I'm a librarian who frequently gives advice on using Zotero and other citation managers. When I suggest that people use Zotero, I often encounter resistance from people who are wrong. For example, people say things like "I need to use EndNote because it will create a bibliography in Word."

I'm starting to hear from people who believe they need more storage space. Perhaps they do. I'm willing to be convinced. But so far, I think people are confusing desktop storage with cloud storage.

I've seen previous discussions of Purge Storage and think I understand it, but I've seen conflicting statements and want to make sure that I understand so that I can give good advice.

First, I want to make sure I understand storage.

Let's say I have synced the desktop and web libraries. Am I correct in thinking that I have 2 copies of every pdf? If I click on the pdf in Zotero desktop, then I'm opening a pdf that is stored on my local computer. And if I click on the same pdf in the web library, then I'm opening a different copy stored in the cloud? That's correct?

Assuming I'm right, I want to make sure I understand Purge.

So let's say I reach the storage limit because I am an indiscriminate downloader. Or maybe I needed all the pdfs for the last project I worked on, but I no longer need them for my current project. In other words, let's say I have a ton of pdfs that I don't really need. That storage limit is cloud storage, right?

So, if I hit Purge Storage, then I'm deleting all of the cloud versions of the pdfs. But I retain all of the references? And I retain the desktop copies of the pdfs? Is that correct?

Now let's complicate it a little more. Let's say I own a group library that has a total of two people in it (I'm one of them). Both of us have added pdfs to the group library and everyone is synced. I'm the owner, so Purge Storage purges the cloud version of the group and the other person won't have access to the pdfs that I added? But the other person retains desktop access to the pdfs that she added and I have the pdfs that I added? And if she purges, the group library is unaffected because I am the owner?

If I have anything wrong, please correct me. Thanks.