Upgrade StorageOrganizing PDFs/Files
I've been trying to find organization software which would help me organize the unruly stack of papers I have lining my desk.
One feature I want is the ability to manage electronic copies (e.g. PDFs) of papers stored on my Hard Drive. (Sounded like a very good idea when I read about it in Nature [http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080430/full/453012b.html]) Although Zotero wasn't mentioned as an option in the article, it appears that Zotero has the ability to associate files with the bibliographic records, but unfortunately the documentation is largely silent on the details.
I've read all the documentation, but I still don't have enough understanding of how Zotero manages files in order to formulate reasonable questions. Some initial thoughts: Where does Zotero keep the attached pdfs? Can I change that location? Can I open the pdfs in that folder without going through Zotero? How are those files named (is it some internal gibberish/id numbering scheme)? Can I rename them? Can I move them? If the pdf moves, does Zotero have a way of keeping track of it? Can I store the attached pdfs on removable media (e.g. CDs), or will Zotero get confused? If I have a folder of pdfs already, how do I go adding them to references? Can I tell Zotero to download and associate a pdf from the web in one step, or do I have to download-then-associate? If I have multiple copies of my Zotero library on different computers, do my pdfs get synced when I sync my references? What if I don't want to copy my multi-MB pdf library when syncing? If I don't copy my pdfs when syncing one time, will trying to sync-with-copy later break the associations? How do I backup my pdf/reference associations? Does that require copying my multi-MB pdf library? Can I export my reference/pdf linkages? Is there any program besides Zotero which I will be able to import this into?
I'd like to avoid spending a large amount of time entering in my papers, only to find out that the effort is wasted because Zotero doesn't meet my needs.
One feature I want is the ability to manage electronic copies (e.g. PDFs) of papers stored on my Hard Drive. (Sounded like a very good idea when I read about it in Nature [http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080430/full/453012b.html]) Although Zotero wasn't mentioned as an option in the article, it appears that Zotero has the ability to associate files with the bibliographic records, but unfortunately the documentation is largely silent on the details.
I've read all the documentation, but I still don't have enough understanding of how Zotero manages files in order to formulate reasonable questions. Some initial thoughts: Where does Zotero keep the attached pdfs? Can I change that location? Can I open the pdfs in that folder without going through Zotero? How are those files named (is it some internal gibberish/id numbering scheme)? Can I rename them? Can I move them? If the pdf moves, does Zotero have a way of keeping track of it? Can I store the attached pdfs on removable media (e.g. CDs), or will Zotero get confused? If I have a folder of pdfs already, how do I go adding them to references? Can I tell Zotero to download and associate a pdf from the web in one step, or do I have to download-then-associate? If I have multiple copies of my Zotero library on different computers, do my pdfs get synced when I sync my references? What if I don't want to copy my multi-MB pdf library when syncing? If I don't copy my pdfs when syncing one time, will trying to sync-with-copy later break the associations? How do I backup my pdf/reference associations? Does that require copying my multi-MB pdf library? Can I export my reference/pdf linkages? Is there any program besides Zotero which I will be able to import this into?
I'd like to avoid spending a large amount of time entering in my papers, only to find out that the effort is wasted because Zotero doesn't meet my needs.
http://forums.zotero.org/discussion/2160/
for attachment renaming.Somewhat possible, but can be tedious.You can store your entire zotero library on a USB stick or an external hard drive. CDs might not be very comfortable to work with if you add PDFs.With elbowgrease.Zotero is often able to download a PDF when you add a reference to your library. If you find that it doesn't do this for your site, it will be the two-step process.Syncing is still in beta.They'll be backed up if you regularly backup your storage directory. Some export formats give you the option to additionally export attachments.You can exclude PDFs, but then they wouldn't be backed up/exported.Currently, files are only exported when you use the Zotero-specific RDF (I don't know of other programs that use it, but it is a straight-forward format). You can export the citation information in a variety of standard formats, though.So spend a small amount of time entering a subset of papers & see if it suits you!
If Zotero *does* want to become a document manager, it would need to have a better support for inport/export/management of pdfs. My thoughts are certainly along the same lines of Brent in the discussion you linked.
That said, I am looking for a bibliographic information manager too, and Zotero looks pretty good in that regard. Reading the forums, however, I'm concerned about the lack of duplicate detection. - One of the main reasons I want need a bibliographic information manager is to be able to tell me if a paper is new to me, or if I have read it before. Oh, well.
Import of PDFs is as simple as dragging them into Zotero. If you are importing a RIS file with references containing file links, those files will be attached. The same will be true for BibTeX in 1.0.7. Export of PDFs is as simple as dragging them out of Zotero. Management involves dragging them around. Not sure how much easier it could be.
Duplicate detection is under active development right now. It's a sticky problem when done correctly, but we're very close to offering something.
My BibTeX files have a field like
PDF= {/Users/rav/Documents/PDF/Wang_2006.pdf},
but zotero does not copy the file or import the link.
I would like to try the RIS format but I don't know what should be the keyword that Zotero would understand as a PDF.
Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.
I don't really like how PDF support is currently implemented for BibTeX, though--'pdf=' isn't commonly used by other programs & Zotero should be able to intelligently parse the more common 'file=' and 'url='. Furthermore, the current URI scheme is dumb--it only works for 'file://' URIs (when 'http://' and 'https://' probably aren't uncommon) and assumes that it is written in a particular way (i.e. with no URI prefix, but an otherwise global link to the file which will work if one just add the URI prefix).
As far as I can tell, the RIS translator doesn't yet import PDFs. I could be missing something, though.
https://www.zotero.org/trac/ticket/1065
yes, I just tried that again and still Zotero would not import the PDFs.
v.1.0.7
Mac OS X Leopard
Firefox 3 (doesn't work in 2.0.* either)
Why is this working for other people an not for me? I am modifying the PDF links in the BibText file with a perl script. I could re-format them in whatever zotero would understand.
Still doesn't import PDFs.