Research Guides: Zotero 2 Workshop (New Version): (4) Attention!

The Following "Linked Attachments" Setup is Entirely Optional

What follows are instructions about how to set up Dropbox to store your Zotero attachments instead of Zotero (with the help of Zotfile).

The following setup is entirely optional.

This method is referred to here as the "linked attachments" setup.

Zotero offers 300MB of free storage space, and if you want to purchase more space you can do so at a reasonable price. If you are in a position to pay for extra storage I encourage you to do so, as the proceeds support the Zotero project (click on picture for link):

Benefits and drawbacks of this "linked attachment" setup :

Benefits:

Maximize Zotero’s attachment capacity while minimizing the cost.
Access and edit your PDFs from anywhere

Drawbacks:

This setup won’t allow you to use group folders in Zotero.
This setup won’t allow you to capture or access your PDFs via the new Zotero iOS app. This guide instead shows you how to do this with Bookmarklet and Adobe Acrobat.
This setup requires manually importing/exporting edits between the Zotero PDF Viewer and Adobe Acrobat if you want to switch between them.
Bookmarklet won't allow you to capture snapshots and attachments to Zotero from your mobile device. (But, Bookmarklet will save links, and you can just get the attachments when you are back at your desktop.)

If you decide to use the default Zotero setup, there is no need for you to follow along with the linked attachment part of this workshop.

Do Not Attempt to Store Zotero's Data Directory in the Cloud!

Please do not attempt to store your Zotero data directory in the cloud.

This workshop shows you how to use “linked attachments” so that you can Zotero attachments in Dropbox (or another cloud-based service like Google Drive).

Using linked attachments is a Zotero-supported function and is very safe and easy to use.

****Please note that this workshop is not about storing your Zotero data directory in a cloud service.

Please do not attempt to store your Zotero data directory in the cloud.

If you do this, it is extremely likely that you will corrupt your Zotero library and lose everything.

This warning comes directly from Zotero!

Don’t attempt to store your data directory in the cloud.

Please stick with these directions!

Zotfile's Tablet Settings Functions Are Not Covered in this Workshop:

Zotfile's Tablet Settings Functions Are Not Covered in this Workshop:

Zotfile offers a separate function that allows you to send files and get files from your tablet that I am not covering in this workshop.

You can find this function on the Zotfile menu under where it says Tablet Settings:

Please don’t use this Send/Get method if you are setting up the “linked attachments” method I’m covering in this workshop.

The Zotfile Send/ Get method involves files automatically deleting from one location after they are manually sent to another.

The Send/Get method is prone to cause attachments to get accidentally deleted or duplicated especially when you try to do this when you have “linked attachments” set up.

If you want to use the ZotFile Send/Get method to edit your PDFs on your tablet (which I do not reccomend you use at all), please do not set up the "linked attachments" instructions that follow.

Using Zotfile's Tablet Settings in conjunction with the "linked attachment" method will be sure to cause files to go missing, and offer no added benefit.