Upgrade StorageAttach Link to File and local document repositories
We are sharing a Zotero library across our group, and have put our PDFs and other documents on a departmental server. Some of these documents are confidential and CANNOT be synched through a Zotero server.
At the moment we use a clumsy hack of using the file path as the URL:
URL: T:\Shared Projects\OurProject\Literature\080403 - Toespraak.pdf
so that double-clicking on the Zotero reference opens the document.
It would be *MUCH NICER* if Zotero "understood" this concept of a local repository of documents. This could be done if:
1. there was a global variable $LOCALFILE$ that could be set in Zotero Preferences (probably next to Data Directory Location in the Advanced tab). In our example, it would take the value:
$LOCALFILE$: T:\Shared Projects\OurProject\Literature\
2. when one does "Add Attachment" ... "Attach Link to File ...", Zotero examines the file path, and if it matches $LOCALFILE$ it just stores it as the file name, in this example:
080403 - Toespraak.pdf
3. when synched to a server, this Link to File is preserved and carried across to other members of the group (unlike currently). This also has the advantage that if a member of the group has a different path to the local repository then they can just set their own $LOCALFILE$ value.
4. An alternative approach would be to have a FILENAME field that Zotero "understands" and combines with $LOCALFILE$ to open the document. This may require the addition of a menu item (from the right-click popup) of "Open Local File"
I would really appreciate it if you could consider these changes, as it would improve the group-wise capabilities of Zotero immensely.
At the moment we use a clumsy hack of using the file path as the URL:
URL: T:\Shared Projects\OurProject\Literature\080403 - Toespraak.pdf
so that double-clicking on the Zotero reference opens the document.
It would be *MUCH NICER* if Zotero "understood" this concept of a local repository of documents. This could be done if:
1. there was a global variable $LOCALFILE$ that could be set in Zotero Preferences (probably next to Data Directory Location in the Advanced tab). In our example, it would take the value:
$LOCALFILE$: T:\Shared Projects\OurProject\Literature\
2. when one does "Add Attachment" ... "Attach Link to File ...", Zotero examines the file path, and if it matches $LOCALFILE$ it just stores it as the file name, in this example:
080403 - Toespraak.pdf
3. when synched to a server, this Link to File is preserved and carried across to other members of the group (unlike currently). This also has the advantage that if a member of the group has a different path to the local repository then they can just set their own $LOCALFILE$ value.
4. An alternative approach would be to have a FILENAME field that Zotero "understands" and combines with $LOCALFILE$ to open the document. This may require the addition of a menu item (from the right-click popup) of "Open Local File"
I would really appreciate it if you could consider these changes, as it would improve the group-wise capabilities of Zotero immensely.
This discussion has been closed.
I'll close this thread, but you can post a link to this there.