i second!
and maybe drag with holding 'shift' to move the file into Zotero (delete from the original place)

drag and drop off a file imports it; drag and drop with holding cmd or ctrl could create a link toward the file instead.

There's a ticket for this.

I'd like something similar for grabbing pdf's off of web-sites. At the moment drag and drop imports them as snapshots. Could we have an option with cmd or ctrl to import them as files.

Jon: I addressed that on another thread.

Being new to Zotero, I'm comparing it to Mendeley-if not iTunes; this discussion seems to be about those with large collections in many appropriately-named folders not being able to automatically import and extract metadata from preexisting folders-that would seem to be a high priority as its the first and only major problem I ran in to; is there a fix planned for this issue or no?

I second the notion to allow PDFs to imported as linked files that remain in their original folder locations. Thanks!

Another vote for either a preference setting or key+drag&drog for having D&D files linked to enable those of us with a well-maintained directory of 2000+ PDF files easily link not store in Zotero. This is possible in Endnote. Its possible in my genealogical program The Master Genealogist. Endnote allows you to set a preference for link vs store. TMG is even better. This program allows you to set a preference for link vs store, and even better they have an option for you to change the link path. My last computer upgrade was a breeze. I just installed the program, set the preference and then set my linked documents path.

Another vote - as a new user I was rather surprised this was not standard. I would rather not trust a third party to store my library so putting copies of all my documents into the zotero folders seems to be to be a rather illogical choice when you have the option to create your own storage model and link to the files. Now using the zotero standalone I'd really like to be able to drag tot he interface and create a link as the default behaviour...or at least use a modifier key. Opening a dialog to add linked files one by one is too inefficient.

So after 3 years of a few vocal minorities voting for a feature ... is there a way to raise the profile/need of this feature or are we just shouting into the wind and most people dont bother with linking to files?

nm. off topic in a request thread.

adamsmith, could you please elaborate on the "virtual folders" solution? Is there any way to browse attachments to zotero in a directory tree that would mimick the collection tree? This would be exactly what I am looking for…

a virtual folder would allow you to have all pdfs in one folder. A virtual folder is the same as a saved search - in this case at the level of the operating system. You perform a search in the Zotero data folder for "*.pdf" (and any other file formats that are relevant for you) and then save the search results - each operating system does that in slightly different ways, but 3mins of google will get you there)
This doesn't re-create Zotero's collection structure.
For that, again, have a look at the Zotfile plugin.

Zotfile allows you to auto-place files in subfolders it creates - though apparently not sorted by collection
check the .subfolder and .subfolderFormat options:
http://www.columbia.edu/~jpl2136/zotfile.html

I don't think it's feasible for Zotero to create a virtual folder structure (which would be necessary for collections as items can be in multiple collections) because virtual folders work differently on each operating system.

Using closed source solutions that only work on one operating system is foolish. It's the definition of locking-in your data (and no, the ability to export RIS and BibTex doesn't really help). You're not going to do yourself a favor in the long term. But go ahead.

You came here and recommended a commercial and proprietary product to other Zotero users.

I'm glad you have a solution that work for you, but I think it's appropriate to warn other users that your recommendation is - yes - foolish.
If you don't like that, no one forces you to spend time on the forum of a software you're not using.

Let me quickly answer the offtopic and the leave it at that to not get the thread off-track too much:
1. I think the OS issue really matters. It's not just about you switching to a different OS (though I do think that matters), it's also about potential co-workers. E.g. I use Linux - I can co-author with someone using Zotero or Mendeley - if need be (though that involves a bit more effort) bibtex. Endnote, Quigga, Citavi, Papers2 are all no-goes. Linux is a tiny fraction of the market, of course, but Qiqqa and Citavi don't even support MacOS and that's a pretty substantial, and rapidly growing segment of the market, especially among academics.

2. The second issue is Word processor integration. Citavi's citation styles and word processor implementation is closed source. Zotero's is not just open source, but developed separate from Zotero and implemented in other software as well - definitely Mendeley, I'm not sure about exactly what Colwiz and Qiqqa do. That means - starting with Zotero 3.0 and current Mendeley - I can co-author with a Mendeley user without even installing Mendeley and I can switch to Mendeley and keep my Word/LibreOffice documents working - because of open standards.

3. The third issue is export formats. RIS and BibTex are poorly standardized and relatively high-loss formats. (RIS is just a bad format, BibTex is much better but there is no unified standard). That means you will lose information - at times quite a bit - when you transport data that way. If you check Zotero export, it supports multiple content-rich and open export standards - not just it's own RDF, but also MODS, TEI, DublinCore RDF etc. That still not perfect, but makes you much more flexible on export. Citavi has a total of four export formats. That's not tied to open source per se, but tightly connected to the mentality of close vs. open software. Zotero also has it's database in an open database format, allowing e.g. Mendeley to access and locally sync a Zotero database.

4. Fourth - what happens when they go under? Citavi is a small software maker in what has over the last five years become a highly competitive market with multiple high-quality solutions offered for free. They may do fine, but there's a decent chance they may not. If that happens to Zotero the code is already in the open there are a number of people not associated directly with Zotero who know some parts of it quite well (there is, in fact already a Zotero-fork - though it's a friendly one which will hopefully merge back into Zotero at some point), so chances are it would be possible to keep it going. With Citavi, if the company goes under that is likely it. You can keep using their software for a bit longer until it becomes incompatible with current versions of Word and Windows.

So yes, there is always some degree of lock-in involved in using software, but using Citavi you're maximizing your lock-in in every possible way.

How would you like it to work from the user interface perspective?

The problem with dragging and dropping is that at least on Mac, Drag and Drop is either "copy" or "move" or "open", depending on the context. It is never "link". If it was "link" in Zotero, it would be confusing for the users.

I would rather have some kind of mass import dialog instead, because this is probably something that you would not use that often.

I was also surprised of the missing drag&drop (using a key variant) link feature. The competitors do have this feature, and Zotero, overall, seems much more modern than such competitors.
As the key variant to use, the Human Software Interface would suggest Alt+drag in the Win world, since Alt+drag in Explorer would create a shortcut link.
Some applications use also a pop up mini-menu that appears when one drags the file, letting chose what to do. In Zotero such mini-menu could be the same of the sub-menu that already exists with the right click.

The workaround that I implemented was to make first a file shortcut of the pdf file where the file is located (Alt+drag), and then drag just the file shortcut (which will be stored as attachment) in Zotero. Then one can delete the original file shortcut that was made in the first place.
Cons: the "rename file from metadata" changes just the file shortcut stored in Zotero, not the real file. And probably no indexing contents available either (if one uses it).
Pros: If the real file is moved in other folders or it is renamed the link in Zotero will still work, since it autofixes. Not so with the menu driven link feature currently implemented by Zotero, that instead will break.

This suggestion makes sense to me. I created a ticket, so you can follow the progress here.

https://github.com/zotero/zotero/issues/77