Zotero file storage options

shagg
edited October 3, 2022
Hello,

I'm currently evaluating Zotero for organizing my e-book collection (mostly PDFs). I would use Zotero on Windows (multiple computers) and iOS/iPadOS (multiple devices). I've read up on the Zotero storage service, the WebDAV option, Zotfile and linked files. I'm not sure the following combination of requirements can be met:

1. Have all files (PDFs) accessible on all systems (Windows, iOS, iPadOS).
2. When I add/modify/remove a file on one system, it should automatically become available (or be modified/removed) on all other systems.
3. The original files (PDFs with intelligible filenames) should remain accessible via WebDav or cloud service on all devices. I.e., I don't want the files to be exclusively stored in Zotero's proprietary format. E.g. I want them to remain searchable with other tools.
4. I'd very much like to avoid having to always manually change files in two places (Zotero storage and original file storage) when a file gets added/modified/removed.

Is there some way to achieve this? Or some close approximation?

My current understanding is that linked files would fulfil the requirements on Windows, but not on iOS/iPadOS (which would be a showstopper for me).

I'd also like to avoid using the Zotero storage service, as my collection is already close to 6 GB and that would be getting too expensive. I have no problems with setting up a WebDAV server or using Dropbox or Nextcloud or whatever.
  • dstillman
    Yes, if you want Zotero to manage and sync everything for you and want to use the Zotero iOS app, you would need to use stored files, synced via either Zotero Storage or WebDAV. The files on WebDAV are only meant for syncing with Zotero and aren't directly usable, but the local ones are just files on your computer, automatically named based on the parent item metadata. As explained on the that page, it's trivial to search for and open stored files outside of Zotero.

    For other options, see the linked-files section.
  • shagg
    edited October 3, 2022
    Thanks for the info. If I understand correctly, the local files are in a Zotero-managed folder. In principle, I could externally sync that folder to the cloud, so that the files are accessible from everywhere independently from Zotero. However, I assume that on the Zotero side, the contents of that folder is only synced when Zotero is running on the respective computer. That is, the local folders on the different computers will not always be in sync. If I externally sync the local folders with each other (with an always-running cloud sync), that might confuse Zotero. Or maybe it won't? What advice is there for such a setup?

    I have a second question: Some books consist of multiple files, i.e. one PDF per chapter. Normally I would put those PDFs into a dedicated subfolder specific to the respective book. How would that look like when the files are managed by Zotero? Do all files of the entire Zotero collection need to be in the same flat directory, without the possibility to organize them into subfolders on the filesystem level?
  • dstillman
    edited October 4, 2022
    The advice is to use Zotero Storage or WebDAV. You can see Alternative Syncing Solutions for other options, but you'd be on your own for those.
    Normally I would put those PDFs into a dedicated subfolder specific to the respective book. How would that look like when the files are managed by Zotero?
    You add the files to Zotero and it manages them on disk for you. You can add multiple PDFs as child attachments of the same item, but they're just separate attachments. Again, the linked page explains how you would search for files by filename outside of Zotero, though obviously Zotero provides all sorts of search, tagging, and organization options, and those are what most people use.
  • shagg
    Thanks. My understanding is that I can't use the external syncing if I want to use the iOS/iPadOS app (and want the files to be accessible there). Using Zotero Storage or WebDAV on the other hand doesn't fulfill my need of having the files available in the cloud for access by other tools than Zotero. So it seems that I'm out of luck with Zotero, unless I manually organize all files in two separate places (Zotero and non-Zotero)?
  • adamsmith
    That's correct, yes.
  • shoshan
    edited April 11, 2023
    I'm working on refining my haphazard workflow so that I can read/send articles and books from my Zotero library on my iPad via PDF Expert. I know I can do this directly with the new iOS Zotero app by I still prefer the PDF Expert interface. I recently set up a WebDAV through Koofr to sync my annotated documents across different devices. I'm stuck on the following Q and would appreciate any insight:

    1. I'm stuck trying to figure out if with Zotero 6 I still need Zotfile to send PDFs from the Zotero library on my Macbook to PDF Expert on my iPad.

    2. My second issue is that I have several annotated PDFs saved locally on iPad via PDF expert that I would like to incorporate and sync into my Zotero ecosystem and directory. Any advice on how to refine this workflow?

    Happy to hear your thoughts on how to set up my Zotero-WebDAV-PDF Expert workflow.

    My apologies if I've cross-posted. I've looked through the forum and haven't quite found the answers to my particular quandary.
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