Create parent item - unexpected behaviour

In the last couple of days (5.0.37?) Zotero has started behaving unusually. When I drop a file into it and click on Create parent item it has started automatically finding metadata.

When it does this, it automatically downloads a different file from the one I dropped and the original file remains as just a name and cannot be opened. It is not in the item folder.

So far this is no great problem except that
a) I should prefer the file I chose since I often rename these to mean something, and
b) if I ask for a parent item, that's all I want Zotero to do. Otherwise I might just as well ask it to find metadata.

I am aware of Preferences but the change is unexpected.

  • I should add, that the new file which Zotero adds is sometimes NAMED IN BLOCK CAPITALS which I dislike and has to be renamed if it is to be cited in future, and also, in order to keep things neat, I have to delete the old file name, which means extra work.
  • The change is really just that Zotero automatically runs retrieve metadata and renames the file. Both behaviors default to what I'm pretty sure is the more convenient behavior for the bulk of users (and reception so far has been very positive) but as you note can be disabled in the preferences.

    This, though, doesn't sound right:
    When it does this, it automatically downloads a different file from the one I dropped and the original file remains as just a name and cannot be opened.
    are you sure you're not just seeing the automatic rename? Zotero would not download any additional or alternate files.
  • @dbrear: See the 5.0.36 blog post for more details — I think, as adamsmith says, that you're somewhat misunderstanding what's happening. (The change doesn't depend on Create Parent Item, and it's not downloading different files.)
  • dstillman - more than likely!

    I’ve got a screendump to show you but I don’t see anywhere to attach it.

    As I said, the original appears to remain but won’t open - weird.
  • You can upload picture and video files to a photo sharing site like Imgur or Dropbox and paste a link here.
  • Hi guys - a partial screendum is here -

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aISAp0jeae7jDG9FFTKN-WDf-kNtikng/view?usp=sharing

    It shows the item, 'Consular diptychs, etc'; the pdf which Zotero has found, 'Eastmond 2010'; and below it my original pdf which I dropped into Zotero, 'Consular_Diptychs_Rhetoric, etc' which is now no longer a pdf but has turned into a document which cannot be opened.
  • Drag the PDF in again, and don't try to use Create Parent Item while it's processing (which should only take a few seconds).

    All Zotero would do itself is create the journal article item, make it the parent of the PDF, and rename the PDF. (And Zotero hasn't "found" a PDF — it's just the file that you dragged in, which Zotero renamed.)

    If you use Create Parent Item in the second or two it takes to retrieve metadata, you would get that Document item with the same title as the original PDF, and since Zotero is in the process of moving the PDF to the new journal article item, it ends up as a Document item with nothing under it.
  • Is that it? Thanks, it just seemed strange behaviour.
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