Allow deleting linked attachments when deleting entry

Gabriel_p · May 19, 2016

I'm coming from this issue I had with Zotero: https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/5301/29/zotfile-zotero-plugin-to-rename-move-and-attach-pdfs-send-them-to-ipad-extract-pdf-annotations/#Comment_254096

When an entry is deleted from Zotero, if it had a *linked* attachment assigned, the attachment can not be deleted by Zotero. It has to be done manually.

It'd be nice to have an option so that, if the entry has one or more linked attachments, they can be simultaneously deleted together with the entry.

dstillman · May 19, 2016

I don't think we'd do this. The whole point of linked attachments is that they don't affect the files on disk at all (which is why, for example, they don't sync), and I don't see us offering an option (which you'd have to remember the state of, or carefully read a warning dialog) that caused such a subtle yet dangerous change in behavior.

It'd be a little different if there were a clear deletion step, where there could be a dialog with a separate, non-default button to delete linked files too, but since Zotero items go to the trash first, there's not really a place for that.

I think it'd be better to just offer a more human-friendly folder structure for managed files. If people are choosing to use an external folder structure, I don't think Zotero should be messing with it.

Gabriel_p · May 19, 2016

What you say makes total sense Adam.

Last idea: if not an option to delete linked attachments in the regular Zotero folders (which is potentially dangerous and/or confusing), how about providing the option in the right click menu *only* for entries already in the trash?

Would this be more reasonable or less dangerous?