Upgrade StorageStarting from scratch--want to do it right the first time
Hi there,
I've used ZSA and ZFF intermittently and inconsistently for a year. My file structure in Zotero is fairly frenetic, and of little use now.
I have a very organized file structure for PDFs stored on Dropbox.
I recently installed ZotFile.
I've read through a lot of the threads dating back to 2009, but I haven't seen a recent "here's the best way to organize your life" post. Please forgive me if I missed it.
What is the best way to start fresh with Zotero that will:
1. create new bibliography entries for each item (in bulk)
2. either link to the PDF in my Dropbox, or store a copy of it in Zotero
3. synchronize the folder structure across devices and platforms
4. be seamless across ZSA and ZFF?
Many thanks,
Diana
I've used ZSA and ZFF intermittently and inconsistently for a year. My file structure in Zotero is fairly frenetic, and of little use now.
I have a very organized file structure for PDFs stored on Dropbox.
I recently installed ZotFile.
I've read through a lot of the threads dating back to 2009, but I haven't seen a recent "here's the best way to organize your life" post. Please forgive me if I missed it.
What is the best way to start fresh with Zotero that will:
1. create new bibliography entries for each item (in bulk)
2. either link to the PDF in my Dropbox, or store a copy of it in Zotero
3. synchronize the folder structure across devices and platforms
4. be seamless across ZSA and ZFF?
Many thanks,
Diana
Going in backwards order:
4. is not going to be a problem whatever you do. You can tell ZFF and ZSA to share a data directory which means they'll work seamlessly together whatever you decide to do otherwise
3. That depends on where you want the folder structure: If you just want the folder structure in Zotero (more properly "collection structure" in that case), it will sync automatically between devices, so there's nothing you need to do. If you also want to maintain your Dropbox folder structure that's going to be more involved. More on that below
2. That's the crux of the matter: You can simply drag the files to Zotero to import and store them in Zotero, forget about your Dropbox folder structure and just organize the items in Zotero.
You can also use "add link to file" or by using ctrl+shift-drag (Windows/linux, cmd+opt+drag on mac) to just add links to the items in dropbox.
You should then read these two threads to understand how to handle links, syncing, and relative links in Zotero
https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/28694/
https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/29322/howto-linked-attachments-dropbox-zotero-40/
1. Once you've added the PDFs to Zotero, use retrieve PDF metadata
http://www.zotero.org/support/retrieve_pdf_metadata
note that you should do this in small-ish batches to prevent getting locked out by google scholar.