Zotero group libraries and Dropbox
Hi, I have been enjoying using Zotero myself, and I would really like to use Zotero to collaborate with my colleagues.
Ideally I would like to store the PDF file (only the PDF and not the other files) in a folder in Dropbox, so that my colleagues can see/edit them.
I have installed ZotFile and changed the base directory to the Dropbox folder. I can perfectly link Zotero items with the PDFs stored in a Dropbox folder. However it works only for items in My Library, but not for Group libraries. For the Group libraries, it seems like that it always creates a PDF file in the local disks even if I changed the "Base directory" to the Dropbox file. Does anyone have solution for this? Thanks a lot! - FJ
Ideally I would like to store the PDF file (only the PDF and not the other files) in a folder in Dropbox, so that my colleagues can see/edit them.
I have installed ZotFile and changed the base directory to the Dropbox folder. I can perfectly link Zotero items with the PDFs stored in a Dropbox folder. However it works only for items in My Library, but not for Group libraries. For the Group libraries, it seems like that it always creates a PDF file in the local disks even if I changed the "Base directory" to the Dropbox file. Does anyone have solution for this? Thanks a lot! - FJ
This discussion has been closed.
Someone did contribute code to set a linked-attachment base directory on a per-group basis a while back. There were some unrelated technical reasons why that couldn't be merged, and it may be in the future, but there are also good reasons not to support this.
I really hope i've misunderstood something here. What do people in groups do in this case? If we can't have attachments in the group then it is extremely limiting.
I think privacy/security rules and concerns are a good reason for introducing this. Given the costs for adding & supporting it, I'm much less sympathetic to economic arguments. Telling people at the same time what they should do for you and that their work isn't worth 2 lattes/month just isn't terribly convincing to me.
The Zotero membership is an upfront payment, the $20 plan is not large enough for those doing larger research projects - it will max out pretty quickly. So, the only option through Zotero would be to go for the $60 plan. That increases for most outside the US with exchange rate and fees. In Australia the 6GB plan is circa $80 upfront.
If there was a monthly plan or mid level plans then it would be a more accessible option, but there's not and thus it is not viable for everyone. Many students use Zotero.
Yet, interestingly this discussion has been pushed to a public shaming regarding finances rather than how groups could work for everyone, like regular library.
The supported solution, which makes groups just work out of the box and allows for web-based file access, is available for a modest yearly fee that also pays for the continued existence of Zotero. You said you also wanted to use Dropbox for your project. OK, well, the cheapest storage plan from Dropbox, a public company with a >$10 billion market cap, is $10/month, twice the price of Zotero's 6 GB plan and the exact same as Zotero's unlimited plan. If you want to pay them monthly, it's $12/month, 20% more than Zotero's unlimited plan.
That was adamsmith's point about the cost. No one is shaming you. Given that you misread the prices initially, I don't think we need to dwell on this.
If your feedback is that a monthly payment plan would make Zotero's storage plans more accessible to you, that's fine — start a new thread and say so. But don't just ignore our explanation when we say we don't feel we can offer a good user experience, or act like the storage prices that support the project are somehow unreasonably out of proportion to similar services. Zotero has three plans. The 6 GB plan is the mid-level plan. If you need between 2 and 6 GB, it's half the price of Dropbox's cheapest option.
Many students already have Dropbox for other things (like I do) so using it for now is not an added expense. I get where your coming from, but the intention of my initial comment was not about pricing, it was pushed there by defensive comments.
I misread the comment about the latte, I am familiar with the pricing. That's not an attempt to shame?? What is the relevance of raising it otherwise? Rather than make it public, I emailed the feedback a couple of months ago when I purchased a 2GB plan and realised it wasn't enough, and there were no options for a mid-range plan... because as I stated, I commented on this thread about the limitations of groups from a user perspective.
So often, when people raise a limitation the response is so negative. I've experienced the same thing when I raise something regarding item types and I've seen it happen to others. Why? Why be so rude? I recommend Zotero to everyone, but this is honestly not a fun part of using the service.
You began your posts here by acting baffled by the idea that Zotero Storage is necessary for what we feel is a good user experience in groups and for the avoidance of an expensive support drain. (One might argue that ignoring our explanation and calling this a "a frustrating limitation that doesn't really make any sense" is a bit "rude".)
The relevance of the comparison to Dropbox is that Zotero Storage costs the same or less than services from companies with vastly more resources than us, making it a pretty reasonable thing for us to suggest. Our goal is to make the best possible experience accessible to the largest number of people in a sustainable way, and our design decisions, our licensing, and our pricing all work together to do that. I'm not sure why you keep saying this. Again, the 6 GB plan is the mid-range plan, and it's half the price of Dropbox's cheapest option.
Honestly, I love Zotero but this makes me reconsider using it seeing as I'll never be able to seek help from the community without this kind of encounter.
People have happily provided support to you many times over the years, and I have no idea why you think that would change. But if we disagree with you on something, we're going to say so.