Move, not copy, items between collections

MattM
I would like to move items between collections by dragging/dropping. Currently, items are always copied and I have to manually remove the copy in the original folder.

This feature has been requested repeatedly since a long, long time and it appears very fundamental to me, so I wondered when it will be implemented.

Also, regarding the default state, I would suggest to use a similar behaviour as in Windows: When dragging an item on a collection that is on the same hierarchy level as the original collection, it should be moved by default (press some key to copy instead). If the hierarchy level is different, it should be copied (press some key to move instead).

I often create mutually exclusive folders like unread/read and it would be nice and intuitive to be able to simply move items from one to the other.

Cheers,
Matt
«13
  • ajlyon
    The default metaphor in Zotero is "collection" -- and an item can be a member of many collections.

    You may be better off using tags and saved searches for the unread/read classification.
  • adamsmith
    there should still be a key-shortcut to move instead of copy, though. I think the default is just fine (because this isn't modeled after Windows/File folders), but it should still be possible to move something from one collection to another in one step...
  • turner-es
    +1

    Allowing users the option to move (not copy) references from one collection to another would significantly improve my ability to organize references quickly in Zotero.
  • pprevos
    The option to move would be nice. maybe right click and "Move to collection" option. Alternatively a tab "collections" next to "related" could do this.
  • Jeffrey Levine
    OK... I'm a new user, and of course I'm impatient to learn how to use this wonderful new resource, and feel that everything should be as intuitive as possible!

    I found this discussion because dragging a citation from one folder to the other is NOT intuitive. As already noted by other commenters, Drag-and-Drop should have the function of Move, not Copy. I was frustrated with this, and thought it would be correctable with the proper setting. Apparently not.

    I've found it's very easy to accidentally add items to the wrong collection. Zotero should make it just as easy to move them into the proper collection after the fact... as the DEFAULT action of Drag and Drop.

    BTW... If there is another way to move items from one collection to another, I haven't found it yet. It's not available by right click, which would also be intuitive, e.g. Right-Click, Move To Collection, ______.

    So I'll add my voice for these two features.
  • mronkko
    There is no way to add an item to one collection and remove it from another with a single action.

    I agree that the way drag and drop and collections work can be unintuitive for a new user. The problem is that "copy" and "move" are not the right way to think about collections, like explained above.

    It is fairly simple idea that dropping an item to a collection adds that item to the collection ("Copy"). "Move" would mean that once dropped to a collection the item would need to be removed from some other collection or collections. This quickly gets complicated particularly if you are working with group libraries.

    Consider the following use cases:

    1) An item X belongs to collections A and B. You select the "My Library", but do not choose a collection there and then drag the item X to collection C. Should the item be removed from collection A, B, none, or both?

    2) You drag an item from one library to another. Should it be removed from the original library?

    3) You have the "recursive collections" enabled which means that an item is showed if you have chosen any of the collections that it belongs to or any parent collection of these collections. So lets say that you have collection A selected and item X belongs to this collection and also child collection A1. If you drag item X to collection B, would it be removed from collection A, A1 or both? What if you did not use recursive collections?


    The current way it works "Dragging an item to a collection adds it to that collection" is quite easy, but it is not clear where it should be removed (if it should be removed at all).

    Also, If you have a group library with several people having their own collection trees, how would you prevent accidental item removals from some other persons collection?


    Another issue is that if you by default remove an item from some other collection when you drag it on another, new users could easily think that collections work like folders on Windows so that one item can belong to one folder, which is not the case.



    That being said, I personally would like to have a feature where pressing Alt and dragging an item would remove it from the currently selected collection (but not the child collections). I use Zotero to track my own publications with collections "In review", "forthcoming", and "published". Because these collections are mutually exclusive, "moving" items between these collections would make sense.

    Also, the user interface could do a better job of pointing out that the collections do not work in the same way as Windows folders. But I do not have any suggestions on how this could be done.
  • adamsmith
    That being said, I personally would like to have a feature where pressing Alt and dragging an item would remove it from the currently selected collection (but not the child collections)
    big +1 from me. (again)

    Also, the user interface could do a better job of pointing out that the collections do not work in the same way as Windows folders.
    Two suggestions: One is tooltips - use a + for "copy" and a - for "move" (for lack of better terms), the other one is to use the startup help baloons that Simon has been implementing.
  • mronkko
    From the user interface perspective, alt drag would not actually work that well because alt drag on OS X will turn the cursor into "copy drag" mode. (Trying alt drag in Zotero on OS X is probably the best way to understand what I mean)
  • dstillman
    mronkko: The default would be to show the +, and on OS X Cmd would change it to a move, as it does in the Finder between volumes (where copy is the default). Option would have no effect.
  • mronkko
    Dan Stillman: It would make sense if the + ("copy drag") would be shown by default when dragging an item over a collection. Cmd could make it a "move drag" instead.

    I posted about it here http://forums.zotero.org/discussion/19556/papercuts/#Item_25
  • Jeffrey Levine
    Thanks to mronkko for helpful explanation.

    As a tangential aside... Zotero is so cool!! I'm now ESPECIALLY glad to have moved back to Firefox after a brief foray with Chrome. Initially, I was dismayed with the loss of speed, but then installed Pale Moon implementation of FF. I recommend it.... at least for Windows 7 users.
  • adamsmith
    (note that Zotero also works well as a standalone with a connector for Chrome - so if you do prefer Chrome [I don't], Zotero won't keep you from using it)
  • grubs
    The mouse cursor should consistently display the [+] modifier for all the copy operations for clarity to the user.

    Currently you see the [+] if you hold ctrl and drag, but no indicator if you don't, but the result is the same copy operation.

    Consistency is key.

    I firmly believe that there *is* a logical rationale for the equivalent of a move operation (see below) Even if the default was alway to copy as it is now.. and you could hold down "ctl" or "alt" to get a move operation where it is logical to do so.

    Regarding mronkko's post above the answer is that when dragging from a recursive display then of course logically no there should be no "move", but if you are dragging from one collection to another, or from a parent collection to subcollection then you should be able to hold down a key to get a move that deletes the original.

    e.g. when a collection gets so big that you create subcollections for finer granularity copying. In this case you are going to want to move items rather than copy them from the parent collection to the various subcollections most of the time. Copying every item then deleting the parent is tedious.
  • dstillman
    The mouse cursor should consistently display the [+] modifier for all the copy operations for clarity to the user.
    Already done.
    I firmly believe that there *is* a logical rationale for the equivalent of a move operation
    No one is disputing that. It's just that no one has gotten around to implementing modifier key drag.
  • dstillman
    As for recursive collections, I think this would just ignore that setting altogether. If the item isn't actually a member of the source collection, the modifier key has no effect, the cursor stays a +, and it's a copy. The alternative would be removing from all child collections if that setting was on, and I don't think we want to do that.
  • grubs
    "closing a five-year-old ticket" - nice one Dan. ta.
  • DannyD
    +1

    I don't have strong feelings about how it is implemented, but I would like to see the implementation of this feature prioritized.

    Thanks to all of you who are working to improve this extremely helpful software.
  • charlespetersen
    +1

    Was this ever implemented?
  • adamsmith
    no, not yet
  • romanraspopov
    When? One more year is gone... And the problem is still not resolved, while so many people are begging for it! How come?
  • adamsmith
    no particular reason - no one has done it yet and there are lots of features that some people really want. I'm sure patches are welcome.
  • charlespetersen
    Too bad -- this would be a huge help for me. I have some pretty serious RSI and the amount of clicking necessary to keep a Zotero library in order is really killing my hands. Understand that there are more pressing issues, but this seems like it would be pretty simple to implement, and it would make a bid difference for me.

    More generally, is there a thread about RSI issues with Zotero? It seems like something that could be given more thought.
  • adamsmith
    there is no specific thread, no. But you likely underestimate how much you can do in Zotero with the keyboard (e.g. remove an item from a collection by pressing delete). Also, you may currently be better of using tags rather than collections for keyboard-based ergonomics.
    More keyboard-accessible collections are planned: http://forums.zotero.org/discussion/27414/suggestion-handle-collections-like-tags/#Item_7
  • rbernstein
    Also dying to be able to move not copy!
  • oce
    +1! somehow I would like to reorganize the whole library the default copy mess up my reorganization.
  • nilo.regni
    Hi Guys,

    I also would be very happy about moving between my libraries :)

    +1
  • Andci
    +1
  • max1836
    edited May 31, 2013
    Ok here is how it works in MS windows....

    ---------------
    Moving files between two directories on same drive

    (1) Select with right mouse and hold down
    (2) Drag to new directory, release mouse to drop

    File is moved

    ------------

    Copying files to another directory
    (1) Select with right mouse and hold down
    (2) "Cntrl" on keyboard
    (3) Drag to new directory, release mouse to drop

    You get a copy

    ---------------------
    Copying file to a different drive

    (1) Select with right mouse and hold down
    (2) Drag to new directory, release mouse to drop

    ---------------------
    Moving file to a different drive
    (1) Select with right mouse and RELEASE
    (2) Left click mouse over selected file
    (3) Drag to new drive folder, release mouse to drop

    Now you get a popup that asks if you want to move or copy.
    Suggested mouse Action to Move Item to a new Collection

    (1) Select item with right mouse and RELEASE
    (2) left click mouse over selected item
    (3) Drag to new collection, release mouse to drop

    skip popup menu.
    LOL - Cut my teeth on DOS 2.1

    -----

    Edited 5/31. No as smart as I thought. Moving to another drive uses right then left mouse buttons. :-(
  • ln108
    edited May 30, 2013
    +1

    I don't like software that works differently from other software, so as to force the user to learn new habits. OK, if there is a good reason, but I don't see it here. A single step Move operation is pretty basic.
  • adamsmith
    again, Zotero collections work like itunes playlists or gmail categories. They just don't work like one very specific software.
This discussion has been closed.