Upgrade Storage188BET靠谱吗How to properly use Zotero with Cloud storage?
I've read a lot about this particular issue, and still dont understand how to make my pdfs accessible across 2 computers (i.e.188BET靠谱吗2 zotero instances) without syncing all of my pdfs to zotero's web library (i use the free 300 MB, which isnt enough to hold all of my storage sans upgrading).
This is my ultimate goal -- to be able to read all of my pdfs (i.e.have them accessible & readable) no matter which computer i am using.
i have followed this guide ( https://libguides.libraries.wsu.edu/c.php?g=768677&p=5514205)such that "Edit > Preferences > Advanced > Files and Folders > Linked Attachment Base Directory > Base Directory:" links to my dropbox folder which contains all of my documents.
188BET靠谱吗After doing this on both instances of zotero, i am unable to access my pdfs on my mobile computer (the instance created 2nd, after following the same procedure on my computer where all files are also stored locally).
After reading this:
188BET靠谱吗//www.brodersterzo.com/support/kb/data_directory_in_cloud_storage_folder
and other resources, it seems as though i have done something incorrectly, and have put myself at risk of database corruption.
188BET靠谱吗My process is typically to download an article > name it using my own system of nomenclature > move it to my dropbox folder that i have made as my linked attachment base directory > then place it in my zotero library.
Can someone explain to me how a "relational link" differs from my current process, and offer advice on how to change what i've been doing to achieve my above goal?
This is my ultimate goal -- to be able to read all of my pdfs (i.e.have them accessible & readable) no matter which computer i am using.
i have followed this guide ( https://libguides.libraries.wsu.edu/c.php?g=768677&p=5514205)such that "Edit > Preferences > Advanced > Files and Folders > Linked Attachment Base Directory > Base Directory:" links to my dropbox folder which contains all of my documents.
188BET靠谱吗After doing this on both instances of zotero, i am unable to access my pdfs on my mobile computer (the instance created 2nd, after following the same procedure on my computer where all files are also stored locally).
After reading this:
188BET靠谱吗//www.brodersterzo.com/support/kb/data_directory_in_cloud_storage_folder
and other resources, it seems as though i have done something incorrectly, and have put myself at risk of database corruption.
188BET靠谱吗My process is typically to download an article > name it using my own system of nomenclature > move it to my dropbox folder that i have made as my linked attachment base directory > then place it in my zotero library.
Can someone explain to me how a "relational link" differs from my current process, and offer advice on how to change what i've been doing to achieve my above goal?
188BET靠谱吗At the top of the WSU library page you linked it correctly says "this is all about saving attachment files to cloud storage and establishing links to your Zotero record.188BET靠谱吗Do NOT store your entire Zotero directory on cloud storage".
But this instruction is somewhat ambiguous and potentially wrong:
"2.188BET靠谱吗In Zotero, go to Zotero Preferences -> Advanced -> Files and Folders.188BET靠谱吗Here you will change your Zotero file storage Base Directory by using the Choose… option to go to the folder you just set up."
The description "file storage Base Directory" is incomplete and could lead people to use the wrong Choose option - there are two Choose buttons on that dialog.
188BET靠谱吗If you set Data Directory Location on that dialog to your cloud folder, then that is dangerous (as the Zotero link you posted says).
Also, unlike the tedious process for every PDF file described by WSU, a linked PDF file setup is usually achieved with the Zotfile plugin.You set Tools\Zotfile Preferences \Custom Location to your cloud folder.188BET靠谱吗PDF files are then automatically downloaded and placed in that folder by Zotero/Zotfile.
188BET靠谱吗//www.brodersterzo.com/support/attaching_files#adding_files_via_the_browser
188BET靠谱吗(Zotfile is not being updated for Zotero 7, however there is one and potentially two plugins that should take its place.
188BET靠谱吗https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/104858/on-zotfile-development-and-zotero-7)
Finally, the WSU process uses the Linked Attachment Base Directory setting in a somewhat uncommon way - combined with using right-click Add Attachment for every single PDF file you download (!).
188BET靠谱吗The Linked Attachment Base Directory setting only sets where Zotero *looks* for linked attachments.It has no effect on where they are stored.188BET靠谱吗If using Zotfile, it is usually only really necessary if you have linked files at a different location on each computer (eg F:\Dropbox\ZoteroAttachments on one PC and G:\Dropbox\ZoteroAttachments on another).
188BET靠谱吗//www.brodersterzo.com/support/preferences/advanced#files_and_folders
188BET靠谱吗This is particularly discouraging for my case, because my zotero library is now over 1000 docs, thus highly intractable to switch all of them to linked via individual right-click.
A quick check of the database integrity within the advanced preferences shows there are currently no errors.And based on your distinction above, it sounds like changing the Linked Attachment Base Directory to the Dropbox folder rather than the Data Directory Location is the least risky move.
188BET靠谱吗To offer more information -- the pdf emblem on my mobile computer's zotero instance is grayed out (the problem im trying to solve) even though both instances use the "...username\Dropbox\Papers" dir as the Linked Attachment Base Directory
188BET靠谱吗when i try to open one of these pdfs, it shows that zotero is still looking in its default location: "The attached file could not be found at the following path: user\Zotero\storage\PHFWPI9E\Tang et al.188BET靠谱吗- 2023 - Expectation violations enhance neuronal encoding.pdf It may have been moved or deleted outside of Zotero, or, if the file was added on another computer, it may not yet have been synced to or from zotero.org."
So what do you intuit is the best solution here to allow my pdfs openable across both computers?188BET靠谱吗Does this imply that i need to just copy my entire "user\Zotero\storage" dir from my desktop over to my mobile computer, and periodically overwrite it across both machines like this until the end of time?There has to be a better way that doesnt involve redundantly storing pdfs on both computers and manually updating them...
Only a few weeks ago did I go for paid storage because the v.7 ability to edit and annotate snapshots is just too sweet to miss.
The issue with corrupting your data is not about externally linked attachments, as I understand it.188BET靠谱吗It's about the Zotero database.You don't want it syncing one change while you're making another.188BET靠谱吗So always store your Zotero database on each computer and not in the cloud.Your attachments will need to be in the cloud for the two-computer sync to work.
The key to handling this on two computers gets down to the Linked Attachment Base Directory, as you've already discovered.This directory address may be different on each of your computers.Let's say your address at work is
188BET靠谱吗D:\Users\YourName\Dropbox\Zotero Attachments
At home, your address is
188BET靠谱吗C:\Users\YourMiddleName\Dropbox\Zotero Attachments
What matters is what you do inside of these two directories.188BET靠谱吗Everything that is mapped inside "Zotero Attachments," whether at home or at work, needs to have exactly the same subdirectory structure.
188BET靠谱吗In neither case are you storing attachments in Zotero.You're storing them in the same Dropbox, accessible at home and work.188BET靠谱吗What you're storing in Zotero is the address to the attachments.
If you're already in version 7, I'm not sure if the ability to remap things you've got incorrectly addressed is available.It was in Zutilo for version 6.If you're still in v.6, you can fix any broken links (and it can be done in a batch) and then you'll be in good shape before going to version 7.I do have hope, though, that the former Zutilo capability to remap batches of attachment links is being prepared for version 7, also, because it's a lifesaver in situations like this.
I hope I didn't make it muddier by chiming in.Let me know if I can help.
188BET靠谱吗//www.brodersterzo.com/support/zotero_data#backing_up_your_zotero_data
Also, to be clear, online syncing of all that *data* is free.188BET靠谱吗The online storage quota limit only applies to file attachments you sync online on Zotero servers (*file* syncing).
So the question is where are your PDFs now, how to get them (now and in the future) to Dropbox, and have them accessible across computers ?188BET靠谱吗The example you gave for PHFWPI9E shows that that particular PDF is in *local* Zotero storage, ie it is not a linked file (in Dropbox).The PDF icon for that particular file in the main window will likely not show a chain-link overlay that signifies a linked file.
The solution that most people (and there are many, many of them) use for linked file setups is the Zotfile plugin (not the way WSU describes).188BET靠谱吗As pointed out above, Zotfile is not available in Zotero v7 (currently still in beta, so most people should still be in Zotero v6).Several plugins will likely provide the same functionality in v7 for those people (but that is still evolving).188BET靠谱吗In any case, it is always possible to switch back to local Zotero storage of PDFs if you want to!188BET靠谱吗for example if you can afford paid Zotero storage in the future, or if you want to use features that linked files don't work for - the mobile app or Groups.If your PDF needs are over 300mb and you want to use those features, your only real option is paid storage.
Zotfile handles automatic storage of your PDFs to the Custom Location specified in Zotfile Preferences (eg Dropbox) as *linked* files.188BET靠谱吗Their exact location is stored in the Zotero database, so it knows where to find them.
The WSU instructions you used provide no means to automatically manage the storing process - they require you to manually (right-click) attach each PDF you download.That happens automatically with Zotfile.188BET靠谱吗For example when the Zotero web connector downloads a PDF from a journal web site you have access rights for, Zotfile automatically sends it to the Custom Location as a linked PDF.
188BET靠谱吗For that Zotfile setup, you would have Zotero (free) data syncing turned on, and Zotero (quota-limited) file syncing turned off, in Zotero preferences.188BET靠谱吗As long as data syncing is turned on with any Zotero setup (Zotfile or no Zotfile), you would never have to do what you described in your last para - your data would always be synced (for free) across computers.
188BET靠谱吗When you have set up Zotero on another computer to use the same (free) account, all your *data* will sync to that computer, as will future data changes (both ways).But you are responsible for setting things up so that the *linked PDFs* are in the Zotfile Custom Location on that computer, and synced (eg by Dropbox).188BET靠谱吗If the Custom Locations are different on the two computers, set Zotero's Linked Attachment Base Directory, so it then knows where to look for them.
The other advice here is generally sound - you shouldn't do this manually.
I know Tim disagrees with this, but I more generally advise people to really think about whether linked files are the right solution for them.188BET靠谱吗They are more error prone (see above) and offer more limited functionality (no mobile app support, no group support) so imo everyone who needs file sync and can somewhat reasonably afford Zotero file storage is better off spending the 2-10$/month
188BET靠谱吗My only real concerns with a Zotfile-based approach include the mentioned remaining uncertainty around which of the current new plugin candidates will best provide that functionality in the future in Zotero 7 (along with Zutilo, there would seem to be too many people that rely on those plugins for solutions not to happen before Zotero 7).And also that the Zotfile documentation is out of date (still referring to annotation extraction).Although all the important bits are still as described IIRC.Hopefully in the future instead of long posts like the above we can just go back to 'read the plugin instructions'.金博宝世界杯体育赛事Finally there is the clearly stated inability of linked files to work with Groups, nor iOS (other than with a less efficient external PDF viewer workaround!or Zotfile's send-to-tablet, that looks unlikely to remain an option in v7).