How to auto-number multiple linked PDFs under the same parent item to avoid filename conflicts

nsdslg

Hi everyone,

I’m using Zotero with PDF attachments as linked files, and I have enabled file renaming for linked files.

I’ve run into a problem when attaching multiple PDFs to the same parent item. Since the files are renamed according to the same parent-item metadata, two different PDFs under the same parent item can end up with the exact same filename. In my case, this caused the later-added PDF to overwrite the earlier one.

I understand that I can include the attachment title/name in the renaming template, and that would make the filenames unique. However, this requires me to manually rename each PDF or manually edit the attachment title before or after adding it, which is not ideal.

What I’m looking for is a way to keep the default filename unchanged when there is only one PDF attachment under a parent item, but automatically append a number when additional PDFs are attached to the same parent item.

Is there any built-in Zotero renaming field, setting, plugin, or recommended workflow that can check whether PDF attachments already exist under the same parent item and then append an automatic number only when needed?

I’d also be interested to know how other users handle multiple linked PDFs under the same parent item without having to manually adjust the attachment title every time.

Thanks!

tim820

The plugins that people have typically used to support linked file setups - Zotfile originally, and in recent years Zotmoov or Attanger - have always appended a number to the file name where multiple linked PDFs would otherwise have the same name.

How are you adding the PDFs to Zotero as linked files ?