How would I move a collection from my library to a group library?

casarduy
I have already made my own collection in my library, I want to move all the files to a group library. How can I do this.
  • dstillman
    Drag it from one library to the other.
  • joshdraper
    This does not seem to actually work. For one, if you have a lot of folders and group libraries it's very difficult to copy from "My Library" to "Group Libraries". If there was a way to see Sub-Collections in the middle window, like Windows Explorer or Finder, then it would be easier. As of now, you can see nothing there except for references that are not in a subcollection but just in the top level collection. Wish this weren't the case. Treat subcollections like subfolders in a desktop OS.

    But if you do drap and drop, the Group Library seems to lose the subcollection folder structure from the My Library folder. It's just a bunch of loose references. And it syncs very slowly. You seem to have to drag a subcollection at a time. And if you do drag a subcollection, it does not transfer the subcollections within it. Therefore, there seems to be no way to maintain the carefully crafted folder structure from a My Library collection to Group Library. Does this happen to other people? Am I doing something wrong?

    Suggestions/Requests

    - Make drag and drop keep exactly the same structure.
    - Group libraries need collections and subcollections. Each one should be treated conceptually as a shared "My Library". Sorry if that isn't clear but I think it should be consistent.
    - Ideally, there should be a way for users to sync from a collection or subcollection in My Library to a Group Library collection or subcollection. That way there isn't a drag and drop process at all. Maintaining the same files between both is importatn.
  • dstillman
    For one, if you have a lot of folders and group libraries it's very difficult to copy from "My Library" to "Group Libraries".
    It works the same as dragging anywhere else in the same long list in any similar program. Start the drag, scroll (with your trackpad or scroll wheel), and then drop. You can also drag off the bottom of the list, which will scroll the list, but that's a bit less precise.

    For accessibility reasons, we'll likely add a way to copy a collection to another library without using drag and drop in a future version.
    But if you do drap and drop, the Group Library seems to lose the subcollection folder structure from the My Library folder.
    That certainly shouldn't happen. Dragging a collection should copy all child collections and items.

    The one exception is that, currently, if you've already dragged a collection, you can't drag it again to apply changes without deleting the target version. That and other similar issues will be addressed in an upcoming version.

    If you think you can reproduce this, you can create a test group and provide a Debug ID for a drag that doesn't copy collections.
    Group libraries need collections and subcollections.
    I don't know what you mean by that. Group libraries can certainly have collections and subcollections — they're exactly like a shared personal library in most respects.
  • casarduy
    Thank you that worked, the problem earlier that my Group Library wasn't showing up in my Zotero, but now it is!
  • margaretha
    edited September 5, 2019
    I have a similar problem: trying to copy paste single items from my private library into a group library drag and drop does not work, the "copy" option is greyed out, and the only work around is to export as bibtex and re-import. (don't need to copy attached pdfs) any hint what could be the reason?
  • dstillman
    @margaretha: You can't currently copy/paste. You have to drag between the libraries, as I say above.

    If you've already dragged the item to the target library and want to copy an updated version, you currently need to delete the item in the target library and empty the trash, and then drag again. (This will be improved in a future version.)
  • margaretha
    the point is that i couldn't drag either (sorry in fact dragging from a private to a group library it's copying not cutting/pasting, that's why I was talking about copying.
    the fact is that some items can be dragged, and others not, although they are not in the target library.
  • dstillman
    I think the only two possible reasons would be that 1) the item was already in the target library (possibly, in the trash, though I think Zotero will move it out of there automatically) or 2) you're trying to drag an attachment (rather than a regular item) to a library for which you don't have file editing privileges.
  • modkev
    I too am unable to drag from my Zotero desktop library to my group library, I am using a Mac OS High Sierra 10.13.6 Any clues on what could be wrong?
    BTW I have tried exporting the files as Endnote tab-delimited text and .ris formats then importing them as a file but that does not work. However, I managed to import from Endnote directly into my pesonal library on the desktop.
  • adamsmith
    Just to be clear -- you're dragging to the group library on your Desktop app as well, yes? What exactly happens when you try?
  • Spalding-Fecher
    I am having the same problem - when I try to drag a reference from my library to a group library, the + shows up as though I can copy it. But it does not copy. Nothing shows up in the group library. This only happens with new references that I recently entered and only with some group libraries, so very frustrating. There are no attachments to the reference. I created all the group libraries myself.
  • dstillman
    @Spalding-Fecher: Can you provide a Debug ID for a drag attempt that doesn't work?

    The most likely reason for is that the item already exists in the target library.
  • Spalding-Fecher
    Thanks! Debug ID D211748219
    It did say that item already exists - but then why can I not see it or find it when searching that library?
  • dstillman
    It could be in the trash or you could just be overlooking it. Paste XFY5A5SD into the Zotero search bar in All Fields & Tags mode in the target library to show the item in question.
  • Spalding-Fecher
    Thank you for your quick reply. When I paste that ID, it brings up a simliar refernece, but not the one I copied. IT brings up "Tool to calculate the emission factor for an electricity system. Version 2.2.0. EB61 Annex 12", not "TOOL19. Methodological tool. Demonstration of additionality of microscale project activities. Version 07.0". I also checked the trash and searched for "TOOL19". Just to be sure, I tried it again - Debug ID D975122370
  • dstillman
    This would happen if you originally had "Tool to calculate" in your library, dragged it to the group, and then used Duplicate Item on the original item and modified it manually to create "TOOL19".

    Before Zotero 5.0.86, there was a bug where Zotero would include the cross-library link when duplicating items, which would prevent you from dragging the second item to the group if the first dragged item still existed in the group. We've fixed that in 5.0.86.

    To fix this, delete "Tool to calculate" in the group library and empty the trash. You'll then be able to drag both items again.

    In another thread, I provided a script you can run to see all the items linked to more than one item. If you delete all of those group items and empty the trash, you'll be able to drag the appropriate originals back to the group.
  • Spalding-Fecher
    Yes! That worked! thank you so much!
  • Spalding-Fecher
    When I run the script, I get this

    TypeError: item.loadAllData is not a function
  • dstillman
    I adjusted the script. Try again now.
  • Spalding-Fecher
    Worked - thank you!!
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