automatic PDF renaming after parents metadata

GweltazACAFAY
Hi Everybody !

First of all I must say I love using Zotero !

But there's a function which I always have to manually use and which english name probably is Rename PDF file after the parents Metadata.

I would like to know wether it could be possible to define an atomation for this (just as it is possible to set the settings so as to make it automatic to import files metadata upon online pdf download-as-a-zotero-file)

This function is peculiarly usefull to transfer all articles from a collection on a usb key to read it from a tablet.

And I am pretty sure that this function should also please Kindle users :)

Thanks for the attention you pay to this idea :)

TZ
  • adamsmith
    PDFs are automatically renamed during import via translator (URL bar icon). Note the file-name in the right-hand panel, not to be confused with the label shown in the center.

    But if you're interested in using PDFs on a table, you should check out Zotfile anyway:
    http://www.jlegewie.com/zotfile.html
    which also has more advanced renaming functionality.
  • GweltazACAFAY
    Thank you for answering quickly :) .

    But what I meant was to rename the file as you said : "the label in the center" which essentially IS the physical name of the PDF file on the hard drive.

    For the moment I manually do "rename the pdf file after parents metadata" because I like to read the pdf with adobe and because zotero no longer open them in Mozilla successfully.

    Thank you for your Zotfile advice :) but I'm affraid my tablet is to old for zotfile because I tried to install Zotfile as well as other softs for android tablets on it but could not manage to run the sofs
  • adamsmith
    But what I meant was to rename the file as you said : "the label in the center" which essentially IS the physical name of the PDF file on the hard drive.
    no it's not. Look at the file on the harddisk ("Show File").
    Thank you for your Zotfile advice :) but I'm affraid my tablet is to old for zotfile because I tried to install Zotfile as well as other softs for android tablets on it but could not manage to run the sofs
    you're misunderstanding Zotfile. It's an app for Zotero on your PC/Mac. It runs on every computer that runs current Zotero.
  • GweltazACAFAY
    ok my bad !

    I didn't know that.

    What I don't get then is why do I still have pdf files with incoherent name such as 20039.... but I only have some of them... Nevermind.

    Thanks a lot for your answers.
  • joshwhitkin
    +1 . I wish there was a checkbox in settings that had this function run automatically.
  • adamsmith
    see above. This _is_ run automatically. If you don't like the way it runs, use Zotfile.
  • joshwhitkin
    Perhaps you don't understand what I mean. Here's exact steps to reproduce what I experience (using Firefox 23.0 and Zotero 4.0.10 Firefox plugin in Win 8):

    1) search google scholar for an article with a PDF link (e.g. first hit at http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=automatic+emotional+speech+recognition+&btnG=&hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C38)

    2) click "import into endnote" to generate a new zotero item, with no PDF. e.g. item title: "Automatic emotional speech classification" author: Ververidis et al date: 2004.

    3) click the [PDF] link in Google scholar, to the right of the cite, to download a freely available pdf file.

    4) open firefox's download window. Note unfriendly PDF filename (eg Ververidis_ICASSP_2004.pdf)

    5) drag PDF into Zotero window and onto the item. PDF is attached to item, but filename does not match item. (If uncertain, right-click on PDF and choose "Show File" to confirm that the filename on the hard disk is the same as shown in Zotero)

    6) right-click PDF and choose "rename from parent metadata". Note PDF filename changes to desired name: "Ververidis et al - 2004 - Automatic emotional speech classification.pdf"

    What I want is for step 6 to happen automatically.

    cheers,
    -Josh
  • adamsmith
    what you should do is

    1) search google scholar for an article with a PDF link (e.g. first hit at http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=automatic+emotional+speech+recognition+&btnG=&hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C38)

    2) Click on the yellow folder icon in the URL bar

    3) select all articles you want to import to Zotero

    4) click OK and watch as all articles import into Zotero, including linked PDFs as far as they're available.

    Indeed, Zotero doesn't automatically rename items you attach manually, if you do want that, as I say, use Zotfile.
  • joshwhitkin
    I'll re-examine Zotfile, but i seem to recall it doesn't really work for this feature request.

    I re-examined the file folder in the URL bar and it does not address this feature request. The yellow folder requires me to re-identify the article I'm after, which isn't trivial when so many articles have similar names and I can't see the author or date names. presenting WAY too many downloadable things, most of which aren't the PDF related to the article. That solution increase the users' cognitive load by making the user decide something for each item.

    The feature I'm after reduces the user's cognitive load by automating a common step that does not require human decision.
  • adamsmith
    Zotfile really does what you want.
  • adamsmith
    (and the yellow folder just lists all articles on the page in the order in which they appear, so it's typically very easy to find what you want).
  • Gracile
    In ZotFile Prefs ("Advanced Settings"), make sure that "Automatically rename new attachments" is not set to "Never". Note that if it's set to "Always ask (non-disruptive)" or "Only ask if item has other atts", you'll have to click on the window that appears in the bottom right corner each time you manually add an attachment.
  • cherrysinghal
    Pdfs are not being automatically renamed when downloaded using the URL bar icon. I have to manually rename each downloaded pdf by right-clicking on it and choosing "rename file using parent metadata". I am using Zotero standalone version 4.0.19. Please help.
  • adamsmith
    you're likely looking in the wrong place - the label of the PDF in the center panel is _not_ its filename. The filename is displayed in bold in the right-hand panel when you select the PDF.
  • cherrysinghal
    Ah... I get it. So the filename is displayed in the right hand panel, as well as the data directory stores the file by that same name. It is only in the center panel that pdf name is not same as the one in the right hand panel. Thank you Adam.
  • cherrysinghal
    I have another question regarding using Zotfile. Zotfile allows you to store pdfs in a custom folder location specified by the user instead of using the Zotero directory. It also allows you to create subfolders in your custom folder location and you can tell Zotfile how to name these subfolders. My question is that is there a way I can create subfolders based on the Zotero collections? So if I have two collections A and B in Zotero, then Zotfile creates two subfolders named A and B in my custom folder, and the pdfs are moved to these two subfolders depending on where they belong. Thanks!
  • adamsmith
    My question is that is there a way I can create subfolders based on the Zotero collections?
    no. The same item can be in multiple Zotero collections and there would not be a reasonable way to handle that in a regular folder structure.
  • cherrysinghal
    Thank you!
Sign In or Register to comment.