Issues with file path

gjidw03fja
Sorry in advance, I don't know anything about tech and am really, really struggling :(((( for context, I'm on a MacBook Air (2017) running macOS Monterey 12.7.6, and running zotero 9.0.3. This is the only device/account on which I'm using zotero.

This has been a long-standing issue for me where zotero seems to forget the file paths, even though the files are not moved/renamed/I don't seem to have changed anything in any way. But usually I would just have to do it a few times and eventually it would remember. (This was not true of all folders; it seemed that it had more trouble for items in folders within other folders, but I could be wrong). Since zotero updated, though, it seemed to be having more problems than usual, and was no longer remembering after a few tries. Stupidly, I thought I might be able to fix it by linking my desktop as the attachment base directory (all my linked files are in folders on my desktop). This has now had the effect of forgetting where almost all my linked files are, and no matter how many times I re-establish the path, zotero will forget where it is. Please help, I am having a breakdown :''''(((((((((
  • dstillman Zotero Team
    Sorry, but if you're having trouble with this, you should not be using linked files:
    Given the advanced nature of linked-file workflows, and the differences on individual systems, we're not able to help troubleshoot problems with specific setups.
    If you provide more details — with exact errors — someone from the community might be able to help you, but we can't.
  • gjidw03fja
    Unfortunately I can't afford to pay a yearly subscription, so linked files are my only option. The only error it comes up with is 'File Not Found'. Thanks anyway..
  • aborel
    edited 9 days ago
    If you're using Zotero on just one machine, you don't really need to sync with the Zotero server, which is the main value you'd get out of a subscription.

    Obviously you need some form of backup, but you can arrange that 100% locally or using the cloud of your choice https://www.zotero.org/support/zotero_data#backing_up_your_zotero_data

  • tim820
    In terms of understanding how linked files work, the *default* linked files setup (with no Linked Attachment Base Directory setting) is that every linked PDF you add has its location stored in the Zotero database as an explicit path to the location at which you added it. So as long as you don't move any of those files around in your OS (outside Zotero), Zotero should always be able to find them.

    But once you set a Linked Attachment Base Directory (LABD), that all changes.

    Note that a LABD setting is usually only required when you have linked files at *different* (single) parent path locations on *two or more* different computers (eg D:\ZoteroAttachments on one and E:\ZoteroAttachments on another). But it can also help if you have to move all your linked files on one computer to another single parent folder location on the same computer.

    Once you have added a LABD, all explicit PDF file paths in the Zotero database are replaced with an 'attachments:' prefix - that tells Zotero to insert the LABD prefix when assembling the full path to *every* linked file, when it is trying to open a linked PDF. As long as the LABD is correct, and as long as you don't move any of those files around in your OS (outside Zotero), Zotero should always be able to find your linked files.

    But if for example you have linked files at various locations on any *single* computer with *different* parent paths, a LABD will not work ... because it can only point Zotero to a single parent path for all your linked files on that computer.

    The Zutilo plugin has several options to help you understand what paths Zotero has stored for your linked files, in particular 'Show Attachment Paths'. If you have a LABD set, it will show the 'attachments:' prefix where the current LABD setting would be inserted by Zotero to assemble the full path to the PDF.

    When Zotero shows the 'File not found' error, the clue to solving it is often in (1) where Zotero says it is looking for that file, and (2) where that file actually is on your computer.

    Linked files work seamlessly for most people who use them. They are not associated with any current bugs AFAIK.

    When you first set up Zotero, or make any changes, you should document how your files are organized and all the relevant settings, with links to the explanatory documentation. That applies particularly to linked-files setups. Otherwise it is easy to forget why things are organized the way they are, and how everything works 'under the hood'.
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