Sync Linked Attachments

Greg

Hi, currently only the attachments which are stored as a copy are synced. It would be great if the linked attachments are also synced.

Thanks for the great Application!

ajlyon

This is not likely to happen -- where would you expect the file that is linked at location c:\research\papers1\123.pdf on computer A to go when computer B syncs with the server? Zotero can't go around creating parallel file structures like c:\research\papers1\123.pdf on completely different computers (and operating systems!), so it would have to be within the Zotero file structure. That, of course, would make it the same as an attachment stored as a copy.

Greg

I can see that... could have thought about it myself. (I guess, I was more thinking about the backup of pdfs and not the synchronization to other computers).

Thanks

adamsmith

if you're just thinking back-up, you could use dropbox or something like it.
I usually tell people not to use dropbox with Zotero to sync - but that's if you want to sync the database itself (i.e. zotero.sqlite, which dropbox can corrupt).
It's perfectly safe, however, to use dropbox for the folder(s) that contain your linked attachments.

hcsiller

well, the crucial difference between stored and linked attachments is that I can attach a stored pdf only to ONE item, whereas I can attach a linked PDF to MANY items.
This is an absolute necessity for edited volumes of books (with different chapters per author, but only one pdf file for the entire book).

For that reason, I created an additional folder "ebooks" inside my storage folder which holds the pdf files of edited volumes. I create zotero items for each chapter and link the one same pdf to all of them.

So it is not entirely correct to say that there's no point in having linked items kept inside the storage folder. Of course I could keep the "ebooks" folder anywhere, but if I keep it inside the storage folder, it will get backed up with the rest of Zotero and I have everything in one place.

adamsmith

correct to say that there's no point in having linked items kept inside the storage folder

No, that's correct. There really is no point. I mean - it's up to you where to keep your files, but it doesn't strike me as particularly convenient to have one custom folder in a directory somewhere in a FF profile amidst hundreds of randomly named folders. Obviously the folder won't sync. Also, having non-Zotero created folders in the storage folder is not recommended by Zotero.
And as for back-up - it's 2012. I sure hope people just back-up their entire HD.