Import files/folders and Zotmoov - what am I missing

jparker1455

Hello, I have been trying to setup my Zotero 7 for about 2 days now and completely unsuccessful. I have poured over the forum, internet search, install/uninstall, different plugins and I am still unable to get Zotero working for me.

Here is my situation:
1. I have 15 years of journal articles I have collected. I have them in a folder structure on my computer in a cloud sync (I use sync.com). These files sync perfectly and I have had zero issues. I have sorted my articles into topics (i.e. Expectations, Behavioural change, Action Planning, Pain, Motivation, etc.). I have 23gb of collected documents (I am a document hoader).
2. I was mendeley but now their new system sucks. I am wanting to switch to Zotero for a number of reasons.
3. I have followed all the directions I can find on how to set it up. I want to move my "Current cloud folder" files into Zotero. Ideally, preserving the file structure in my "current cloud folder" (I know where things are and I have a general sense of why I filled them in their respective folders.
4. The "Import Folders" Plugin does not work in Zotero 7. The developer has advised he has zero time and there is zero future state when this will be fixed.
5. I then try and set up Zotmoov.
6. Installed plugin.
7. Create new folder called @zotero_library
8. Point the Base Directory to @zotero_library
9. Create new folder called @zotero temp holding tank (for new files per instructions)
10. In Zotmoov: Point Directory to Move files to: @zotero_library
https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u11429127/nbfvi1c672se72c9fw4w.png
11. In Zotmoov: Point Source folder for attaching new files to: @zotero temp holding tank
https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u11429127/q6u95pjc8ulfh80gm08u.png
12. Other Settings:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u11429127/70nfkmrg3agjh3qqo439.png
13. Then I copy all my files from my "Current cloud folder" and copy them into @zotero temp holding tank

After all of that...(drum roll)....nothing. My files do NOT show up in Zotero.

What am I missing?????

I have 4300 files in folders in my "current cloud folder" - it is not possibly to drag and drop each of these files from their respective folders into Zotero. I will be dead by the time I reorganize them.

Any suggestions?

tim820

Firstly, if your PDFs are (also) online with Mendeley, you could import your Mendeley library into Zotero using this process, which should preserve its collections structure *within* Zotero:
https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/mendeley_import

That process would place your PDFs in local Zotero storage (in arbitrarily named folders under Zotero\storage). If instead you want to use your own cloud-mirrored folder/linked files, you could then move those files there using Zotmoov: Move Selected to Directory, which will move the files as linked files to your 'Move To' folder (best done on small chunks of selected files).**

If Mendeley import is not an option, there are other ways you could get all your files from their folders into Zotero. But with the Folder Import plugin not working in Zotero v7, those ways will likely be somewhat complex/tedious.

The reason why what you tried with Zotmoov did not work is because what you termed the "custom holding tank" (Source Folder for Attaching New Files) is not a "watch" folder (that is monitored for new files) - there is no such thing in Zotero. That folder is just for the odd single attachment file that comes to you in ways *other* than via the Zotero web connector (Zotmoov moves those web connector files to the 'Move to' folder as they are downloaded). So for example if you receive a PDF via email, or download it directly rather than via the Zotero connector, you can place it in the Source Folder for Attaching New Files. And then when you right click Zotmoov: Attach New File, the latest-dated file in that folder (only) will be added to the item you have selected in Zotero, and moved to the 'Move To' folder as a linked file.
https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/watch_folder

Most of Zotmoov's features had their origins in Zotfile, which was not updated for Zotero v7. Zotmoov users coming from Zotfile understand how the various operations work. But for those who don't have that background, much of that is not obvious.

Re #8, if you meant the Linked Attachment Base Directory setting, that setting is only necessary if linked files are at different (parent) paths on different computers. It only affects where Zotero *looks* for linked files, when you try to open one. It has no effect on where they get stored.
https://www.zotero.org/support/preferences/advanced#files_and_folders

**Zotmoov can use the item's Zotero collection for the OS folder name that each linked file is placed in. But people who come to Zotero from an existing folder organization in their OS often decide quite quickly that having a collections structure in Zotero while also trying to maintain a similar structure outside Zotero is duplicated effort (the two will likely never be exactly the same; for one thing Zotero allows items to exist in multiple collections, without copying them). So people decide to keep all their linked files in a single folder, relying only on Zotero for organization.
https://www.zotero.org/support/collections_and_tags#the_zotero_collections_model

jparker1455

@tim820 I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I am still not sure I fully understand how Zotmoov works and this whole concept of "moving files" and right clicking "Zotmoov: Attach New File" (which I can't find anywhere - when I right click on anything). I never had my folders/files in Mendeley cloud and have since deleted Mendeley so that is not an option.

I especially don't understand where Zotero "finds" the file I have. I don't understand "HOW" to get my files into Zotero. If I don't need "linked attachment base directory" then where does Zotero look for the files.

I have followed all the directions to a "T" and I still have an empty Zotero Library. Despite copying my files and folders and pasting them into the Linked Base Directory.

I am feeling absolutely like a moron here that I can't figure it out. Basically, consider my situation as this: I have 4300 files stored on my computer These files are in folders as I have them sorted by topic. I have a brand new install of Zotero and want to get those files into Zotero.

How do I do it? I literally can not find a straight forward explanation.

jparker1455

Well, I figured out how to do this. I can not believe I couldn't find this solution anywhere.

1. Uninstalled Zotero 7
2. Installed Zotero 6
3. Installed Import File-Folder plugin
4. Imported pre-existing current folder that had all my pdfs and articles in my file heirarchy that I have built over the last 15 years.
5. Import File-Folder plugin did exactly what it was supposed to do and imported all my folders and files in the pre-existing hierarchy.
6. Played around with it and made sure things more or less looked the same.
7. Installed upgrade to Zotero 7.
BOOM!!!!!
8. All is good in my journal archive world. All my pre-existing folders now exist as categories in Zotero with their corresponding files. :)

tim820

The developer has just announced that migration of the Folder Import plugin to Zotero v7 has been commenced. But it could take a while (?). The plugin did support linked attachment files in v6 and thus should hopefully do so in v7.
https://github.com/retorquere/zotero-folder-import/issues/39
https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/comment/469379/#Comment_469379

In the meantime there are ways that it could be done manually in v7, but they are tedious.

jparker1455

Thanks Tim820...see my comments above. If a person can do what I did, it seems like a great workaround. So far so good.