Auto save PDF from browser connector in linked attachment base directory - NOT WORKING

Cresios

Hello all

I've tried to set up Zotero and Zotfile to sync locally to my iCloud by specifying the base directory under the 'Files and Folders' settings of Zotero and matching it with the 'Location of files' in Zotfile.

When I go into my Zotero library and ask to 'Rename and move' the file this works flawless and it transfers the PDF to my cloud.

However, when I save an article/PDF through the browser extension in Safari, it saves the reference with PDF to my Zotero library, but the file location is still in the Zotero storage folder, whereas I want it directly saved in the cloud folder.

Is there anything I'm missing here, is this at all possible, or do you have to manually perform the 'Rename and move' function after every PDF you've saved from the web?

adamsmith

This works if you save an item, e.g. via its abstract page, and Zotero attaches the PDF. It does *not* work if you save the PDF directly and then Zotero finds its metadata afterwards (which wouldn't be the recommended workflow in the first place if it's avoidable) -- ZotFile's rename simply isn't triggered by that event.

cappuccinomonkey

Cresios,

I've had the same problem for a while and was hoping the new version of Zotero would fix it (nope).

It's a real pain because for most articles I need, Zotero can't pull the PDF from the abstract page, so I have to trigger the rename+move process manually after the PDF's been added. I'm currently trialling other options for Mac: Bookends (only a basic browser extension), EndNote (no browser extension for Safari at all), ReadCube Pages (only a basic browser extension), and Mendeley (a better browser extension and more painless experience than Zotero). Ironically, there were better apps on the market 10 years ago...

dstillman

@cappuccinomonkey: You seem to be misunderstanding this. This isn't a Zotero feature, so there's nothing for Zotero to fix. Zotero only saves stored files, which just work and are the recommended approach.

(Also, Zotero Connector saves high-quality metadata and PDFs on vastly more sites than Mendeley or any other tool in existence. If you're not getting a PDF on a site where you would expect it, you should start a new thread and post an example URL, but if you don't want to use Zotero, you really can just stop posting here…)