Upgrade StorageWhy can't I delete some pdfs (and some refs) in a group library?
I have a group library shared with some colleagues (I am not the owner of this library but have the right to see/edit).
We have some duplicate pdfs in some references, and also some duplicate references. I am trying to clean this (we are at the start of this shared library; we imported most of the items in it from a previous Mendeley library, and we have the problem of having a lot of duplicate if not triplicate pdfs in each reference item).
However, there are some pdfs that I don't manage to delete / put in trash. Similarly, I do not manage to delete some of the references (I try to delete the whole reference when it is duplicated). This does not work, either under zotero tool or from the web library.
Can you help please?
best,
Nathalie
We have some duplicate pdfs in some references, and also some duplicate references. I am trying to clean this (we are at the start of this shared library; we imported most of the items in it from a previous Mendeley library, and we have the problem of having a lot of duplicate if not triplicate pdfs in each reference item).
However, there are some pdfs that I don't manage to delete / put in trash. Similarly, I do not manage to delete some of the references (I try to delete the whole reference when it is duplicated). This does not work, either under zotero tool or from the web library.
Can you help please?
best,
Nathalie
To move something to the trash in Zotero, you just select it and press the Delete key on your keyboard.
To move something to the trash in the web library, you select it and click the Trash icon in the toolbar.
To move items to the trash, you need editing permissions, and to move attachments to the trash, you need file editing permissions. In one of the groups you're a member of, both library editing and file editing are restricted to admins.
- That said, you are right, i was not admin (my status has now been changed by the owner of the list, which should help me managing the shared library). However, I want to mention that contrary to what you say, I managed to edit the refs and the files of the shared library even if I was not admin... I can see this because I have unfortunately put some mess in the shared library through my tries at removing some duplicate pdfs (I did these tries under Zotero and then under the web library, when I was not admin of the list).
This notwithstanding, it should be OK now thanks to your recommendation about the admin status. Thank you very much for your very clear explanations on all this.
- I have a further question if I may, because here is what I would like to be able to do ultimately: Is there a way to remove all the data related to shared library locally (on my disk), or all the pdfs/attachments, in order then to re-create this cleanly on my computer?
The reason why I am asking this is the following: We have a shared library that needs being tydied up (we have some duplicate ref and a lot of duplicate/triplicate pdfs within most ref items); the owner of the list is doing this from her Zotero tool; I want to participate in this cleaning through the web library interface. Then, I want to restart from clean my zotero on my computer, to ensure i don't eat up disk space unnecessarly. However, it seems that it is impossible to uninstall or clean the Zotero database cleanly on my computer so as to reupload it from the web library... Can you tell me if this is possible and how?
I thank you very much for your help,
best,
nathalie
While you can use the context menu if you want to, the Delete key definitely works. To be clear, on a PC keyboard Backspace and Delete are not the same, and you need the latter. On some laptop keyboards, an actual Delete might require a modifier key. That's not what I said. I said one of your groups is set not to allow that. The others are. But if you were trying to drag to the trash, this has nothing to do with permissions. I'm not really clear your question. If you want to wipe out all your local data — from all your libraries — you can always just unlink your account from the Sync pane of the preferences, tell it to delete your local data, and then set up syncing again, and then resync all your data. But there's no need to do that unless there are local changes that you're trying to avoid syncing. Otherwise, if you're already fully in sync, any changes made remotely will just be applied to your local Zotero. Why? If you're doing any sort of significant work, you want to be using Zotero, not the web library. I'm not clear on what this has to do with disk space.
to clarify my question: yes, I want to wipe out my local data. I did what you said, that is, I unconnected my account from the Sync pane of the preferences, but I did not find how to tell Zotero to delete my local data at this occasion. Is this feasible from the zotero synchronisation preferences interface?
(What I tried was to locate my local data on my computer disk and delete it myself but then got error messages when I set up syncing again, warning that my local database must have been moved and I should locate it again).
The reason I want to do the cleaning through the web library interface is because I would like to clean the database before installing (and syncing) zotero on a computer I have, which has very limited disk space.
This has to do with disk space because at present, there are many duplicate pdfs within most of the references of the shared library in question. Hence, if I install zotero and sync everything now, my disk space will be rapidly full. If I first clean the library (using the web library, before connecting and syncing my zotero to this shared library), things should go better with regard to my computer disk space.
best,
Nathalie
I am not syncing attached pdf; I only download them "as needed. I would like to be able to delete them again from my local Zotero storage (without deleting them from the shared library on the web). I tried to right-click on the pdf, but did not see any option that seem to enable the removing of the pdf file locally (my zotero is in French).
How can I remove downloaded pdf _locally_ (while keeping them on the remote, web library)?