Zotero Cloud with Cloud Storages (Google Drive, OneDrive etc.)

AlexanderSavenkov · May 28, 2020

Hello guys,

is it possible right now or maybe planned to allow Zotero cloud project documents to be stored outside of Zotero, say on OneDrive or Google Drive?

It's a bit worrisome that the documents get uploaded to Zotero servers and the only way to access them after that is through Zotero. One could of course retain a local copy (or a OneDrive copy for that matter) but that would add to the mess, not deduct from it.

Alexander

dstillman · May 28, 2020

is it possible right now or maybe planned to allow Zotero cloud project documents to be stored outside of Zotero, say on OneDrive or Google Drive?

Zotero stores its data in a database, which can't be safely stored in cloud storage. The same applies to any other database-backed program.

For attachments specifically, it's possible to use linked files instead of stored files and put them wherever you want, including in external cloud storage, but there are various downsides.

It's a bit worrisome that the documents get uploaded to Zotero servers and the only way to access them after that is through Zotero.

I think this is a misunderstanding. Zotero is a local-first program — all your data is stored locally on your computer. If you sync, it's simply uploading data that's already been saved locally.

Syncing or not, you should have a backup of your local Zotero data directory as part of a full backup of your computer.

AlexanderSavenkov · May 28, 2020

Thanks for replying so promptly.

I understand the nature of the database and the benefits it does to the user (full-text search etc.).

Linked files are wonderful for single-user scenario, but I need to figure out the best workflow for multiple people working on a paper. With group library, linked files are not possible according to the documentation you linked to. So I guess our only option would be to oblige everyone to use Zotero.

I can also imagine another workflow where a team has a library of documents stored, say, on Google Drive. One of the members could create a proper bibliography in Zotero from those documents and enrich them with metadata, another one could comment on PDFs, a third one could move files around the folders etc. - all of which could be automatically reflected in Zotero. That seems like a completely impossible scenario for now though.

All the best and thanks for the efforts with Zotero.