Newbie questions

OldSlippers

Hello, newbie here. To avoid having to use ($) Zotero storage and to maintain a clear and easily accessible folder of PDF’s in my iCloud, I thought it better to link to all my PDF files.

Am I understanding it correctly I cannot access these files via Zotero on an ipad?

How do I relink files if ever I move them into different (sub) folders?

When I add a book which consists of multiple chapter PDF's, am I doing this right: the parent is the book info and metadata and the chapters are called (linked) “attachments" (not book sections) that appear underneath the dropdown arrow. How can I reorder these attachments (to be in the correct chapter order)?

I could use the Zotero storage but don’t like that it is hard to access the files outside of Zotero (they’re stored in folders with weird names and can only be found via search), making files almost locked to be used in Zotero only.

I have a large library of PDF’s that needs organising. All I want is a database for all my PDF files, accessible from all devices, synced, etc. Mac’s finder is very limited and I can’t find much except via search.

Thanks for any help!

dstillman

How can I reorder these attachments (to be in the correct chapter order)?

Attachments are ordered by the attachment title, which you can change by right-clicking on the name in the right-hand pane.

I could use the Zotero storage but don’t like that it is hard to access the files outside of Zotero (they’re stored in folders with weird names and can only be found via search), making files almost locked to be used in Zotero only.

This isn't the case at all. They're accessible via Spotlight, which is usually the fastest way to find anything. If you really want a flat list, you can create a saved search in Finder that shows all PDFs within the data directory.

Of course, searching within Zotero will generally give you much more control, since it can use full metadata, tags, collections, etc. You can drag files straight from Zotero to other programs (e.g., email) or, for cases where that doesn't work, right-click on the file and choose Show File to reveal the file in Finder.

Zotero's beta iOS app lets you view and annotate synced stored files.

OldSlippers

Thank you so much, really appreciate the quick help. Attachments seem ordered by added date, not by title though. Had to re-attach linked files in the right sequence to get them in the right order.

Noticed lots of empty folders in the Zotero folder on my computer, why is that?

Good idea on the saved search in finder. Still a bit scared to move fully to a stored library although I can see the benefits in ease of use. Have set up zotfile to iCloud for now. Thanks, loving my new tool!

dstillman

Attachments seem ordered by added date, not by title though.

They're ordered by title by default. They would be ordered by date if you changed extensions.zotero.sortAttachmentsChronologically to true in the Config Editor in the Advanced pane of the preferences. If you think you're seeing something unexpected, take a screenshot, upload it somewhere (e.g., Dropbox or Google Drive), and post a link here.

Noticed lots of empty folders in the Zotero folder on my computer, why is that?

They're not empty — they contain metadata files that are hidden by default in Finder.

OldSlippers

Thanks, will dig up a screen shot for you.
Good to know about the empty folders, I was tempted to delete them!