How to automate "Attach link to file"

clement
Hello,

I am reorganizing my PDF library, and have about 3000 PDFs that I would like to import as references into Zotero, with locally linked PDFs. I already figured out that I can:

1) Drag and drop all my pdfs
2) Retrieve metadata from pdfs

Now my constraint is that I don't want to sync the PDF files with the Zotero server, but only to have a local link ("attach link to file") for all my PDFs. For this I can:

3) Duplicate all references
4) Delete the original references with the attached PDFs (that I don't want to be sync'ed).
5) Link 3000 times each reference to a PDF.

The deletion of PDFs (3-4) might be made in a more elegant way (?), but I didn't find how to delete only a PDF without deleting the full reference.

But that's a detail, and I'm looking for a way to automate step 5.
Any help or tip would be greatly appreciated.
Best,
Clement.
  • adamsmith
    You can, instead of 1 and 2, use Ctrl+Shift+Drag to add linked files.
    You'll still be able to retrieve metadata. Alternatively, use Link to File under the green + sign. Both do the same thing. If you drag & drop, make sure the logo of the added PDFs is the linked logo (with the chainlink) rather than the PDF logo (which means they're attached).

    If you've already done 1 and 2, though, I don't see any way to automate the rest.
  • bwiernik
    You could also use Zotfile to turn the stored PDFs into linked attachments (in the specified new location).
  • clement
    Dear Adam,

    I haven't done any of the steps yet. The method you pointed out is definitely simpler and is working! Many thanks!

    @bwiernik: thanks also, Zotfile is an incredible tool!

    Best,
    Clement.
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