Deleting an attachment:

1) In the web interface, identify an article that has been uploaded to the Zotero servers.
2) In Zotero (desktop), find the entry which has the article. This copy is currently saved in the Zotero database.
3) Drag & drop the article to a preferred local folder (copying it), create a link to it within Zotero, and delete the copy within Zotero.
4) In the web interface, the icon for attachments still displays the icon for an article uploaded to the Zotero servers. Message: "Unexpected error: Cannot convert undefined or null to object." Eventually the attachment icon disappears entirely.

Moving an attachment locally:

1) Using Zotfile, move an attachment from one folder to another.
2) In the web interface, the icon for attachments goes blank.

I hope this explains better.

Actually, at least for me Zotero does not resync it, and reloading the page does not restore the icon either -- I checked this before posting, and again now. Obviously I can't open a document unless it's on a Zotero or some other cloud location, but I don't care about that anyway. The issue solely concerns the info available online. For instance, some full text databases are only accessible inside a library building, and bringing a USB drive usually makes more sense than lugging my laptop. Duplicating a download is from one perspective just an annoyance, very far from critical. I've found merely a handful of attachments were uploaded -- however, if I use Zotero to move all my attachments to a single folder, the entire online library would be affected.

That's what I'm saying: for my purposes the best value of having the web interface is to see what I've already downloaded. As I said, it's merely an annoyance to duplicate downloads, and I've happily used Zotero for years without having a web version, but the web library then loses value, which would be a pity. Perhaps using the feature to replace the online library would resolve the issue, or maybe resetting the file sync history would do it. I'm hesitant about trying such a step since according to the documentation it could cause other problems, but maybe I should give it a shot. What are your thoughts about this? Would it both correct the link icons, and clear out any articles in my online quota?

Hi, here's the link to a file in my Dropbox. However, you probably don't need to look at it. In leafing through how the web library reflects the library on my computer, I think I now understand what you were telling me before, and why I was confused. My apologies if I'm long-winded, but there's also an issue of how the web access could become useful for me. And as they say, "If I had more time I could have written a shorter letter." But first the link:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/y06shmin3wschfh/Zotero library images.docx?dl=0

OK: in my Zotero library there's an icon showing me there's an attachment. Now, remember that I was seeing that some of my articles in the web library were uploaded, which occurred because I'd forgotten to move them out of the Zotero database into my local folder. When I fixed that, I expected the icon to change to a link symbol showing I had the attachment locally; instead, it eventually turned into a blank, which I interpreted as meaning it thinks I have no attachment -- after all, I have plenty of records that do display a link icon.

But now, having browsed through my library some more, I think I finally understand what you were explaining to me: the link icon doesn't show that I have an attachment, but that the text record contains a URL -- and most of them do. Hence my misinterpretation. Also I expected the web library to more or less exactly reflect the Zotero record, so yes, I made a general interpretation mistake.

So if I finally have that straight (and let me know if I haven't!), here's why I'm raising the matter: without an icon showing me I have an attachment locally, the web interface loses most of its usefulness for me. If I'm inside a library building searching a database, it would be helpful to know that I already have the article on my computer at home, since that would save me the work of downloading, transferring and attaching the article; or conversely, that I can finally obtain an article that wasn't accessible before (many publishers place embargos -- the opposite of preprints -- so it can be one to five years before an article becomes available online).

This might be a use difference. In my work, URLs change frequently, online forum discussions move into archives, magazine articles go behind paywalls, entire websites disappear, and getting hold of certain articles requires a schlepp to any of several libraries. So I download, print to PDF, or snapshot like crazy. For me, storing things as attachments is very much "need to have," whereas URLs are merely "nice to have." Perhaps for the majority of users it's the opposite, and obviously the Zotero team has to prioritize the majority of users.

Be that as it may, I guess I'm making a feature request: I'd like an icon that shows when an article is attached locally. I have no idea how much work that would involve, and quite likely you have bigger fish to fry right now. But it would be very helpful if eventually you'd be able to provide it. In the meantime, as I said, I've happily used Zotero for years without web access, so in the larger scheme of things it's far from "make or break."

I see it now. OK, thanks.