What does "blob:resource://ztoero" mean?

compunk
edited May 5, 2017
When I view the source code of image within a note, it looks like "img src="blob:resource://zotero/7bd701f5-8f5d-43b3-811e-f1587b190216" alt="" /".

In this case, where is the image located? In Zotero DB or local folder space below item?
Is this burdensome for DB, for example, could it slow down the speed of Zotero?
In my case, I don't use sync function.

I'm very curious.
  • LiborA
    It means, that the picture is in the database (BLOB is short for Binary Large OBbject, a collection of binary data stored as a single entity in a database management systems. I am not sure, ho much it can slow down te Zotero, but I think yes. On another hand, it should not cause sync problems. Create Report ID.
  • compunk
    edited May 5, 2017
    OK. I see.
    However, for now, I don't think it causes problems for me.

    As for me, some of my notes created in previous versions (e.g. 4.x versions) contain images, and the images are converted into "blob:resource..." codes.

    Following new strategy of Zotero 5, I don't add images in notes anymore.

    If you think it is problem and are to try removing these codes, it might cause real problems related to data loss, I think.

    So I think it's better for users to remove the codes manually and make DB lighter.
    Is there any way to re-convert images in "blob~" into real image files?

    Or could you tell me how to find the notes containing "blob~" codes?
  • dstillman
    The blob URLs are just a cosmetic thing TinyMCE 4 does to avoid showing the massive data: URIs in the source code. If you look at debug output or look in the database, you can see that it's still saving data: URIs in the notes, the same way it did in 4.0. To find them, you would still have to search for "data:".

    Images in notes remain not officially supported, and all but the tiniest ones will cause sync errors, but we restored the ability to add them in recent 5.0 betas, since some people rely on the functionality locally. We hope to have a proper solution for embedded notes — that syncs successfully and counts against the user's file sync quota — in the future.
  • compunk
    Thanks for your answer.
    I hope I can save images in notes, because it's very useful function.

    For me, it is critical point how much images embedded in notes slow down Zotero.
    As you said it might be difficult to measure.

    Thanks again.
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