batch add pdfs as links to files

tjleach · December 16, 2015

I have the same issue. Cmd+Opt+drag on Mac does not consistently link the PDF. It frequently copies the PDF instead. Zotero usually creates a link if I drag <5 files, whereas dragging >5 files always results in copied not linked PDFs. I get the curved black arrow instead of a cursor every time. I have ~1000 PDFs I need to add to Zotero so dragging them 5 at a time isn't feasible. Anyone come up with a solution to this yet?

adamsmith · December 16, 2015

The only report of this working unreliably we ever received was on Windows from LPassenger above and none of us is able to replicate this.

But if you're adding a large batch of PDFs at once, isn't just using "link to file" (Green plus icon) and then batch selecting at least as convenient anyway?

tjleach · December 16, 2015

Just tried the green plus icon "link to file" and that worked just fine.Thanks for the clarification. When I read the comments above suggesting "link to file" from the menu it didn't work for me but I realize now that I tried to do it through the paperclip icon "attach link to file" rather than the green plus sign.

Also, for what it's worth, I described the same thing that ZenonMarko describes above, also on a Mac, which makes three users. I'm glad there's another option but it's still strange that the drag and drop feature occasionally doesn't work.

adamsmith · December 16, 2015

Right, but for Zenon this _never_ worked, which is quite distinct from being unreliable.

EcoAfrik · May 20, 2016

Hi there!!!!
I'm new in Zotero and still trying to know how it works before change more than 10000 pdf into this .. i think..... useful tool.
My question is related with the possibility to "Attach link to file" in Standalone (right button on the ittem/Add Attachment)
Why this link works perfectly in "My library" and it doesn't work in "Zotero Groups"?
Any idea?
Thankssssss

bwiernik · May 21, 2016

Linked files point to a specific location on your computer's native file system. There is currently no way to ensure that different members of the same group will have matching file structures on their computers, so linked files are disabled in Group Libraries.

EcoAfrik · May 23, 2016

Thanks for your answer.
In our case we all people in the group share the same sync Dropbox file ... and all we have the same file structure in our own computers via "Dropbox desktop".
Any idea about linking our items to these files from Zotero Groups?
Many thanks!!!!

ZenonMarko · April 5, 2019

Years later, trying this again, still having this problem. Now in a very different version of the OS (High Sierra, 10.13.6). I disabled and uninstalled plugins (Zotfile etc.) so those are not the issue.

Here's a video showing the behavior. The drag is done with Command-Option pressed the entire time (held down before start of the drag, released after completion of the drag).

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vgt8aokyujxqay9/ZoteroCommandOptionDragProblemMac.mov?dl=0

ZenonMarko · April 5, 2019

Anyone have further thoughts on how to resolve this issue? Anyone else experience this problem? Thank you....

dstillman · April 5, 2019

@ZenonMarko: Let Zotero come to the front before you drop. Zotero doesn't always detect the Cmd-Option reliably if it's in the background. We'll work on making this more reliable, but if you drag the file over Zotero, wait for Zotero to come to the front, press Cmd-Option, and let go, it should work every time.

ZenonMarko · April 5, 2019

@dstillman Thank you! That did the trick.

I wonder if allowing a different key combination (or a preference that would require no key combination for this behavior) would make it work more smoothly, without requiring that pause until Zotero, shy as it is, steps forward. Command-Option-Drag is already a Mac Finder key combination for "make alias", after all.