Duplicate and move an item from one group library to another one

phsoh
Hi, I would like to duplicate and move an item from one group library to the next group library. The reason being the group memberships are different and the same Pdf item can be a reference for different research projects.

I tried duplicating the item in one group library but couldn't move nor copy it to a different group library. The only way I found is to search and download the same item from our school library into the designated group library.

Is there a better way to do this in Zotero?

Thanks.
  • Matt Jans
    You should be able to move items across group libraries without first duplicating (I think). When you move items across libraries it creates a duplicate in the new library (the item in the "to" library is now a copy and no longer attached to the item in the "from" library). You can get trouble moving items into shared libraries if user roles and library settings aren't right (just had this last week). I forget the details of the solution, but I think it's in the forum as a post from jviana. Users have to be admin or owner, and the group has to be private (I think).
  • phsoh
    Hi, thanks for your comments, I didn't initially find a command 'move item' in Zotero client, but other forum discussions mentioned 'drag and drop'. So tried to drag and drop the item from one library to another and it worked. However, I also found that a second Zotero storage folder is created, keeping the same pdf file. So I have duplicates in my harddisk, is this necessary? Can Zotero not point to the same folder?

    A second issue is, I have files in `My library' stored in designated folders and files in `Group libraries' stored in Zotero's default location. I just don't like the duplicates and the separate folders, is there a way to change the setting of saving files from Group Libraries to the same designated folder?

    Thanks.
  • adamsmith
    So I have duplicates in my harddisk, is this necessary? Can Zotero not point to the same folder?
    no, not at this point.
    A second issue is, I have files in `My library' stored in designated folders and files in `Group libraries' stored in Zotero's default location.
    that's likely going to be possible in the future, but currently linking files doesn't work for groups, so no.
  • phsoh
    Thanks for your reply. Hope the future is not too distant.
  • adamsmith
    to be honest, absent a 3rd party developer taking this up and submitting a patch, chances are that it'll take a good amount of time.
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