Yes, there's automatic renaming of attachments, but only attachments that are grabbed when saving a page via a translator.

There's a hidden pref (accessible by typing about:config in the address bar) to control the format, extensions.zotero.attachmentRenameFormatString, with a default setting of "{%c - }{%y - }{%t{50}}".

Translation:

• %c is creator


• %y is year


• %t is the title


• The curly braces around each part mean "only include this part if the field specified inside is non-empty"


• {50} means truncate at 50 characters

Creator, year and title are the only three fields currently supported, but more could be added easily.

There's no way currently to rename existing attachments using this method, though that could be added.

OK, I found an old post solving my problem:
the file is renamed, but not it's reference in zotero.
Why this? Is there a reason or is it something that will be implemented in the future?

Yes, you're right.
I think this is the reason.

I think an argument could be made either way

Since the argument can be made either way, would it make sense to provide for an option to always have the reference to a PDF mirror its filename?

I for one would be using that option, and the confusion about the renaming (witnessed in many threads around here) stems at least in part from the fact that many users in fact expect this to be the default behaviour (no doubt reinforced by the suggestive icon, which people normally see in connection with a filename in their OS).

It is not, as of currently, but I agree that it would be a nice feature. As soon as you drop a PDF on a record, Zotero would have enough information to autorename it. I figure it could be relatively trivial to extend the current autorename feature to the case of drag/drop from the file system. After all, the same machinery of docking the PDF to the record and copying it to a record subfolder is involved. Could a developer comment on this?

I agree with jodler but would also love to see the ability to only link pdfs with drag and drop not copy the file. I think a lot of people want to keep their pdfs in an seperate folder somewhere on their computer and not in the zotero folder. Accordingly, the option to drag and drop pdfs on a zotero item and thereby rename the file in its original location and create a link to the renamed file would be great!! Of course, only as an option (maybe when holding a key during the drag and drop process)!

I need pdf attachments to have clear and readable naming as so many others have suggested. Screen scrapers don't seem to have any impact on the name of the file being downloaded, but we're already asking a lot of them. I've looked at this about:config business and haven't noticed any impact (Science Direct, JSTOR, Springerlink)

Another problem is sending a pdf to another researcher. They need to see the article information in the file name before they open it. Would you like to receive @#$dfndfss3.pdf in your inbox?

The other issue is portability. I carry a duplicate copy of my pdf library on an external drive and my laptop for viewing anywhere in adobe reader and I am preparing my pdf library for use on an e-paper reader when an 8.5x11 format comes out. I am tired of stacks of papers, and I want to carry my research everywhere I go. Folders of cryptically named pdfs are unacceptable.

Zotero as a pdf manager on an e-reader would be phenomenal, especially with the upcoming remote library storage possibility (I expect my library to be gigabytes in size).

How about just a script that renames every pdf in the library by a customizeable string. I use:
"FirstAuthor_YEAR_Full title minus any disallowed characters.pdf"
I really don't care for the source of the file to be in the name. It's automatically known by the bibliographic data.

The linking point is interesting, I'd also like for all of my pdfs to be in one folder, this goes to the portability issue above and raises the question:
"Should I only use Zotero to access my pdf collection or should I use a file explorer?"

I guess one of the main differences between me and Dan's point above ["argument either way"] is that I have very little need of the snapshot feature. My goal is to efficiently catalog, search, and view scholarly articles. It's hard to believe how much better Zotero is for this purpose than Endnote already. I'm ditching Endnote ASAP.

Catherine,

no developments on this, as far as I know.

PDFs (e.g. from JSTOR) can only be downloaded if you or your institution actually has a subscription to the journal you are looking at.

I would also like to vote in favor of both of these propositions. It would make a HUGE improvement of usability.

I made a script in python to process the sqlite db and rename the physical pdf file as well as update the database.
It is currently setup in the script to rename each PDF to AuthorLastName - (Year) - Title, but it can be changed upon suggestion. I also have it rename the attachment in zotero to read "Year - Journal Name" so that when you are looking at the item in zotero you get a quick look at everything you need.

The post is in the forums :
http://forums.zotero.org/discussion/4058/rename-your-pdfs-and-update-zotero-too-with-python/#Item_0

In the next version, I am looking to move all the physical pdf's (and update their paths in zotero) to a separate directory to find the files easier outside of zotero.

Let me know if anyone wants a compiled version in case they don't want to install python.

-rich

Hello,
First: thanks for the great work! Zotero and the continuing improvements have made my research life much easier! I'm grateful.
Second, a question: I changed the automatic renaming. However, I'd like zotero to NOT include "et al" in the naming, just the first authors name. How can I do that? Would be thankful.
Best wishes, s.

Hi,
I have written a small Zotero Plugin which automatically renames and moves the most recently modified file (pdf, doc, or rtf) in a certain folder using metadata from the currently selected Zotero item and attaches the file to the selected Zotero item (you just have to press a bottom in Zotero). You can change both the source and the destination directory as well as the renaming rule (something like author-year-title).

You can read a more detailed description and download the plugin from this website:
http://www.columbia.edu/~jpl2136/zotfile.html

see also this post: http://forums.zotero.org/discussion/5301/zotero-plugin-to-rename-move-and-attach-your-pdfs-to-zotero-items

As for your other issue, you should ask Adobe about that. There is no way Zotero can access the Adobe Reader/Adobe Acrobat interface and tag text in it.

Hi There,
I work a lot with articles about state of the art technology in robotics and the developments that you can achieve during 1 year are enormous. It makes a huge difference if the paper was published on January 2008 or Dezember 2008. My filenames look like this:
200801_NameHere
200812_NameHere

I tried adding {%m} to the extensions.zotero.attachmentRenameFormatString line in about:config, but it didn't worked.
Is there a way to add the month in the remane function?

cheers,
Trala

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