Copying items between group and personal libraries

AshleyEveShaw
I've noticed that I'm unable to copy items from a group library where I'm not the owner to my personal library. Is this blocked for some reason, or is there a way around it? Many thanks in advance.
  • dstillman
    You can do that. The items just can't already exist in the personal library (from previously copying in either direction). If they do, and you want to update them, you need to delete the versions in the target library and empty the trash. (This will be improved in the near future.)
  • AshleyEveShaw
    Thanks so much. I tried your suggestion, but am still unable to copy items from group libraries I do not own to my personal library. The trash in my personal library has been emptied.
  • dstillman
    Can you provide a Debug ID for a drag attempt that doesn't work?
  • AshleyEveShaw
    A couple of updates. Some of the issue was resolved by having group owners change my role to admin instead of member. I can now copy items into specific collections, though I still can't copy them into a library itself without adding them to a specific collection. The issue with providing a debug ID is that I'm a screen reader user and can't use a mouse, so my only option to copy items between libraries/collections is the dialog in the web library. I'm unable to complete drag and drop tasks, so the procedure in the Zotero client is not usable. Remaining question: is it typically possible to copy items into a library without putting them in a specific collection? Thanks so much for the help, it's greatly appreciated.
  • dstillman
    Oh, this is about the web library? Be sure to note that when posting here or we'll assume you're talking about the Zotero app.

    @tnajdek would need to look into this, then. It should certainly be possible to copy items from a group where you don't have admin permissions, and it should also be possible to copy to the root of the target library rather than a collection.

    (We know the inability to copy things between collections and libraries via the keyboard in the desktop app is a frustrating limitation, and we're hoping to address that soon.)
  • tnajdek
    Hi,

    I'm sorry but at the moment Web Library's UI doesn't allow to copy to the root of a library, only to a collection within. This is an oversight in the UI, I've created an issue and we will have it fixed in the next release. As a temporary workaround copying to a collection in target library, then removing from that collection should work fine.
  • AshleyEveShaw
    Thanks very much, this is exactly what I needed to know. It's tricky to figure out sometimes whether I'm causing an issue or it's present for others.
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