Nothing happens when renaming files from parent metadata

This discussion was created from comments split from: Cannot rename files from parent metadata.
  • Hi there,

    I just downloaded version 5.0.85 on a Mac a few days ago.

    Initially it was working fine, but now I am having the same problem. When I click on 'Rename file from parent metadata', nothing happens. I have downloaded papers from a couple of different sources to check that it isn't a problem with the file, and it doesn't seem to be..

    Any help would be greatly appreciated!

  • edited April 20, 2020
    @ajmather: Do you see a PDF icon in the Zotero toolbar, next to the sync button? If you restart Zotero and try again with a different PDF, does that work?

    There's currently an issue where certain PDFs can freeze the recognition process, requiring a restart. We should have that fixed shortly.
  • Hi there, thanks for the prompt reply!

    I can't see a PDF logo but I vaguely remember there may have been one there earlier today when I was mucking around with it? I have restarted Zotero and the whole computer and there is still no change if I try to obtain the PDF by right clicking and pressing 'add attachment' --> 'add stored copy of file'.

    However, if I drag and drop the PDF into Zotero it now seems to work!

    I'm happy to continue doing this, although I assume normally it would work the other way as well?

    Cheers
  • edited April 20, 2020
    Oh, sorry, disregard what I wrote above — we're working on another issue related to Retrieve Metadata for PDF, but that's not what you're actually using.

    I'm not quite sure I understand the problem you're reporting, though. What does this have to do with "Add Stored Copy of File"? Using that or dragging a PDF should be totally equivalent.

    If you can reproduce the problem with "Rename File from Parent Metadata", we'd want to see a Debug ID for that.
  • Hi there,

    That was my understanding - that dragging and dropping a file, and the function 'add a stored copy of the file' should be equivalent. Dragging and dropping works but the latter doesn't for me.

    Here is the debug ID: D757409906

    This is the first time I've posted so hopefully I've done this right..
  • I'm a bit confused as to what you're reporting here. Best as I can tell, you have a PDF that's a child of a completely empty item without any metadata. When that's the case, Zotero renames the file _.pdf, and that's what's happening here.

    Is it possible that you're actually confusing Rename File from Parent Metadata and Retrieve Metadata for PDF?

    If not, could you explain, step by step, exactly what you're doing, what's happening, and what you're expecting to happen?
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