"Note" should also be an option for "Attached File Type"

max1836

In the "Advanced Search" one of the variables in the left hand drop box is "Attached File Type." It currently has vales "Audio, Document, Image, PDF, Presentation, Video, and Web Page." "Note" should also be a choice.

Example I was doing an "Advanced Search" to try and clean up the consistency of my data base. I was trying to select any "Note" with a particular tag.

dstillman

Note isn't appropriate in that list—it's not a file type—but there will likely be some changes in the future to make dealing with child items a bit easier.

But you can do what (I think) you want with [Tag] [is] [foo], [Item Type] [is] [Note], and (assuming the tag is on the parent item) "Include parent and child items of matching items".

max1836

Unfortunately the tag is on the note.

I do a search through the index for all items named "Ralph".

A particular note contains "Ralph".

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Obviously I'll have to wait for the changes. Since I can have multiple notes "attached" to an item, it sure seems like an "Attached File Type" to me...

adamsmith

if the tag is on the note do the same thing but leave out the last step suggested by Dan (i.e. don't check "Include parent and child...").
Notes are not attached files - they're stored in the database and can't be accessed independently of Zotero as opposed to all other attachments.

max1836

I really think this ought to be redone. I can't create a "Note" from the Zotero menu "File / New Item / ...". So to me having a Note typed at the same level as a "Journal Article" or a "Book" doesn't make sense. A Note should be an "Attachment" like a pdf file. It should have "File Attachment type "Note".

Look at how you display Notes under a Journal article. think about how Notes are being used, not how they are programmed.

See:
http://s564.photobucket.com/user/herb1836/media/zotero_2.jpg.html

Now I'll drop the rope....

dstillman

You don't need to keep bringing up the users vs. programmers thing. We understand the difference.

But files are files, whether you're a user or a programmer, and calling notes "files" is incorrect either way. A note in Zotero is not in the same class of things as a PDF. (Notes can also be top-level items, so they're not just "attachments". There are standalone notes and child notes, and there are attachments of various kinds.)

As I said, changes are planned to the search UI to make dealing with child items easier. But that doesn't even really apply to you, given that you're just searching for notes with tags. "Item Type" is the search condition you're looking for.

max1836

Dan,

Dah...

From your comments I knew that I was missing something. I spaced out that you could have "Stand-Alone" notes as well as child notes. That explains why "Note" is used as a "Type" instead of being an "Attachment".

Thanks for your insight...
Max