Managing PDF library

bphagan

I work in engineering field and deal with hundreds of pdfs that are not properly tagged or consistently tagged.

I have been trying to understand if Zotero would work in my case.
Here is what I want to be able to do.
I am not a power user doing research, just trying to make it easier for me to maintain my growing list of pdfs.

1. Download a pdf document to a folder. This document gets automatically added to library. I have this working.

2. Edit the title and add tags. I can do this.

3. Add a rev number like Rev 1.1, add a date like 08/2013.
This is where I seem to have trouble. All the pdfs are added as Type attachment. I can't seem to be able to change this. Do I have to create a new parent item for every pdf in order to use the 2 fields above? I don't need the parent/child capability since every document is standalone but may be related which is where tags are great.

Regards,
bdog

adamsmith

Do I have to create a new parent item for every pdf in order to use the 2 fields above?

yes. Zotero is designed as a reference manager, so the standard model is to have all PDFs (and other files) attached to an item holding all their metadata.

bphagan

Thanks for the quick reply and explanation.
Is there an automated way to create a parent whenever a new pdf is added instead of standalone attachment?

adamsmith

nothing automated, no. You can use right-click --> retrieve metadata from PDF and/or right click --> create parent item.
Both options are available in batch, i.e. for multiple PDFs at once.

bphagan

Ok. The batch seems to be sufficient.
However, I ran the batch before I ran retrieve metadata from pdf.
Now that option is not in the right click. Is there a way to undo a file from parent back to standalone?

I have pdfs scattered across my harddrive. Can Zotero move the files to a common folder as I add them to the library?
Currently, I don't have a need to use cloud sync. Can I setup zotero to only use local storage?

Thanks.

adamsmith

Now that option is not in the right click. Is there a way to undo a file from parent back to standalone?

sorry, no.

I have pdfs scattered across my harddrive. Can Zotero move the files to a common folder as I add them to the library?

Zotero would by default just copy them to its data directory, each in a separate folder. It sounds like you'll want to look at zotfile: www.zotfile.com

Currently, I don't have a need to use cloud sync. Can I setup zotero to only use local storage?

Zotero stores all data locally. You have to set up syncing separately and there is no obligation to do so (though syncing of data - as opposed to attachment files - is free without limits).