Implement Zotfile/Zotmoov "move and create link" funcionality in Zotero 7 without plugin

NarcisoRealAndrade
On advance, thanks for the mere existence of Zotero and sorry if my english is not perfect.

Could that (the title) be posible?
Right now zotero allows the user to set the base directory to use relative paths to it.

Could be possible to create an option to automatically do the same thing that make this plugins? Or does it exist already?

The main motivation of this proposal is plugins can be discontinued (like Zotfile and/for Zotero 7), and this is a simple (and necessary for so many users with not supported by default cloud storages) function that should not depend on third party developers.

Thanks.
  • adamsmith
    Unlikely I think. Zotero devs very much view this as a 3rd best option (won't work on mobile, breaks more easily, doesn't work for groups), so the decision to not include it as a core feature is intentional.
  • tim820
    When the future of Zotfile-like move/rename functionality in Zotero v7 (currently in beta) was initially uncertain (now provided by attanger or zotmoov), I mapped out the fallback options.

    Zotero does already have relatively simple ways to create linked attachment files, that can somewhat mimic the actions of v6- (Zotfile) and v7-compatible plugins (attanger, zotmoov), albeit not quite as streamlined as those plugins. The plugins simply automate that inherent functionality.

    You likely already have a cloud-mirrored folder for storing your linked PDF attachment files. You would turn off Zotero's auto-PDF download option (admittedly that is a very nice feature), so that the Zotero Connector only creates the item but does not download the PDF (into local Zotero\storage). Instead you would save the PDF directly from the journal page to your cloud folder (two clicks). You could have that folder always open in your OS, sorted by date (so the latest PDF addition would appear at the top). Then you would crtl-shift-drag & drop* the new PDF onto the newly-created item in Zotero, thus creating the link to the PDF (one click); or right-click Add Attachment\Attach Link To File.

    So basically three more clicks required than with a plugin.

    * Ctrl+Shift (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Option (Mac)
  • NarcisoRealAndrade
    "turn off Zotero auto-PDF download"

    No, I want to zotero to download the PDF, and then, move it to my cloud storage folder and create the attachment, just like Zotfile and Zotmoov does.

    " The plugins simply automate that inherent functionality"

    Then, let me think that to make this feature "work for all platforms and in groups" is feasable, and not quite hard. I don't have proficiency in JS, I work more with C-like and Python, but this can not be unfeasable if the API allows to someone to create a plugin to do it.
  • adamsmith
    Then, let me think that to make this feature "work for all platforms and in groups" is feasable, and not quite hard. I don't have proficiency in JS, I work more with C-like and Python, but this can not be unfeasable if the API allows to someone to create a plugin to do it.
    The plugins don't work on all platforms or for groups either, that's the point.
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