How to deal with "offline" PDFs

IsaakM
Say I got some PDF files from my professor or a colleague. So I didn't import them into Zotero from Google Scholar or an Academic Database or a Website. Zotero won't have all the publication information about the PDF, especially about the source of the PDF. What is the best way of importing such an "offline PDF" into Zotero? How do I make an entry that connects the PDF to it's original source, so that I can properly reference the PDF in my writing? I mean, I cannot reference a random PDF that sits on my computers harddisk, right?

I also wonder, when importing a PDF from a website or academic database, which option to choose? Import as a Website (with or without snapshot), download the pdf and import it into Zotero etcetera? Is there any guide or best practice for this?
  • fbennett
    edited May 11, 2016
    For raw PDFs, you can drag them into Zotero, and then right-click on them and select "Retrieve Metadata for PDF." If that doesn't yield anything, you'll need to use "Create Parent Item," and enter the details manually.

    When fetching a PDF document from an unsupported website, I would grab the raw PDF and run it through the steps above - if the lookup from the PDF itself works, it saves a lot of typing. Alternatively, if it is a journal article, checking an aggregator service first can also save steps. (That can also be a quick way of dealing with PDFs that fail a "Retrieve Metadata for PDF" attempt, if they are also available through an aggregator that provides metadata.)

    If you have set an item in Zotero, and later want to attach a PDF to it from another source, the ZotFile "watch folder" feature is very convenient.
  • IsaakM
    Thanks. What would be an aggregator for journal articles? Do you mean services such as Google Scholar (to name an example) ?
  • adamsmith
    yes, though don't use google scholar in this case, because that's what Zotero already searches during retrieve metadata. Also, google scholar's data quality isn't great.
    PubMed, e.g. might work well if you're doing medical research, etc.
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