Paid Account Question

Amanda_Poon
Hello - I'm not overly knowledgeable about cloud stuff. I've paid for unlimited storage in Zotero. I access it through an ipad, browsers, as well as a downloaded desk top app. I don't own a personal computer, only a work computer. I have a significant amount of PDFs in my library. I've just realized when I drag files to the desk top app they are saving PDFs in a folder in my local hard drive, and now I have no space left.

I need to remove all those files to clear space from my work computer. I am hoping I can delete the file copies from my local, turn off synch, and then only use the browser version moving fwd. Will that keep my library intact, online? Or will I lose everything? By paying for the subscription I assumed I would not have to also store offline on a hard drive.

I'm so nervous being right in the middle of a big paper!

Thank you,
- A
  • dstillman
    edited April 18, 2024
    Since you have unlimited space online, you can change Zotero's file-sync settings to download files "as needed" and then delete the local PDF files on your computer outside of Zotero. Once you've confirmed that syncing is working properly and all your files are online, you can just use your OS's file manager to search for PDF files within your Zotero data directory and delete them. Zotero will then automatically download files when you open them. It'd be easy to just do this periodically, so it shouldn't be necessary to switch to the online version of Zotero. (Just uninstalling Zotero and deleting your data directory would never affect your online library, though.)

    A future version of Zotero will let you choose how long to keep local copies of files when using "as needed" mode in order to save disk space.
  • Amanda_Poon
    Amazing! Thank you so much!
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