Renaming pdf

Pointyhead
When I rename an attached pdf in Zotero, the name of the relevant pdf file (the actual file stored in the Firefox account folder) is not changed. I'm not sure if this is supposed to happen or not (perhaps this post should be under Features Request), but it is the single biggest issue that makes Zotero much more difficult for me to use. I have to manually find these files, open them, find out what they are, and assign meaningful names to them--downloads from JSTOR are typically named "0.pdf" etc.

But, not to seem ungrateful, this is a great tool! Thanks.

me: MacBook Intel Core Duo 10.4.8
  • dstillman
    There's not currently a way to change the filename itself through Zotero, though you can use the Show File button to reveal the file in the Finder and change it quickly that way. (Note, though, that this only works on Macs, and once Beta 3 comes out, it will only work with linked files, not imported ones—due to the way paths are stored on other operating systems, and with imported files on Macs in Beta 3 onwards, if you rename a file in the file system Zotero will no longer be able to find it.)

    The best option might be an iTunes-style preference to automatically keep attachments within the Zotero directory named based on the title. For linked files or people with the pref turned off, a right-click option to rename the file might make sense, as well as a dialog to relink an attachment to a missing file.
  • Pointyhead
    As far as I can tell, imported files have a (really long) View Snapshot button in place of the View File and Show File buttons for a linked file. A Show File button for imported files would actually be useful for this purpose.

    "The best option might be an iTunes-style preference to automatically keep attachments within the Zotero directory named based on the title."
    Yes, anything that gaves files a meaningful name would be good. Zotero could rename files on downloading them from JSTOR (I guess)?

    "For linked files [...] a right-click option to rename the file might make sense, as well as a dialog to relink an attachment to a missing file."
    I take it this means renaming the actual file (not the alias to the file in the Zotero window), necessitating re-linking it? This would be okay: my own process is going to be exporting the library from Zotero so I can import it into Bookends, then attaching the relevant files in Bookends. Thus broken links in Zotero wouldn't really matter since the Zotero library is temporary anyway.

    Of course, if I can get Bookends to import Zotero libraries maintaining attachments, that would be optimal.
  • dstillman
    If the View Snapshot button is going off the screen, that's a bug, though I'm not able to reproduce it on a Mac.

    The iTunes-style preference would rename the file as it was downloaded, as you suggested. I've created a ticket for this.

    To clarify, a context menu rename option would rename the underlying file as well as change the path in Zotero. The relink function I mentioned would only be necessary if the file was renamed in the filesystem and Zotero could no longer find it. I've created tickets for these features as well.
  • Pointyhead
    I didn't mean to imply that the View Snapshot button is going off the screen (or even that it looks different from what one might expect); just that in place of the two buttons available for linked files there is but one for imported files--i.e. there is just no Show File button for imported files, which would be handy.

    Thanks on the renaming issue: that would tremendously improve Zotero's ease of use.
  • turkeyphant
    To clarify, a context menu rename option would rename the underlying file as well as change the path in Zotero.

    Any news on when this context-menu snapshot rename is going to be implemented?
  • dstillman
    In Beta 3, when you click on the title of an attachment in the right pane to rename it, there's an option to rename the associated file as well. This is somewhat of a stopgap measure until we add the auto-renaming functionality, but it works.

    Note that it currently renames the file exactly as you specify, so if you drop the extension, you risk making the file unopenable outside of Firefox (on Windows and OS X, at least).
  • Andrew Moylan
    edited January 10, 2007
    I don't know about other people, but the way Zotero speeds my work when reviewing the literature is primarily by allowing me to browse a journal site (say, prl.aps.org), click whatever EndNote export feature the site offers (which Zotero catches automatically), click the PDF link for the article, and take a Zotero snapshot of said PDF. Then I manually rename the snapshot, since it's usually called something like 'GetPDFServlet'. If this renaming could be automated (say, to the title of the article, or the authors + title, or to a custom format), a significant amount of time would be saved.
  • turkeyphant
    In Beta 3, when you click on the title of an attachment in the right pane to rename it, there's an option to rename the associated file as well.

    Genius. I completely failed to notice the title of attachments let alone the fact you can click on it and edit it. Any chance of having Zotero remember your rename associate file preferences too?
  • dstillman
    Any chance of having Zotero remember your rename associate file preferences too?

    Sure.
  • dstillman
    edited March 29, 2007
    1.0 Beta 4, now available, features automatic, customizable renaming of attached PDFs. We'll be adding additional customization options for the file names in future versions.
  • Andrew Moylan
    Dan, I'm having trouble figuring out how the automatic renaming works. I can't find any option to "do" it to existing attachments; and when I attach a new file to an item (using "Store Copy of File ..."), there doesn't seem to be any option to rename the attachment. What am I missing?

    On a related note: does the automatic renaming also apply to PDFs captured via "Take Snapshot of Current Page"?
  • shane.lindsay
    Came here with same problem - can't figure out where new auto-renaming feature is.
  • dstillman
    Auto-renaming doesn't (currently) apply to existing items, files added with "Store Copy of File...", or snapshots of the current page. It only applies to files added along with an item when using a site translator, as the filename comes from the metadata of the parent item.

    You can rename any existing attachment file, however, by clicking on the title in the metadata pane and selecting "Rename associated file". If renaming that way, you'll want to be sure to include the file extension as well.
  • Andrew Moylan
    Ah OK. Personally I usually find I need to grab the citation information from one source (like ISI Web of Science), and grab the PDF from a different source. I would really love an option to automatically (or manually) rename snapshots and "Store Copy of File..." items based on the existing metadata for an item.
  • dstillman
    OK, created a ticket for this.
  • shane.lindsay
    Super. Combine this with drag drop association from the filesystem (with copying /moving or linking of files from filesytem to zotero storage) and zotero will turn out to be a great pdf manager as well reference manager.
    Using the new autorenaming system, it doesn't alter the name of the snapshot, just the file. Can we have the snapshot within zotero (both the html and the pdf) renamed? And combine this with icons specific for filetypes instead of the same snapshot icon for all filetypes? Right now, if I do a search I just end up with a bunch of snapshot titles with the same name (which will depend on the scraper) and I can't see what item they associated with either, the only way to see what they refer to is to launch them.
  • rickwastaken
    Just wondering how this automatic renaming of pdf's works. I capture pdf's similar to how Andrew Moylan described in this thread. However, I still end up with pdf's named "GetPDFServlet" or something along those lines. Is there an automated method to name the pdf based on the metadata of the zotero file it is associated with?
  • noksagt
    http://forums.zotero.org/discussion/2160/
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