saved outside of Joplin so that I can reference it inside some note while at the same time having a a link that opens the original file?
Thank you for taking time to help me (=
Maybe try syntax such as [Open Project Report PDF](file:///C:/Users/YourName/Documents/report.pdf)
Source: Grok
Replace spaces with + symbol.
Also check Creating links to files on local disk? - #2 by blank
For external files use the file protocol. If not on a share, obviously only available in Joplin when available on the device.
Is there any chance there’s a similar script for Apple Mac users? Asking for a friend. 
Yes:
[Open Project Report PDF](file:///Users/username/report.pdf)
Just tested it, it works.
_vg … thanks so much for the info! Working off of what you’ve suggested, I’ve learned that on a Mac, if you drag the PDF (or file) to a browser window that allows access to your local files (I use Safari), the exact URL will appear in the browser address bar. Select all, copy it, and then paste that URL into a Joplin Notebook, and you’re good to go!