Managing storage and downloads Android app

Yesterday I started using the Zotero Android app on my tablet. It is a very well desinged app, which will certainly help me a lot by facilitating my reading and annotating.

I have a question with regard to how downloading pdf's and other attachments works, and how long dowloads are stored in the storage . I keep my library's attachments synched and stored in my Zotero account's cloud storage (so not on an external platform of any sort).

My question is caused by the fact that I plan to use the Android app during long trainrides on which I will be offline or will have difficulty in connecting to the web. I noticed that as a rule pdf-attachments are downloaded in the Android app when one clicks on them to open them. This would mean that I would have to open the attachments when I am online prior to traveling, which is fine as MO. However, I do not seem to find indications on the settings about how long such a download then would remain on my device. When does such an attachment disappear again from my device's storage? It seems that as a user the app does not allow users to adapt such settings or tailor them to one's needs and preference.

Understanding this is also helpful in managing the amount of storage such downloads will take up on my device.

Any further info on this would be very helpful.
  • edited 3 hours ago
    There is no expiration date on file downloads. So standalone attachments should not get deleted from your phone and if we talking about an attachment linked to some item then it also shouldn't get deleted unless you actually change linked attachment via say web or desktop app.

    Also to save time you don't have to tap on every file to download them. What you can do is add all the files you need for a trip to a new collection and then long press on the collection itself and tap Download Attachments to download all files in the collection.

    Or if you don't want to create a new collection then just multiselect all the files you need and tap on download icon
  • Thanks very much for this helpful answer. I now also noticed the filter below that allows to show the downloaded files and manage them.
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