Adding PDF via Store Copy of File instead attaches PDF to unrelated record

jacqmill · June 7, 2022

I'm trying to add a new record (a report in PDF format) to a sub-folder in my library using Store Copy of File. As I watch Zotero work, it initially adds the PDF (the title appears in the library). Then that title disappears and it jumps to an unrelated record (a journal article) and replaces the PDF attached to that article with the one I'm trying to import. The unrelated record is from a different folder altogether. In its original folder, it still has the correct PDF. In the new folder, where it doesn't belong, it has the new PDF. This has never happened before, and it's happening every time I retry. I've tried closing and reopening Zotero. I have the latest version. If it needs a restore to an earlier version, I would have no idea which version because I can't tell when the database became corrupted (if that's the problem). Or is this just a new bug? Or is it malfunctioning because my library is too large/has too many PDFs?

adamsmith · June 7, 2022

You're positive it's actually replacing the attachment of an existing item and not just recognizing the wrong metadata for the new PDF your adding -- in which case it would create a new journal article entry and add the PDF to that. You can check the date added for the journal article -- if it's today, than this latter scenario is happening, which is a bit annoying but not a serious issue: sometimes Zotero just gets the metadata wrong.

jacqmill · June 7, 2022

Ah ha, you're right! It found a footnote with that article and assumed that was the metadata for the report. It happened to be an article I already had in my library elsewhere. I'll reenter all the metadata. Good sleuthing, thank you so much! I was afraid the database was corrupted.