Attach link to file--original file cannot be deleted

fangchiyeh2000
I used to be able to delete my original file after attaching them to Zotero, since it will copy files to Zotero storage. But this week it just doesn't work like this--I cannot delete the original files or Zotero won't be able to locate the path.

(I am not using an online one though. Everything is on my computer and my computer has quite a big load of storage space. Does Zotero limit storage even it's not online?
  • dstillman
    edited October 7, 2022
    If you're actually using linked files, Zotero doesn't copy them in — the point of linked files is that Zotero just points to the original file. If you're using stored files, which are the default and recommended option, Zotero would copy them into 'storage' and you could delete the originals.

    https://www.zotero.org/support/attaching_files#stored_files_and_linked_files
  • fangchiyeh2000
    Thanks for the quick reply!

    There are three choices:
    1. Attach link to URL
    2. Attach stored copy of file
    3. Attach Link to file

    should I choose number 2, then?
  • dstillman
    Yes. That's also what you get if you drag a PDF into Zotero.
  • fangchiyeh2000
    I tried Attach stored copy of file, but after I deleted the original file, it still says can't locate thing.
  • dstillman
    You're doing something wrong here. If you use Attach Stored Copy of File, it will copy the file into 'storage', and after that it will have no connection whatsoever to the original file.

    You can use right-click → Show File to see the exact file that Zotero is pointing to.

    If you use Show File and then delete that file within 'storage', that will obviously make the attachment unavailable in Zotero.
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