Upgrade StorageFiles saved to Data Direcotry Location rather than Linked Attachment Base Directory
# What I am trying to do?
Save PDFs of a reference as an attactment in Zotero 7.0.19. I drag and drop the PDF to the reference and Zotero adds it as a file to the parent item.
Linked Attachment Base Directory: this is setup as a Onedrive Location using relative paths
Data Directory: this is setup as a user/folder (not in Onedrive)
# What is the issue?
The PDF attachment are stored by Zotero in the Data Directory. As a test, I have added a new PDF as an attachement (using drag and drop) and it seemed to work fine. When I clicked 'show file' it showed that it is in the Data Directory, not the Linked Attachement Base Directory.
# What have I done to resolve the issue already?
Searched Zotero discussions but I couldn't find anything specific to this issue.
Uninstalled and reinstalled Zotero
Save PDFs of a reference as an attactment in Zotero 7.0.19. I drag and drop the PDF to the reference and Zotero adds it as a file to the parent item.
Linked Attachment Base Directory: this is setup as a Onedrive Location using relative paths
Data Directory: this is setup as a user/folder (not in Onedrive)
# What is the issue?
The PDF attachment are stored by Zotero in the Data Directory. As a test, I have added a new PDF as an attachement (using drag and drop) and it seemed to work fine. When I clicked 'show file' it showed that it is in the Data Directory, not the Linked Attachement Base Directory.
# What have I done to resolve the issue already?
Searched Zotero discussions but I couldn't find anything specific to this issue.
Uninstalled and reinstalled Zotero
https://www.zotero.org/support/attaching_files#stored_files_and_linked_files
The Linked Attachment Base Directory (LABD) has no effect on where linked files get stored. The LABD only tells Zotero where to *look* when opening linked files. A LABD is only really needed (1) when using more than one computer *and* (2) when their parent paths to the linked files are different on each computer.
https://www.zotero.org/support/preferences/advanced#files_and_folders
If you drag and drop a PDF from your OS into Zotero, it will be copied to a folder under Zotero\storage, as a stored file. If instead you drag and drop with a modifier key (Ctrl+Shift on Windows/Linux or Cmd+Option on Mac), it will be saved as a linked file, remaining in the folder location you dragged from. So if you want to use that, the file should already be in the folder you want it to be linked to.
https://www.zotero.org/support/attaching_files#adding_files_via_the_zotero_window
But most people using linked files use a plugin to manage automatic saving of files to a user-designated linked-files folder as they are downloaded by the Zotero web connector - such as Zotmoov or Attanger. Those plugins can also move existing stored files to that folder as linked files.
Thanks so much for taking the time to respond and explain. You've helped so much.