Attachment location issue

iain_nash
Hi,

I'm running Zotero on Fedora.
I store all of my attachments in a single folder that has a path similar to:
/home/user/research/zotero/
and for reasons mainly to do with back up and syncing, I want to move the location of the attachments to:
/home/user/other_folder/zotero/

I've cloned the original folder into the new destination, and have (I think) used the path editor in config but when I access an attachment, it is pulling from the original location.

I've a couple of years of attachements, so would rather not have to change this manually, can someone help?

Thank you.
  • adamsmith
    There is no path editor in config. The built in way to handle this would have been to specify the linked attachment base directory as /home/user/research/zotero *before* moving attachments and then change it to /home/user/other_folder/zotero

    Since you've already moved files, I think the easiest solution is to use Zutilo https://github.com/wshanks/Zutilo to bulk update your links to linked files
  • iain_nash
    Thank you @adamsmith

    I haven't moved files yet - I've cloned the existing directory so both the new and the old exist.

    I wasn't willing to remove the old directory until I had a clear plan (and an up-to-date backup!).

    So do I just remove the old path, and then all should work with the new path?
  • adamsmith
    So first put in the old path (Make sure you change the right one: it's the one at the top "Linked Attachment Base Directory" -- if it's not already, then change it. That should really all there is to it -- does that not work?
  • qqbb
    @iain_nash: Just to clarify, is this about the folder with your linked file attachments or are you talking about the Zotero data directory with its "storage" subfolder that holds your stored files?

    You can save linked file attachments with a relative path if you set up a Linked Attachment Base Directory. For troubleshooting issues with linked files, see here for an explanation of the Zutilo add-on's relevant functions.
  • iain_nash
    edited January 25, 2022
    hi @qqbb

    Yes, this is the folder where I first store the articles, and I then associate them with a Zotero record by either attaching them to an existing record or importing the attachment.

    So to confirm the steps;

    I reset the Linked Attachment Base Directory to the original path; e.g.,
    /home/user/research/zotero/

    I then move (as opposed to copy) the files to the new directory; e.g.,
    /home/user/new_folder/zotero/

    Start Zotero, it will no longer be able to see the attachments

    Change the Linked Attachment Base Directory to the new path of:
    /home/user/new_folder/zotero/

    Attachments should then work.

    I tried this before, but I started by setting the Linked Attachment Base Directory to the new path, and I cloned rather than moved the directory, so perhaps that it is why Zotero kept looking to the original path.
  • adamsmith
    Copy vs. move doesn't matter. You can keep the old ones in place until you've confirmed they're opening from the new location (by using "Show File")
  • iain_nash
    That worked. Thanks all.

    Not sure why it didn't work the first time I tried it, but working now.

    Your help is really appreciated.
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