Drag to create file links from Zotero to Finder in MacOS

jakekei
Hi,

I am using MacOS and Zotero. I can drag a pdf to an existing Zotero entry and attach a copy of the file to the entry, or I can repeat with option-command to create a link to Zotero entry.

If I drag the pdf of an entry from Zotero to finder, it creates a copy of the pdf.

If I repeat the above with option-drag, I can see a green color "plus" sign, which means creating a copy, and it creates a copy of the pdf

If I repeat the above with option-command-drag, I can see a "curved arrow" sign, which means creating an alias in finder. However, it is creating a copy of the pdf to finder instead.

My question is:
For option-command-drag that creates copy, is it a bug or an intended behavior?

Thanks!
Jake

PS: I am using Zotero 5.0.72, MacOS 10.14.4.
  • dstillman
    We're not currently able to create links to files in Zotero (at least, in a way we'd be comfortable doing). The misleading cursor feedback can reasonably be considered bug, but I'm not sure we can control that.

    If you really want a link to a stored file, you can use Show File first and then create a link from there.
  • russmcb
    It would be very helpful (for my personal workflow) to have a way of mass dragging PDFs from Zotero as aliases out into the finder.
  • pgjhmb
    I strongly agree with russmcb, as the zotero library has each pdf stored in its own coded directory, which has no semblance to the contents of the citation. It would be very useful to be able to make an alias of the library, that way you can open the documents up with zotero, make your highlights and annotations, and then have it reflected in a more organized way within your aliases, where directories (folders) may correspond to authors, or subjects, etc.
  • dstillman
    @pgjhmb: You can create a smart folder in your OS file manager showing all files within your storage directory, named using the parent metadata.
  • pgjhmb
    Hey dstillman, I appreciate your response. I just tried to create a smart folder using the search within my user>zotero>storage folder , but no search would result in any pdf's. Do you have any specific instructions for what you were referring to?

    Thanks!
  • dstillman
    edited August 23, 2023
    That would be OS-specific, so it's not something we can provide specific guidance on. They're just files within subfolders, and any functioning OS smart-folder implementation should be able to give you a flat list of PDFs under that if set up correctly.

    (On macOS, you'd just use "Kind" is "PDF" as a search rule.)
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