Upgrade Storagezotero functionality
I am looking at the different options to manage my existing document library. I understand there are different programs available in the market (sente, papers, zotero)
There are around 5000 documents in my library currently, most of them are pdfs, some of them are in .doc, some of them are .odt, html, and powerpoint files. They are just over 2Gb at this time. These documents are at this time organised in a structured folder fashion (with subfolders and sub-subfolders) The files are named in a manner that include author name, publication year, and a descriptive file name telling me what the document is about, and they will be filed under descriptive folder names:
e.g. Microbiology\Bacteriology\G +ive bacteria\Staph\staph aureus\Green GB et al 2009 MRSA epidemiology in Australia.pdf
I want to ask:
1. Can I import all these files into Zotero
2. How does Zotero store these documents after I imported these files into Zotero (i.e. whether it creates a virtual link to point to the documents, or whether it makes a duplication files under the Zotero folder, or whether it uploads all of them into the Zotero storage (which I presume I will have to pay for since I have 2Gb more files and growing)
3. And if Zotero makes a duplicate file in my hard drive after I have imported these documents into Zotero, will Zotero still allow me to keep the file names, or will Zotero rename the file names (in finders)
4. How will Zotero organise the file inside Finder - will I be able to keep them in the current folder structure, or will Zotero re-organise according to its internal logic (e.g. publication year, authors, doi etc)
5. If i save a file manually under inside the Finder folder structure, will Zotero recognise it automatically and get the doi etc or do i have to manually go through the dragging of file into the program?
6. Can my Zotero library sync between PC and a Mac
Thank you
Mark
There are around 5000 documents in my library currently, most of them are pdfs, some of them are in .doc, some of them are .odt, html, and powerpoint files. They are just over 2Gb at this time. These documents are at this time organised in a structured folder fashion (with subfolders and sub-subfolders) The files are named in a manner that include author name, publication year, and a descriptive file name telling me what the document is about, and they will be filed under descriptive folder names:
e.g. Microbiology\Bacteriology\G +ive bacteria\Staph\staph aureus\Green GB et al 2009 MRSA epidemiology in Australia.pdf
I want to ask:
1. Can I import all these files into Zotero
2. How does Zotero store these documents after I imported these files into Zotero (i.e. whether it creates a virtual link to point to the documents, or whether it makes a duplication files under the Zotero folder, or whether it uploads all of them into the Zotero storage (which I presume I will have to pay for since I have 2Gb more files and growing)
3. And if Zotero makes a duplicate file in my hard drive after I have imported these documents into Zotero, will Zotero still allow me to keep the file names, or will Zotero rename the file names (in finders)
4. How will Zotero organise the file inside Finder - will I be able to keep them in the current folder structure, or will Zotero re-organise according to its internal logic (e.g. publication year, authors, doi etc)
5. If i save a file manually under inside the Finder folder structure, will Zotero recognise it automatically and get the doi etc or do i have to manually go through the dragging of file into the program?
6. Can my Zotero library sync between PC and a Mac
Thank you
Mark
2. Zotero can attach the files as links or store them in Zotero. Creating the links may be a little more burdensome as you can't use drag&drop. Storing them internally is easier to do (you can use drag&drop), but creates duplicates of the files in the Zotero data folder, which has a rather oblique structure (see 4.).
The other downside of using links is that Zotero's automatic file download only works into Zotero storage (though the Zotfile plugin allows for some flexibility).
Finally, moving linked files between different computers usually breaks the link, as Zotero currently stores absolute file paths, whereas files stored within Zotero can be moved easily.
3. Regardless of what you do, filenames remain the same. Zotero has an option to manually rename files from metadata if you want to.
4. If you use links, Zotero doesn't touch the file structure. If you store the files in Zotero, it adopts its own file system which is essentially not human readable (each file is in a folder named by a random letter code).
5. no, Zotero doesn't watch folders
6. yes - though linked files don't sync, only files stored within Zotero.