Upgrade StorageHow to transfer locally stored files to cloud
Hello everyone,
The zotero extension on my computer has not been working properly for the last year so I (foolishly) have been downloading all my files and then transferring the downloads to my Zotero library. I recently got a new computer so now I am experiencing issues transferring these locally stored files to the cloud. The way Zotero seems to do this is by linking files stored in the program files, but many of mine are stored in my Downloads folder. Is there an easy way to connect all these files to the web browser, while retaining all my highlights and notes for the pdf in Zotero? This task has been haunting me.
Thank you!
The zotero extension on my computer has not been working properly for the last year so I (foolishly) have been downloading all my files and then transferring the downloads to my Zotero library. I recently got a new computer so now I am experiencing issues transferring these locally stored files to the cloud. The way Zotero seems to do this is by linking files stored in the program files, but many of mine are stored in my Downloads folder. Is there an easy way to connect all these files to the web browser, while retaining all my highlights and notes for the pdf in Zotero? This task has been haunting me.
Thank you!
https://www.zotero.org/support/attaching_files#stored_files_and_linked_files
But it's not 100% clear what your specific problem now is. If the suggestions below don't cover your issue, can you describe exactly what you are trying to do in Zotero (desktop or web library ?), and what is not working (eg what any error messages say) ?
You can transfer linked files between computers, simply by copying them to the same location on the new computer (which is where the Zotero database thinks they are). A Linked Attachment Base Directory setting can accommodate different path locations for those linked files on each computer, if you need that.
However if you wanted to convert PDF attachments to "stored" files, you would use Tools\Manage Attachments\Convert Linked Files to Stored Files (on a computer where those PDF files are actually stored at their original linked paths). After doing so, and with file syncing turned on in Zotero, those files would then sync online and to your other computer(s) ... as long as you are under your online file storage quota (300 mb free). So you should check how much space your PDFs occupy before doing that.
Regarding your original problem with the Zotero web connector, you should post that here if you're still having issues. And BTW you could have dragged each PDF file in your Downloads folder into Zotero as a regular stored file (ie they didn't have to be linked files, unless that's what you really wanted).