Zotfile won't move PDFs to custom location

tmanchester
Hi,

I've reached my Zotero storage limit so I wanted to move everything to OneDrive. I set the custom location in Zotfile and then right clicked -> Manage attachments -> rename and move. The box appears in the bottom right saying the files have been renamed, but it doesn't move them. This happens with non-onedrive folders too.

I also tried deleting a file, redownloading it, and then renaming and moving it again, but it just moves it to the old Zotero folder.

I've tried disabling and reenabling zotfile, and uninstalling and reinstalling it. I also turned my laptop off and on (lol).

Any other ideas what the problem could be?
  • adamsmith
    You've tried this with one individual item? Which version of Zotero? And would you mind sharing a screenshot of the first two tabs of your ZotFile preferences? (Upload to a free image hosting site & link to from here)
  • tmanchester
    Yes, individual items and when multiple are selected. Zotero 6.0.27.

    Here are the first two tabs: https://ibb.co/album/h1SYzh
  • tim820
    Under Advanced Settings in Zotfile Preferences, do you have 'Only work with the following file types' ticked ? And if so, is the file type you are trying to move - pdf - in that comma-separated list ?

    I would have thought that maybe Onedrive as your Custom Location might have been suspect (although it shouldn't be), but you say the problem persists for non-Onedrive locations. I would take spaces and special chars out of the Custom Location folder name, out of an abundance of caution.
  • tmanchester
    Yes it's ticked, here's the list: "pdf,doc,docx,txt,rtf,djvu,epub." I also tried it unticked.

    Looks like it still occurs when the folder is "C:\Users\qps56811\Downloads\Zotero"

    Maybe because the laptop is managed by my company? I'll try with my personal laptop tonight.
  • oceansky
    I also met the problem, is there any solution?
  • tim820
    edited November 26, 2023
    To be clear, what is the specific problem you are seeing ?

    But similar answers as previously:
    - which versions of Zotero and Zotfile ?
    - how are you trying to get Zotfile to create linked files ?
    - does it fail to move all files ?
    - can you provide a link to pics of each page of your Zotfile Preferences ?

  • tmanchester
    - Zotero 6.0.30
    - Zotfile 5.1.2
    - Via the Zotero browser extension automatically downloading the PDF (ZotFile renames it but then doesn't move it), or via right clicking an item and selecting Manage Attachments -> Rename and move (ZotFile renames it but then doesn't move it).
    - Yes, no files have ever been moved to the location I specified in ZotFile preferences.
    - Preferences: https://ibb.co/album/y44C3t

    I'm now trying this on my personal laptop, which is brand new so a completely clean install of Zotero. I've also tried with Google Drive and other non-cloud locations on my laptops.
  • tim820
    edited November 29, 2023
    I was really addressing @oceansky, but @tmanchester I guess your problem is still not solved. I would take all special chars and spaces out of the pathname in your Custom Location. And maybe keep the path much shorter if you can. And if that doesn't work, keep those things but move off Onedrive. I'd also be tempted to tick Replace Blanks (I'm assuming that means spaces - I don't use that setting) if your renaming rules ever lets them through as is, so Onedrive doesn't have to deal with any spaces.

    But we're clutching at straws. All the Zotfile things you're having issues with usually just "work". So I'm just picking things you have that are different to my setup. Spaces in filenames work fine for me, but I'm not on Onedrive (which does have a history of some idiosyncrasies around here).

  • adamsmith
    I'm wondering if this is some weird permissions issue related to company security policies, which seem like the most likely culprit to me. The only OneDrive issues I'm aware of are related to Word integration - you never know, but I'd be surprised if that was the issue here.
  • afischlinguist
    edited December 2, 2023
    My Zotfile is no longer moving PDFs, either. To be fair, I did just change the location of the stored files (from a company OneDrive account to my personal one), but I updated all the settings in the preferences so it should work. I get the popup notification on my computer that the linked attachment has been renamed, but it doesn't say anything about moving the file. The file does appear renamed as a linked attachment in Zotero, which I can open in Zotero's PDF viewer. And when I right click on the linked attachment and click "show file," it brings me to where I had stored the PDF, but the file is not renamed there.

    EDIT: After about 15 minutes, now when I again right click on the linked attachment and select "show file," it brings me to the correctly renamed file in the configured attachments folder ("custom location" for Zotfile). However, this is apparently a *copy* file, as there is still a file by the original name in the original folder. So it seems somehow the "move" function isn't moving, but rather copying? And I'm not sure what would be causing a delay?

    EDIT 2: Okay, I feel dumb, but instead of deleting I'll leave this up for anyone else who may be similarly befuddled by their own actions in the future. Turns out if you have the PDF in question open in a PDF reader on your computer, you can't rename and move the file. Duh. So this is what had happened in my original post: I had the file open in a PDF viewer, so clicking "rename and move" on the attachment only renamed it *in Zotero*. I'm still not sure what happened to cause the "copy" document, though. Attempting to recreate this process didn't result in any copy--only the rename in Zotero, and when I closed the PDF on my computer and tried again, the rename and move worked perfectly.

    Anyway, don't be like me.
  • tim820
    I've seen the same issue. You can't have a PDF open in another program and then ask Zotfile to move it. Similar to trying to move a file in your operating system and getting the error "This file can't be moved because it is open in another program". Except Zotfile doesn't show an error message. In time you just learn not to do that. ;)

  • Yuwei.Huang
    Hi @tmanchester, I may have a different guess for what you have encountered. Have you been trying to move the files stored in your Group Library? I encountered the same problem when I try to rename and move the files stored in my Group Library collections. The renaming went well, but no files have been moved to customized routes of Zotfile.

    When I move the exact files to any collection under My Library, both renaming and moving went well.

    Just sharing here in case I forgot this myself. And if it's helping anyone out then it would be great.
  • sol_pm
    Hi @Yuwei.Huang I am having the same issue with a Group Library. Zotfile renames and moves the files in My Library correctly (transforming them into linked attachments) but not in my group library. Have you found a solution?
  • adamsmith
    Groups don't support file links so transforming attachments into links can't even work theoretically (and Zotfile doesn't support it, accordingly)
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