PDFs Duplicated?

Does Zotero create a copy of every PDF indexed and place that copy in the data directory? If so, is it possible to have Zotero only index? I have GBs worth of pdfs and duplicating them would kill my hd space.
  • You can use linked files, but the default approach would be to use stored files and just delete the originals after adding them to Zotero. Going forward, anything you save to Zotero from the web browser — which is the main way to add items — will be stored in the data directory by default (unless you use ZotFile to convert them to linked files).
  • Thanks for the speedy response! I downloaded and installed the extension, but I still can't figure out how to get Zotero to use linked files instead of copies. Could you point me in the right direction? Forgive my computer illiteracy.
  • Stored files are the default and easiest option, so that's what we recommend using.

    If you want to use linked files, you can use "Link to File…" from the New Item (plus sign) menu for files already on your computer and set up the third-party ZotFile plugin as mentioned in the documentation I linked to above for new downloads, but that's a more advanced workflow. The ZotFile site provides documentation on its use.
  • I got it working! Thanks so much for the help. I'll probably use "link to file" for personal use/novels and the default for school/research. Thanks for you do =]
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