ZotFile and iPad

michael.amherst
For a while now I've been using Papership to sync with my Zotero library and to markup pdfs or scanned documents on my iPad. However, my collection has grown so large last year I had to pay for the largest Zotero storage option and given my iCloud Drive capacity would rather avoid this. Today I installed ZotFile as a means of using iCloud Drive to store files from Zotero. Obviously this now means Papership shows these only as 'Linked File' without the recourse to access the local/cloud version. I can use Adobe Acrobat on iOS, say, as a means of annotating but have to go through several stages to access it on iCloud Drive through iOS. Are there any easier work arounds? Maybe with iBooks or Papership?

Also, some documents when added to Zotero do save into my iCloud Zotero file, others don't. I can't fathom a rhyme nor reason why some sometimes do not, nor where they save to - presumably Zotero storage?
  • bwiernik
    Are you saving all of your attachment files to iCloud using Zotfile, or are you using Zotfile’s Send to Tablet feature? What is your exact setup for Zotfile?

    I would recommend using the GoodReader app to annotate on your iPad. It can open files directly from iCloud Drive and ave them back, so no need to go through multiplie steps to import into Adobe, edit, then export again.

  • michael.amherst
    As I understand it all my files are to be saved to iCloud through Zotfile. Thanks for the GoodReader recommend - I'll check it out. Is it still being supported and updated? I've discovered Papership no longer is.
  • michael.amherst
    Ok so something isn't working right. If I go to 'Show File' it will show it one of the obscurely named folders in Zotero's storage folder. However, if I copy it to my iCloud folder, local on my Mac, then double click the link in standalone Zotero it says it can't find the file, enabling me to locate it in the new folder on iCloud. However, having done that if I go to Show File again it seems once more it has created an obscure folder in Zotero storage
  • bwiernik
    Okay, you aren’t using Zotfile correctly. To move files from the Zotero internal storage to iCloud Drive, follow these steps.

    First, in the Zotfile Preferences, set the Store Files custom location to a folder inside iCloud Drive. Then, inside Zotero, right click on an item and choose Rename Attachment. This will rename and move each file to that location. Once you’ve checked that it moved correctly, you can select all of your items, right click, and move them. If you have a lot of items, that might take some time and it might be a good idea to do it in smaller batches.
  • michael.amherst
    Ok thanks for that. Most of them work, however some skip with the error that they are either top level items, snapshots or the file is missing. I can open them so its not the latter, nor are they a snapshot. I don't understand what it could mean by top-level item either as each are embedded within a parent item of .ris data. Thank you for your help, by the way, it is much appreciated.
  • bwiernik
    “Top level item” means it’s a file that’s not attached to a parent Zotero item (just a bare pdf or other file).
  • DWL-SDCA
    The last time I checked, the Zotero unlimited storage fee was considerably less than an iCloud account large enough for my files.
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