Prevent pdf duplicates in Zotero storage

wattenc

Hi,

I have a fairly specific problem I hoped I could get some help with. Is there a way to stop Zotero from copying pdfs to the Zotero/storage subfolders when using the "Add Attachment" > "Attach Stored Copy of File..." feature? I don't want to have two copies of the same pdf taking up space on my computer. Sometimes I can prevent Zotero from making the duplicate and other times not. I have no idea what the difference is. I understand that this is probably how Zotero syncs files, but I don't use the sync functionality.

Thank you for your help!
Cassi

dstillman

Read through Adding Items to Zotero to make sure you're clear on the recommended workflow for adding items, and see Stored Files and Linked Files to understanding the two main ways files work.

You mostly won't want to add files directly, but when you do, you would normally delete the original after adding it to Zotero. Files in Zotero can be accessed through Zotero, using its search and organization functions. (Some alternatives are explained on the second linked page, but they still involve accessing the stored file in the Zotero data directory, not the original source file.)

If you really want to store files elsewhere on your computer as linked files, you would generally use the ZotFile plugin to copy them to a particular folder, not keep them in the original location (which in most cases would be a temporary download folder anyway).