trigger iCloud download of a pdf when trying to open an attachment?

erazlogo · August 18, 2018

I have my Zotero pdfs in a separate folder in my MacBook so they can sync with my iPad via iCloud. Unfortunately, I don't have enough room on my laptop to keep all the pdfs so iCloud deletes some files from my hard drive periodically, leaving only a reference. When I try to open a pdf like that from Zotero, I get "I can't find the file" error. I then have to search by file name in the Finder and double-click on the file icon to trigger iCloud download. Is there a way to trigger the download from Zotero? Thanks!

dstillman · August 19, 2018

OK, this should work in the latest Zotero beta. The behavior will be slightly different — Preview (or whatever) will open first without opening the file, and then the file will open a second or two later — but I believe that's the best we can do for now. If the file takes longer than 5 seconds to download, Zotero will just reveal it in Finder, and you can double-click it after the download finishes.

Show File should also work now for evicted files. (Dragging to elsewhere in the filesystem from Zotero won't work, and I don't think we could support that reliably until there was a way to trigger an iCloud download from the command line, which as far as I know doesn't currently exist.)

erazlogo · August 19, 2018

That will solve the problem, thank you!