Delete PDFs from cloud, keep them locally, allow only newly created items to sync PDFs to the cloud

mcmillip
I have a student who has maxed out their cloud space with synced PDFs. Now they are embarking on a new project. They want to delete all the PDFs currently in the cloud, but not delete them from their local database. Then, they want to be able to sync any newly created items along with their PDFs to the cloud. But, just to be clear, they do not want their older PDFs, still present in the local database, to re-sync to the cloud. The general goal is to reserve cloud space for PDFs relevant to current projects, while keeping older PDFs not immediately relevant only in the local database. Is this possible?
  • dstillman
    No, that's not possible. The point of syncing is to make the entire library available on all devices. There are options to not download all files to some devices, but anything in the library gets uploaded unless you actually disable file syncing.
  • tim820
    edited 2 days ago
    The only (moderately complex, and not officially supported) way to do it would be to convert the old PDFs to "linked" files, stored only on the local machine in another folder, not under Zotero\storage (although they should be backed up in some way, just like the Zotero data folder hierarchy should be backed up). All annotations etc are preserved. The linked PDFs will just no longer be synced to online (their parent item data will still sync - that is free and unlimited). The remaining, and future, standard "stored" PDFs will sync as usual. Note the limitations of linked files (don't work with Groups, the web library, or mobile apps, and are not officially supported).
    https://www.zotero.org/support/attaching_files#stored_files_and_linked_files

    Described here for a similar situation where a user wanted to store their larger PDFs on an external drive. Make sure the process and settings are all clearly documented so if for example it needs to be reversed, or moved to another computer at some point, that is straightforward.
    https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/comment/500138/#Comment_500138
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