Hello, I am brand new to Zotero and just imported my library to Zotero using the latest beta version. I am using MEGASync and ZotFile to store the data.
The folder structure seems to work perfectly which exactly what I need! I have however some issues:
1. Although all citations were exported, not all pdfs did. Only about half did. 2. Some pdfs were saved on the Zotero folder (user/Zotero/storage/) even though ZotFile has been set to a custom location and syncing to the Zotero storage has been switched off. 3.The annotations and notes that I took on mendeley do not translate onto the built-in zotero reader. The only file i've found where the annotations work and those happened to be the ones where the file is stored in the Zotero storage rather than the MEGASync folder. 4. A bit of a nitpick but while in beta you do not have the option to add columns other than title and creator. It would be nice to see Year.
Could someone help me understand the best way forward?
1) For PDFs that weren't imported, check to see if they're available in your online Mendeley library. You can also try repeating the import (without deleting anything) to see if additional files are downloaded. There's an issue with downloading large files from Mendeley servers that we're still investigating.
3) Annotations from Mendeley will show up in the built-in PDF reader after import for stored files. ZotFile doesn't know anything about those annotations, though, and will wipe them out if you use it to convert attachments to linked files.
4) Right-click on the header to customize columns.
@dstillman Hi again and thanks for movin this to a new thread.
1. I have checked that the files load correctly on mendeley web and all annotations, highlights and notes are all there. 1a. Repeating the import (without deleting anything) did indeed bring more data, but now I have ~300 more files on the Zotero storage directory than I physically have on mendeley. Clearly some must be duplicates but I am not certain what is the best way forward here. 1b. I also performed a third import (again, without deleting anything) after updating the software which added a few extra files but not much more.
On the flipside, if I open Zotero and simply check how many articles I have in total, that matches what I would have expected from mendeley.
In summary: I have 925 articles in mendley and 929 in Zotero now. Zotero storage folder has 1346 folders and some contain pdfs even though it was instructed not to. I am not sure what branches the decision to save a pdf in storage or the custom location. My MEGASync folder only contains 494 pdf files out of the total of 857 in mendeley.
3. After examining the files a bit more closely, no articles whose files are linked to MEGASync folder show annotations correctly. Articles whose pdf lies in the Zotero storage folder work beautifully.
3a. In some cases, an article ended up with two pdf copies, one linked and one in storage. The article in storage displays annotations correctly however the name of file is simply "PDF" even though actual file in the storage folder location has the correct name.
4. Works! The reason I could't see it before was because if you have two screens, the pop up menu spills onto the second screen even when the second screen is not actively 'engaged' by the computer (two computers share the same monitor one at a time)
If you have any suggestions on how to move forward I would be very grateful to hear them.
@dstillman After a bit of experimentation, i can confirm that the beta version transfers the files perfectly fine from mendeley as long as the files are stored in the local folder. Including annotations and highlights. I had to clear the library first and let it sync to get it to work.
Although I see that updates regarding Zotfile have been made ever since this discussion, it is not clear to me that once you use it you also get to keep your annotations and highlights.
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The folder structure seems to work perfectly which exactly what I need!
I have however some issues:
1. Although all citations were exported, not all pdfs did. Only about half did.
2. Some pdfs were saved on the Zotero folder (user/Zotero/storage/) even though ZotFile has been set to a custom location and syncing to the Zotero storage has been switched off.
3.The annotations and notes that I took on mendeley do not translate onto the built-in zotero reader. The only file i've found where the annotations work and those happened to be the ones where the file is stored in the Zotero storage rather than the MEGASync folder.
4. A bit of a nitpick but while in beta you do not have the option to add columns other than title and creator. It would be nice to see Year.
Could someone help me understand the best way forward?
Many thanks!
1) For PDFs that weren't imported, check to see if they're available in your online Mendeley library. You can also try repeating the import (without deleting anything) to see if additional files are downloaded. There's an issue with downloading large files from Mendeley servers that we're still investigating.
3) Annotations from Mendeley will show up in the built-in PDF reader after import for stored files. ZotFile doesn't know anything about those annotations, though, and will wipe them out if you use it to convert attachments to linked files.
4) Right-click on the header to customize columns.
Hi again and thanks for movin this to a new thread.
1. I have checked that the files load correctly on mendeley web and all annotations, highlights and notes are all there.
1a. Repeating the import (without deleting anything) did indeed bring more data, but now I have ~300 more files on the Zotero storage directory than I physically have on mendeley. Clearly some must be duplicates but I am not certain what is the best way forward here.
1b. I also performed a third import (again, without deleting anything) after updating the software which added a few extra files but not much more.
On the flipside, if I open Zotero and simply check how many articles I have in total, that matches what I would have expected from mendeley.
In summary:
I have 925 articles in mendley and 929 in Zotero now.
Zotero storage folder has 1346 folders and some contain pdfs even though it was instructed not to. I am not sure what branches the decision to save a pdf in storage or the custom location.
My MEGASync folder only contains 494 pdf files out of the total of 857 in mendeley.
3. After examining the files a bit more closely, no articles whose files are linked to MEGASync folder show annotations correctly. Articles whose pdf lies in the Zotero storage folder work beautifully.
3a. In some cases, an article ended up with two pdf copies, one linked and one in storage. The article in storage displays annotations correctly however the name of file is simply "PDF" even though actual file in the storage folder location has the correct name.
4. Works! The reason I could't see it before was because if you have two screens, the pop up menu spills onto the second screen even when the second screen is not actively 'engaged' by the computer (two computers share the same monitor one at a time)
If you have any suggestions on how to move forward I would be very grateful to hear them.
Best wishes,
A.
if you then use zotfile to transfer the data to a Sync folder (Dropbox etc..) then you lose all annotations. It seems to pertain to this discussion:
https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/90069/zotfile-rename-attachment-loses-zotero-annotations-imported-from-mendeley#latest
Although I see that updates regarding Zotfile have been made ever since this discussion, it is not clear to me that once you use it you also get to keep your annotations and highlights.
Best wishes,
A.