Upgrade StorageFolder and File Management
Hi, I have used Zotero for years and recently spent several weeks reading tons of blogs and instructions to try to find what I think is missing in functionality. I have tried pretty much all the storage, syncing, and linking functionality, and whilst Zotfile is great, I am now reaching out to see if something like what I really need exists. If anyone can help I would be most grateful.
1. I store many hundreds of GB of PDF's on my PC under an overarching Subdir with multiple sub-sub dir according to broad subject areas. It doesnt matter here how I sync that to my cloud for use on other machines, but fwiw I normally backup the Zotero DB and my own Repository to the cloud manually for download to other machines, it's not auto-synced but that suits the way I work. This of course wouldnt work for group access, but I have a number of collections that are stored in Zotero as a legacy way of working, and more recently I have linked files from my own repository which is sorted as I say, in subject subdir.
2. Zotfile will rename, but of course, not in every way a file comes in, and it has no idea of the subdir headings for subject areas. If I use the collector for a pdf, Zotfile will desposit it in a subdir and rename it, but I have no choice of location, it is a single setting in preferences. I can drag it from there into a subdir of choice as it will already be renamed via Zotfile and then link the file in Zotero but thats not really sustainable as a practise. Other ways, like downloading first then dragging into Zotero are tedious.
3. With the collector, I can choose the collection to locate the record in, but the file repository is a single location I have set in settings (or its Zotero).
4. What I really need is a way to use the collector to direct the record to the Zotero collection AND the file to a choice of location. My subdir headings are the same as my collection headings in Zotero so if it could take the file, rename it and put the record in the Zotero collection chosen AND the file in the same-named subdir, and link the two, that would be fantastic. This would be a breeze also to autosync.
Maybe I have missed something in my searching for a solution, and also in my understanding of how it all works in different ways, but any comments would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Brent
1. I store many hundreds of GB of PDF's on my PC under an overarching Subdir with multiple sub-sub dir according to broad subject areas. It doesnt matter here how I sync that to my cloud for use on other machines, but fwiw I normally backup the Zotero DB and my own Repository to the cloud manually for download to other machines, it's not auto-synced but that suits the way I work. This of course wouldnt work for group access, but I have a number of collections that are stored in Zotero as a legacy way of working, and more recently I have linked files from my own repository which is sorted as I say, in subject subdir.
2. Zotfile will rename, but of course, not in every way a file comes in, and it has no idea of the subdir headings for subject areas. If I use the collector for a pdf, Zotfile will desposit it in a subdir and rename it, but I have no choice of location, it is a single setting in preferences. I can drag it from there into a subdir of choice as it will already be renamed via Zotfile and then link the file in Zotero but thats not really sustainable as a practise. Other ways, like downloading first then dragging into Zotero are tedious.
3. With the collector, I can choose the collection to locate the record in, but the file repository is a single location I have set in settings (or its Zotero).
4. What I really need is a way to use the collector to direct the record to the Zotero collection AND the file to a choice of location. My subdir headings are the same as my collection headings in Zotero so if it could take the file, rename it and put the record in the Zotero collection chosen AND the file in the same-named subdir, and link the two, that would be fantastic. This would be a breeze also to autosync.
Maybe I have missed something in my searching for a solution, and also in my understanding of how it all works in different ways, but any comments would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Brent
The browser connector (that's what you mean by 'collector', right?) let's you save into a specific collection and then ZotFile would automatically move the PDF to the corresponding folder on your system.