Apply zotfile on existing items?

diff111

Hello everybody!

I have a technical question about zotfile. Is there a way to make zotfile act on an item which is already present? Sometimes I import items into zotero web (when zotero standalone is closed) and for those items zotfile does not get applied and I only have a link for the attachments. I would like to apply it manually at a later time. Is that possible?

Thanks in advance.

adamsmith

While you can apply ZotFile later -- simply by using right-click --> Manage Attachments --> Rename attachments --
I don't think it does what you think. If you only have a link to an item online, ZotFile doesn't do anything. It just works on files that already exist locally.

diff111

Indeed, it is not what I need. When I import items into zotero web I only have a link and not the actual file. What I need is to have zotfile download the file and rename it for me (the link can stay or get deleted, it's not important).

adamsmith

sorry, neither ZotFile nor any other add-on or function of Zotero can do that currently.

diff111

OK. But is it possible to make the zotero extension for chrome to launch zotero standalone automatically before import? That would make zotfile act on each import. Often I import items and I forget to launch zotero standalone before, and this results in items with links as attachments instead of actual files.

adamsmith

You could just unauthorize the connection to the server in the Chrome (Clear Credentials in the extension options, i.e. chrome-extension://ekhagklcjbdpajgpjgmbionohlpdbjgc/preferences/preferences.html )
that wouldn't launch Standalone, but it would prevent you from accidentally saving online.
(I don't know the details here, but suspect that loading a third party app via a Chrome Extension isn't trivial, given the security concerns involved).