Upgrade StorageZotfile and next version of zotero
I'm starting a new workflow combining devonthink and zotero. I use Zotero for its superior capturing abilities, and for citing while I write. All attachments are moved using zotfile to a onedrive folder, and Devonthink indexes that folder - I use Devonthink for its organisation and search functions. It all seems to work smoothly, includign syncing across two macs and an ipad. But seeing as zotfile does not seem to be regularly maintained anymore, I'm worried that my system might not be future-proof, especially when a new version of zotero is released.
Should I be worried about this, or will there always be a simple way of moving zotero attachments into my folder of choice?
Should I be worried about this, or will there always be a simple way of moving zotero attachments into my folder of choice?
https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/104858/on-zotfile-development-and-zotero-7
https://github.com/wileyyugioh/zotmoov
https://github.com/MuiseDestiny/zotero-attanger (Chrome's translation to English works well for the instructions)
Note that Zotero does not support linked attachment files in Zotero Groups, the online web library, or the mobile apps.
https://www.zotero.org/support/attaching_files#linked_files
*AFAIK currently there is no v7-compatible plugin to automate Zotfile's Send to Tablet functionality. Of course you can do that manually with Zotero's mobile apps, for example by having one collection in which you keep items for that purpose: you would use Zotero's Tools\Manage Attachments\Convert Linked Files To Stored Files, to temporarily convert those items' linked attachments to local Zotero storage, which will then sync across your devices ... if File Syncing is kept set to ON and you are under your online file storage quota.
If the cloud folder where you store your linked files is accessible on your mobile devices, you are also obviously able to read those files with any reader on those devices (outside Zotero). Any annotations added in that reader will be seen in Zotero's viewer, as locked annotations. They can then be imported to Zotero's database if desired. But any annotations in the Zotero database will not be visible in those PDFs in an external reader (unless exported back to the PDF).
https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/annotations_in_database
I don't need the groups/library/tablet as I will do all the actual work on the pdfs through devonthink. I only need a way to easily have all attachments moved to my onedrive folder (which is indexed by devonthink).
I'm thinking of switching to Zotero version 7 now, since i am in early days and it's easier to switch now and get into the habit with the new system, instead of building a workflow with the old one and then relearning again.
couple of questions:
I couldn't tell the difference between zotmoov and attanger, how do I choose which one to use for the automatic attachment moving?
And do we know if the code of these plugins has been inspected from a security perspective? I'm always wary about installing executable files from an unknown source...
One issue with linked attachment files is that they are not deleted by Zotero when you delete the item to which they belong. The usual workaround is the delitewithatt plugin. But it looks like the zotmoov plugin can do that itself.
https://github.com/redleafnew/delitemwithatt
Zotero plugins are not EXE files, they're XPI files - the extension file format for Mozilla products (Zotero is based on Firefox). They are loaded into Zotero, not executed externally. AFAIK Zotero does not verify any extension before it is allowed to be added to Zotero (having a formal approval process might not be a bad idea, moving forward). I am not aware of any plugin ever having done anything malicious (although I remember at least one serious bug), but nor whether there is anything in Zotero code to prevent that.
https://www.zotero.org/support/plugins
The Attanger one doesn't seem to have documentation in English which makes it difficult to evaluate, but the developer seems to be active on github with lots of followers and produced other plugins.
The Zotmoov one has clear instructions, although the developer doesn't seem to have as much of an established presence.
Has anyone on this forum checked the code of these plugins (I don't have the expertise to do so myself) or have any advice if they are safe to install?