Help with zotfile watch folder

vpbank24hvpbank24h
Hi, I'm a new user of zotero and zotfile. Coming from mendeley, I hope to get the watched folder function which was available in mendeley.

I thought zotfile has this function but when I set it up, nothing happens. I read somewhere that this feature is removed in the newest ver, is that so? Can someone clarify?

What I need to move or copy pdfs which I just downloaded into a specified location based on the journal they came from, and add their info into zotero. How can it be done automatically

Thanks!
  • adamsmith
    Zotero doesn't have a watchfolder function and ZotFile doesn't implement it (it used to have a stripped down version of it, but that never worked well and was discontinued in version 5).

    The recommended way to work with Zotero is to use the "Save to Zotero" button in your browser and use that to import items and their metadata. That will get you the best metadata most reliably and with the fewest number of clicks/steps. If you do want to keep a local PDF organization (although I'd suggest reconsidering that, see advice in this thread: https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/75963/can-folder-hierarchy-on-harddrive-mimic-zotero-folder-hierarchy#latest) you can set ZotFile to auto move attachments to a given structure.

    If you're set on working with the PDFs, you can also move them into Zotero collections and would then have to use ZotFile's Manage Attachments --> Rename Attachments to move them to a folder hierarchy.
  • erna_magnusdottir
    It would be so convenient to be able to do this in Zotero. It would mean I could stop using Mendeley! :) :)

    This is the best way for me personally to keep track of citations, to do it through the pdfs since they the source of the info that I'm citing.

    I think probably this was also the reason I stopped using Zotero back in 2008 roughly, because this functionality became available through Mendeley. Since Elsevier acquired Mendeley I have been waiting for another program with this funcitonality and it would be awsome to get it in Zotero!
  • dstillman
    @erna_magnusdottir: This may be a misunderstanding. While it's not the recommended approach, you can still save PDFs directly to Zotero if you prefer. You just need to view them in your browser (i.e., your browser's default setting) and click the Save to Zotero button instead of having your browser save them to a download folder. Zotero will then automatically try to retrieve metadata for PDFs you save to it.

    We say this isn't recommended because not every PDF can be recognized, the metadata might not be as complete, and using Save to Zotero on an article page or webpage is a general approach that works more broadly. Zotero will automatically download and attach a PDF when it's able to. But if you're really committed to saving PDFs directly, there's nothing stopping you from doing that with Zotero.
  • ProfMel
    I have a slightly different but related issue. My instructors often post PDFs of articles that would be useful in our LMS. With Mendeley, if I downloaded them to a folder, it would automatically pick them up. the meta data was hit and miss.

    Are you saying that I should find those articles online and use Save to Zotero? It seems like an extra step. I really want to get away from Elsevier so if that is the best way, I will do it.

    Thanks.
  • dstillman
    edited April 14, 2020
    @ProfMel: No, as I say in my last message, you can still save PDFs from your browser — that includes directly from the LMS, unless it's configured specifically to trigger PDF downloads rather than allowing you to view them in the browser like any other PDF online.

    Everything I say above still applies, though.
  • ProfMel
    thanks
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