Zotfile Set-up Question

army-jag341
Hi there, I had to transfer computers and I do not think I set up Zotfile like I had it before, so I am hoping someone can help me understand what I am doing wrong.

They way it was set up, every time I hit the browser connector, and the item had a PDF available, Zotero would grab it and attach it to the title. At the same time, Zotfile would upload the PDF to a folder on the cloud. Whenever I made changes or notes to the PDF, Zotfile would update the stored version.

Now, I grab an article with an available PDF and I have to manually copy/paste it into the cloud folder. Zotfile does not appear to be doing anything...

Thank you in advance for your time and help in getting this straightened.
  • tim820
    Under Tools\Zotfile Preferences, on the General Settings tab, do you have Custom Location (under Location of Files) set to the cloud folder location where you want Zotfile to move each new PDF downloaded by the browser Connector ?
  • army-jag341
    Yes, I do have that one set up there. It is the same folder it was going to before the computer move, but somehow is not behaving the same way.
  • tim820
    If you have an item with a PDF attachment that the Zotero Connector has placed in the standard Zotero\storage\ location (ie NOT moved/linked), does selecting Manage Attachments\Rename and Move cause Zotfile to move the file to your cloud location as it should ? (also popping up the message dialog to confirm that).
  • army-jag341
    Where can I check the Zotero\storage\ path to make sure it is going there?

    The Manage Attachments\Rename and Move that is under "tablet settings" is checked but greyed out. However, then I click on "Use Zotfile to send and get files from table" it activates the seletcion but I get a pop-up that says:

    "Zotfile can create saved searches for the attachments on the tablet. Do you want to create these searches now?
    Warning: Zotfile uses the tag '_tablet' to remember files that are on the tablet. Please do not change this tag manually!"

    When I go to the tab "Renaming rules" the box for "Use Zotero to Rename" is checked and activated.
  • tim820
    OK if you haven't actually verified that the Connector is able to download a PDF to ANY location you need to do that first. With a completely new item/web page. When you use the Connector to get an item/PDF, you should first see the popup showing that the PDF was successfully downloaded by Zotero (ie it's not red and X-ed). If you don't see that, then the PDF storage location is not your problem.

    If Zotero DID download the PDF successfully, to then find out where Zotero (or Zotfile) has stored the PDF, click on the item in the main Zotero pane and select Show File from the popup menu. That should open a folder window showing the item's files. The standard location for Zotero to store an item and its attachments is:
    Zotero\storage\arbitrary_item_specific_foldername (eg TU7SU4PI).


  • army-jag341
    Oh ok. I am sorry for not explaining myself better. The browser connector works. When I press it on the page of a journal (for example), it grabs and attaches the pdf when adding the entry to Zotero, exactly as you describe.

    Some items show to be stored in folders (ZVRLYAXE) and some others point to the Zotfile folder on the cloud. I see that having some documents stored in two separate places may be less than ideal. At this point, I would like to implement the easiest method that can allow me to combine these entries into one location.
  • tim820
    edited September 4, 2022
    For the PDFs that have not been moved to the cloud, on that same popup menu as Show File is Zotfile's Manage Attachments option. The Rename and Move option is under its sub-menu. That option should move a PDF from the default storage location to your cloud folder, if Zotfile is working and your cloud location is accessible. You should see a small popup message confirming the Zotfile operation.
  • army-jag341
    Ok, I added a new article via the browser connector. I right-clicked on “show file” and confirmed that it went to the default zotero location under zotero/storage/... Because it was only one file, I did not catch the upload to zotfile, but it happened. So, going forward, it appears that the upload to the zotfile cloud folder process is working. I have a couple of follow-up questions:

    1) When I click on the PDF in zotero, which would open the internal viewer and I edit/highlight the file, would the changes be updated in the file in the zotfile folder or the default?

    2) is there a way to “sync” the pdf files between the default storage and the zotfile cloud folder?

    Thank you so much.
  • tim820
    That's still doesn't sound quite right, if I understand you correctly. Zotfile should MOVE the PDF file AUTOMATICALLY from default zotero\storage to your cloud folder (Zotfile Custom Location) as the last operation in the Connector sequence, not just add a COPY there. Which is what I understand you to be describing ... that you ended up with two PDFs. The manual Rename and Move menu operation should only be required in the several odd circumstances where Zotfile does not intervene for the final saving location; it should always do so when the Connnector is able to download a PDF. So if Zotfile is working properly with the Connector, there should not be a PDF left under zotero\storage (even after a manual Rename and Move, that PDF should MOVE to your cloud folder). So the 'which one' question does not arise.
  • army-jag341
    Ok, I just added a new article and when I right-clicked on “show file” it took me to the Zotfile. I went to finder and searched for the name of the article, to see if it would show elsewhere on the computer and it did not. Problem solved.

    Now, is there a way to move the PDFs that would be in the storage prior to the installation of Zotfile to the Zotfile folder?
  • tim820
    The usual way is just to select all the items for which you wish to move their PDFs and then use the popup menu's (Zotfile) Manage Attachments - Rename and Move option. If there's a large number of those mixed in with ones that are already in the Custom Location, it may be easiest just to select everything (or smaller alphabetical-size chunks). Zotfile will move those PDFs that are still in zotero\storage but those already in the Custom Location will be unaffected (although they could get renamed there if your renaming criteria have changed in the interim).

    Glad to hear that it all works now. And a tip for all Zotfile users .... when you first setup Zotero with Zotfile, document all your settings, with screenshots and notes on how everything works. That way if you ever need to set things up from scratch again, you don't have to rely just on your memory. ;) Plus official documentation on Zotfile is not kept up to date very well. So the best current sources are probably university websites where they have documented Zotfile setup for their students/staff.

  • army-jag341
    Thank you so much for all your help. Excellent idea to save the coordinates for future set up. Have a great day!
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