"Rename file from parent Metadata" broken by Zotero 7?

milogies

Zotero 7.0.11 (64 bit), language: German: When I try to rename an attached PDF file, it gets the name “PDF” instead of the name of the parent file. I don't know if this function (“Rename file from parent Metadata”) is a new implementation in Zotero 7 or if I'm looking at a leftover from Zotfile. Zotfile has disappeared from my plugin list and I can't reinstall it because Zotero says it's not compatible. Thanks for any help!

enozkan

No, this is not broken. Your attachment files are renamed properly. You are just not looking at filenames. Filenames are shown in the Item pane (in the right column) next to Filename.

You are seeing attachment title, instead. Explained here.

https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/attachment_title_vs_filename

milogies

Thanks, I understand. But the GUI has become a bit worse. For a quick overview over several attachments, it would be better if the file names were listed below the parent file name and not something as banal as “PDF”. But I can simply copy the file name into the title field of the attachment. It's just a bit cumbersome.

dstillman

What do you mean by "a quick overview over several attachments"? As explained on the linked page, subsequent attachments under an item beyond the primary attachment should already have titles based on the filename. Only the primary attachments gets a name like "PDF", because for that case, all you really need to know is that it's the main PDF for the item, the metadata for which is already shown in the parent row. Being simple ("banal") and not cluttering the items list is the whole point.

milogies

It is inconsistent. I've been using Zotero for 16 years. It's always a bad idea to change users' workflows without a clear, tangible benefit.

dstillman

Inconsistent with what?

Zotero has always saved simple titles ("ScienceDirect Full Text PDF") by default. Rename File from Parent Metadata changing those was a bug that, as explained on the linked page, caused a huge number of people to misunderstand how renaming worked in Zotero and waste time running a command unnecessarily every time they added something to their library. Fixing that provides a pretty clear, tangible benefit. Helping people avoid drudgery is one of the main goals of Zotero.

If you mean inconsistent with existing data in your library, we provide a code snippet on the linked page to convert titles that were changed unnecessarily in the past back to "PDF". We plan to make that available via a menu option in a future update.

milogies

> Inconsistent with what?
With the past (Zotero/Zotfile, the latter still endorsed on the Zotero website) and my viewing habits. And it does not make sense, that the first attachment is named "pdf" and only the others are displayed with their file name.

I did not change every file name with Zotfile, it depended on the original file name. So Zotfile worked fine for me.

And obviously I don`t want to change my library with a code snippet which looks a bit untested and does not lead to what I want:
https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/attachment_title_vs_filename
"You should test with a smaller number of selected items first to make sure it's doing what you expect."

It would be very, very easy for the developer to give users an option, that the file name instead of a "title" like "pdf" is displayed in the middle pane as child/children. When doing this, file symbols should be added right to children, because of different types of attachments. Only one symbol to the right side of the parent isn`t perfect. If it is only one e. g. pdf, a pdf-symbol is okay. But if there are more attachments, besides the saved webpage, a more generic "attachment" symbol would be more precise.

But whom I am to give advice? I`m only 40 years into IT, have only tested hundreds of programs and written some journal articles about my results. Of course, this pales in comparison to the wisdom of current programmers, who know better than the users of their programs what is good for them. The Apple way is the only true way.

tim820

I agree it should be an option.

If you are using Zotmoov or attanger as Zotfile replacements in v7, I believe both preserve the original Zotfile behaviour of making the title match the file name. And Zotmoov gives you the option to use the Zotero "PDF" naming if that is what is desired.

dstillman

And it does not make sense, that the first attachment is named "pdf" and only the others are displayed with their file name.

Everything you've said so far is addressed on the linked page. As it says there, additional files "are likely to be supplementary files and the filename may be informative". That's not the case for the primary file, whose filename will just match the parent metadata that's already shown in the items list.

I did not change every file name with Zotfile, it depended on the original file name. So Zotfile worked fine for me.

We didn't have anything to do with ZotFile's behavior, and if you were using a plugin before, you can do so now. Our concern is the behavior of Zotero itself, and the previous behavior was a bug that needed to be addressed. Whether we add an option to show filenames instead of titles in the items list is a separate question.

a code snippet which looks a bit untested

The code snippet works fine and does exactly what it says. The point of testing it is to make sure you actually understand what it does.

But whom I am to give advice? I`m only 40 years into IT, have only tested hundreds of programs and written some journal articles about my results. Of course, this pales in comparison to the wisdom of current programmers, who know better than the users of their programs what is good for them. The Apple way is the only true way.

Please don't post tedious, obnoxious things like this here. We're happy to have respectful, productive discussions, but this sort of thing will just get you ignored or banned. Closing this thread.