WebDAV sync for group libraries

fabbraun
For privacy concerns I'm interested in syncing documents of a private group library via my own cloud. As clearly state in the documentation this is currently not possible: https://www.zotero.org/support/sync#data_syncing

I was wondering whether this is planned for the future and if yes if there is an estimation of when this will be available?

Thanks a lot for your reply.
Fab
  • dbonatto
    I'm also very interested, Is there any updates on this?

    This feature is really a must have when you work with other people. If the problem is that the cloud services have a password to connect to them, I think this is not a real issue as a team can make its own cloud and share the access.


    Relevant discussions:
    https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/34481/saving-group-libraries-on-a-webdav-server
    https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/77589/webdav-sync-for-group-libraries
    https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/75041/webdav-syncing-and-group-file-storage
    https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/9485/sync-group-attachments-rather-to-webdav-than-to-zotero
    https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/59350/storage-options-for-a-group
    https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/71223/using-zotero-with-a-group-sharing-file-repository
    https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/68414/storage-management-for-personal-library-and-group-library
  • emilianoeheyns
    The problem isn't that there's a password, but that a user can be part of multiple groups, and zotero would have to have a webdav config for each separate group. While not technically impossible, it'd complicate both the internals and the UI of zotero.
  • DrCamTurner
    Some recent discussion of an existing (but pending) patch for this feature: https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/50369
  • adamsmith
    (the patch is for relative links support and thus linked attachments in groups, which are distinct from -- and likely easier to than -- WebDAV support for groups)
  • DrCamTurner
    Ah, my mistake. Apologies for conflating the two and thanks for catching this @adamsmith. Clearly I've not understood the different goals and mechanisms for relative links for groups vs WebDAV for groups. I thought both were ways to have group library files (e.g., PDFs) stored and synced via a 3rd-party cloud instead of Zotero Storage.

    Is there a Forums thread or support page you could point to which describes these differences? Many thanks in advance.

    Zotero Documentation on WebDAV: https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/webdav_services
  • adamsmith
    I think this has a pretty good summary: https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/77592/clarification-on-linked-files-sync

    Mobile app support is another difference between WebDAV (typically yes) & linked files (typically no)
  • tkaiser
    This is the last feature that prevents us from using Zotero for our lab. We are provided with free WebDAV space from our university but we are forced to pay 120$ per year if we want to synchronize our groups.
  • dbonatto
    Same here :)

    At the moment, we can use a hack by setting up a shared account for each lab where everyone know the password and everyone setup multiple profiles of Zotero on its own computer.

    https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/multiple_profiles

    So one profile is for own documents, and one is for the group..
    However, at my uni, we only have one WebDAV per user.. so we cannot implement this, but it was the best solution I though of..

    But anyway, this feature would be a game changer for me too!
  • fabbraun
    On my side I think $120/year is affordable for an entire institution/lab.
    With a single account you can invite as many users as you want and create as many libraries as you want with no space limitation (which is not the case for example for paid cloud plans of other applications).
    You can also see it as a donation to the development of Zotero ;)

    However, if you have lots of work resources but no money to spend you could have a look into how to setup your own Zotero server:
    e.g. https://github.com/SamuelHassine/zotero-prime
    (even tough I doubt that this pays out in terms of time investment, given that time is money)
  • llombard
    $120/year is probably affordable for most institutions/labs but sometimes bureaucracy and inertia do not help.

    So having the same webdav feature for group libraries as for personal libraries would be a major improvement, with a shared webdav login for the group.

    so, +1 here.
    Thanks!
  • lzbk
    Indeed, it is affordable, when your institution allows such expenses (which has not been the case of my current institution).

    +1 here…
  • henningninneh
    webdav is really a must have for group libraries! +1
  • skybristol
    For what we'd like to do with group/shared library syncing, it's more than just syncing PDF files associated with references in the library. We want to be able to share everything that develops around a given reference record - notes, tags, markdown files generated from annotations. All of that is shared via Zotero's own offering. WebDAV would handle file sync, including files added to items beyond the base PDF, but I don't believe it would handle the extraneous information added to the bibliographic record.

    It's affordable for us at an institutional level as a relatively modest-sized government science organization. The problem is that we can't currently use Zotero's shared storage offering because it's not a big enough group to go through the necessary bureaucratic red tape.

    Has anyone forked Zotero to work on that component, opening up where and how Zotero handles all group library functionality? We also need to be able to selectively open up everything on a given shared library item (or an entire shared library) for public access, which I don't think we can do now with how Zotero handles their shared library functionality vis a vis potential copyright protection.
  • adamsmith
    So you're allowed to use Zotero's free data sync (which includes notes and tags) but not the file sync? That's a bit odd in terms of rules.

    But what you describe, i.e. having everything sync with your own server basically means setting up your own copy of the (open source) Zotero server. zotero-prime (now "ZotPrime" to clarify this isn't an official Zoteor product), linked above, provides instructions on exactly that and it doesn't require a fork of the Zotero client. For providing open access for files in a shared group, you might have to fork Zotero, but I'm not even sure about that. Possible that that's also entirely possible at the client level (of course when you run your own server you'd also have to provide your own web library, but that's relatively easy in comparison)
  • tim.sockel
    Are there any news regarding WebDAV support for group libraries?
  • vahaldor
    I would vote for this feature as well. We share literature in shared folder and keep libraries personal only because we can't share it using group library
  • internationaled
    Jumping in here to mention that this would be helpful for us, as well. We have our own WebDav server.
  • Tomero
    I'm also looking for this ability. Any updates on this?
  • _arjuna_
    Yep. Waiting on this one too!
  • adamsmith
    Just to clarify this again -- as I understand it, WebDAV for groups is pretty unlikely to happen. There's just no reasonable way to authenticate group permissions against the WebDAV protocol.

    Easier set-up for completely self-hosted servers has been promised for a while and there's no major technical obstacle there, but even with a docker image or the like provided, that will still require a reasonable amount of technical expertise to run.
  • mrli6666
    When the owner of the group create a new group, he/she provide the following information: WebDav URL, username, password just as in Zotero client software. Of course those information are not accessible to other members of the group. But all members can sync attachments to the ULR the owner provided.

    Is this possible? Thanks.
  • adamsmith
    No. For a start, that'd be *terrible* infosec, since Zotero would have to centrally store and manage all those username/password combinations, which it doesn't have to for individual accounts where they're only stored locally on your machine (that's why files synced with WebDAV aren't available from the web library, either).

    (To save others the time: I don't work for Zotero and I won't start explaining why any range of solutions you can think won't work, and I'd guess neither will Zotero's dev team. If you're a developer with significant expertise in this area and an idea to approach it, post to the zotero-dev list.)
  • internationaled
    My WebDAV server supports shared folders in which each user has their own account but accesses the same folder. No shared passwords are needed.
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