Z7 - File names NOT changing

potheekaami
One of my fav features was to change filename of attachments using parent meta data.

Once I updated to Z7 for my macOS Sonoma, I keep getting a notification that the file name was changed but in essence it would still show "Full text PDF." I tried logging out, restarting, etc.

I do not know how to resolve this problem.

Is there a way to fall back to Z6?
  • dstillman
    https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/attachment_title_vs_filename
  • potheekaami
    Thank you dstillman for the prompt response.

    But I do not think Zotero should dictate whether it was unnecessary to rename files to parent names or not. It should be an user's choice.

    Is there a way to still do that?
  • dstillman
    No, you're misunderstanding. Files have always been renamed. They were being renamed without your manually running Rename File from Parent Metadata before, and they're still being renamed in Zotero 7. It's just no longer changing the attachment title — what shows in the items list — when manually running Rename File from Parent Metadata, for the reasons explained on the linked page.

    We have additional changes coming, but the previous behavior was inconsistent and illogical, which is why it was a bug.
  • gustav.kalm
    Could you please return to the previous mode of operation where Zotero displayed file names for attachments and not the vague "PDF", "Full text PDF", "SAGE PDF Full Text"? Even if the previous version doubled information otherwise in the catalog it did not waste screen real estate for useless confusing information like "SAGE PDF Full Text". I would much rather see the file name "Author - Date - Title" than "SAGE PDF Full Text". Please add that option or return to the previous mode of operation in some future update. Thank you!
  • dstillman
    @gustav.kalm: Zotero has always — literally, for nearly two decades — saved attachments with titles like "SAGE PDF Full Text". As I say, we have additional changes coming, but read the linked page to understand exactly what changed and the reasons for it.
  • gustav.kalm
    edited yesterday at 2:54pm
    Thank you for the reply. I looked at the referred page. I am not aware of the technical side just speaking from user experience over the past twelve years with this program.

    I do not agree with the analysis on the linked page in this paragraph: " Since the parent item row in the items list already displays that metadata, Zotero doesn't show the filename directly in the items list. Instead, it uses simpler attachment titles such as “PDF” or “Ebook” for the first file of a given type or includes additional information about the source of the file (e.g., “ScienceDirect Full Text PDF” for a file saved from ScienceDirect, or “Accepted Version” or “Submitted Version” for open-access files). These separate titles avoid cluttering the items list with duplicate metadata and prevent parent items from being unnecessarily expanded when searching for titles or creators."

    "separate titles avoid cluttering the items list with duplicate metadata". Duplicata metadata actually made orientation in the item list easier because it was still useful information. "SAGE PDF Full Text" just adds unnecessary text to my screen. From the user perspective, the file name in the format "Author - Date - Title" was quick to read and the duplication with the main item in the search function does not bother me.

    I gather you are adding an option to change it so that the first attachment can also be displayed with the file name rather than type. Really look forward to that.
  • dstillman
    You can have a preference for different titles. I'm just clarifying that Zotero has always saved the titles you're saying you don't like. If you just saved something from Sage, and did nothing else, you would see “SAGE PDF Full Text” in the items list. As the page explains, to get a title matching the filename, you had to have either been either needlessly running a manual rename on every single file you added to your library (which many people were doing because they didn't realize that the files were already renamed) or using a plugin that changed the titles (which you can still do in Z7).
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