Remove Safari Connector?

OldSlippers

Hi, is it possible to remove the Safari connector, without removing Zotero completely?
As I only use linked files I don't need it and it takes up memory. But when I try to uninstall the connector it tells me I need to uninstall Zotero, which obviously I don't want to do... Thanks!

dstillman

1) I'm not sure why you think using linked files would mean you wouldn't need the Zotero Connector. The Zotero Connector is a core part of Zotero — it's the main way you add things to Zotero with high-quality metadata. Even if you're using linked files, you would generally use the ZotFile plugin to automate the conversion from stored files to linked files, while still getting the benefits of saving items and files with the Connector. If you didn't want to use a third-party plugin, we would still always recommend saving items using the Connector — with the setting in the Zotero app to save files disabled — and then manually linking downloaded files to those items via Add Attachment → "Attach Link to File…".

2) All Safari extensions these days have to be bundled with apps and can't be installed or removed separately. But they don't take up memory if they're not enabled, so if you really didn't want to ever use the Connector, you would just disable it from the Extensions pane of the Safari preferences. But, again, I'm not sure why you would ever want to do that.

OldSlippers

aha, maybe I've been doing this all wrong LOL. Thank you. I am going to double check whether my settings are ok. I was under the impression that when I use the connector I don't get a linked file and usually just download the file and then drag it from my finder (Mac) to Zotero (holding command+option).
If the connector does work I'd still have to move it to a sub-folder etc, so I suppose I'll have to figure this out.
Thanks so much.

dstillman

I was under the impression that when I use the connector I don't get a linked file

You don't by default, but as I say, ZotFile can automate the conversion to linked files in a folder of your choosing. You don't have to do this manually.

And even if you didn't want to use that, you could still save items with the Connector even if you downloaded and manually linked the files.

OldSlippers

Thanks. I do use zotfile and I just double checked, indeed, most of the time it creates a linked file (not always though) but I do need to move the files to various sub folders (depending on what it is) so would have to re-locate the file anyway. I suppose I find it easier to just drag and drop from Finder....

dstillman

You can configure subfolder placement in ZotFile. I assure you you don't need to do this manually.

And even if you were not using ZotFile, as I say, you would still use the Connector to save the parent items.

OldSlippers

I suppose you can do it automatically but I order my files in various sub folders so it not always the same sub folder. So I have to do it manually. This way I can keep an orderly folder and will be able to find things even without Zotero. So I manually move it anyway. Then I'd have to re-locate the file if it's already in Zotero. I think it easier to drop the file into Zotero, from the right location, it automatically (often) finds the parent items. Can't see another way except indeed to use the connector and then re-locate.

dstillman

To be clear, ZotFile can use subfolders dynamically based on different parts of the parent item metadata.

In any case, just so I'm not talking into the void here, can you acknowledge what I've said many times, that even if you were committed to downloading and placing files manually, we would still recommend using the Zotero Connector to save the parent item — with file saving disabled — and then dragging the PDF to the new item in Zotero?

OldSlippers

Definitely not talking into the void here! Much appreciated!! I will start trying this way of doing things - using the connector.

Will also take a look how to use subfolder dynamically etc, thanks for the link! (edit: not understanding it so will leave that.)

Just for my own peace of mind - there's nothing wrong with doing it the other way - without the connector, and just dragging and dropping, is there?

dstillman

Beyond the general philosophical issue that saving items and files automatically with a single click and placing the files into a consistent structure based on known metadata is something your computer should do for you, if you only download and drag files you rely solely on PDF metadata retrieval. That should work pretty well for modern academic PDFs with DOIs in the first few pages, but:

1) Zotero can save from a vastly broader selection of sources (older publications, PDFs without DOIs, webpages, news/magazine stories, random webpages with embedded metadata, etc.).

2) The publisher's site may have more recent/correct info, and Zotero may correct or improve upon it.

3) You often/usually won't get abstracts from PDF metadata retrieval (because, until recently, they weren't submitted to Crossref, the most popular repository of such metadata).

Will also take a look how to use subfolder dynamically etc, thanks for the link! (edit: not understanding it so will leave that.)

It's "Use subfolder defined by" in the General Settings tab of the ZotFile preferences. You can use any of the variables from the linked documentation for the subfolder names.

OldSlippers

Ah, I see. So the connector would grab more info than dragging and dropping could.

It works nicely with sites like Jstor, but other places not so much.

Proquest, for example, lets you download (chapters of) books but via the connector you only get a snapshot from the site into Zotero. Fair enough, the metadata is much more extensie this way. When I drag and drop I would have to manually add data to the metadata. So when using the connector, I get an entry with metadata and a snapshot from the site, but no pdf. I suppose I could then 'add attachment' and 'add link to file' for the chapters I actually downloaded, and delete the snapshot, but it would be much quicker to just drag the downloaded files straight into Zotero.

Another example is Cambridge University Press online books: When I am on a book page, I can click the connector and a snapshot is created with nice metadata. When I then click a chapter to download, it opens in a new window (Safari) and I can then choose to download or click the connector. When I click the connector the file gets saved into Zotero and not as a linked file (don't know why, works fine via Jstor) and there is no parent item. Dragging and dropping (command+option) creates a linked file (although no parent file, which I would add via an ISBN or a DOI).

So I suppose ideally I use the connector to get the book metadata and then 'add a link to file' and add the downloaded pdf?

No doubt I am doing things wrong here and there.... and I really do appreciate the help and suggestions. I wrote these examples out to show what I am doing.

"It's "Use subfolder defined by" in the General Settings tab of the ZotFile preferences. You can use any of the variables from the linked documentation for the subfolder names."

I am sorry for being dumb, but I don't know how to do this. Can you actually define that if a file has a certain journal name in the metadata it would be saved/moved into a different folder than if it does not have that name? And can you do this for dozens of journal names? Even if so, it would not work for books etc. You'd need endless variables. At the moment Zotfile moves any downloads to my folder where I store all academic literature. I then move it into subfolders based on topic.


Sorry for the long post.