Linked files being moved to Stored, but I don't want them there

HelensGene

Hello,

I use linked files, not stored files, for various reasons. Within the past few days, when I add items to my library, the files are going to Zotero/Storage rather than to the path I have noted in Zotero/Zotfile. Whenever I open an existing file, a new storage file is created and any modifications are made in the Storage file, not in the one in my original subfile. Please help me figure out what setting I need to change to go back to the way it was working before. Thanks!

Helen

dstillman

Zotero itself always saves stored files unless you manually create a link to a file. Any automatic conversion to linked files would be a ZotFile setting, and that's not something we can help with (though others here might be willing to help).

I highly doubt this has anything to do with actually opening files — we've never heard of anything like that. It sounds like you just have stored files, which you can see based on the attachment icon.

HelensGene

Thanks for your response.

Prior to a couple of days ago, it was not saving the attached files to the Zotero/Stored subfile. It was saving the PDF images I was adding to Zotero to the location I had indicated in Zotfile.

I have Word documents saved in my Library as stand alone entries. When I open them through Zotero, a new folder is created in the Stored subfile and Word then saves to there rather than to the original location in my Documents folder, creating two files with different information.

Do you know if there is a forum or support for Zotfile?

Thanks again,

Helen

dstillman

Again, Zotero always and only saves stored files for regular saves. ZotFile converts saved stored files to linked files, but that has nothing to do with Zotero itself.

I have Word documents saved in my Library as stand alone entries.

A standalone attachment can still be a stored file. There's no way that double-clicking an existing attachment in Zotero would somehow create a new attachment. Note that dragging a file from your filesystem to Zotero would create a totally separate stored file with no connection to the original file (unless you used a modifier key to force creation of a linked file), and it's the stored file that would then be opened.

ZotFile is no longer maintained, and we strongly recommend using stored files.

dstillman

(Though using manual linked files for Word documents is fine, and can be preferable. We don't generally recommend storing actively edited Word documents as stored files, since changes on multiple computers can cause whole-file conflicts. But those manual linked files wouldn't be created via ZotFile.)

HelensGene

Thanks for the information on Zotfile and the use of stored files.

Opening the Word doc from Zotero does not create a new attachment. However, the file path is changed to Zotero/Stored and when I save the file, it is saved to that location. I will work around this by not opening the Word docs through Zotero.

Thanks again, and I will re-explore the Stored files again, with the new update of the program.

dstillman

Opening the Word doc from Zotero does not create a new attachment. However, the file path is changed to Zotero/Stored

No, I promise you this isn't what's happening. Attachments can never be converted between linked files and stored files. You just had a stored file to begin with.

HelensGene

Before typing my last reply, I deleted all of the stored files. I opened a Word doc through Zotero and watched as a new subfolder appeared in the Zotero/Stored subfolder.

What I just noticed, however, is that the file this happened with did not have a link icon. For Docs with the link icon, it does not happen. I fixed this for the file I was having an issue with and it's resolved.

Thanks!

dstillman

You're misunderstanding what was happening. Zotero was just re-downloading the file that was already in your online account and recreating its storage folder. It was a stored file to begin with.

HelensGene

Okay. That makes more sense to me. Thank you for being patient with me. (Sorry about my misunderstanding. I have a mild TBI and sometimes I need things explained in different ways.)