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Importing a bunch of files into Zotero
I have a desktop folder with 500 or more genealogy files (mostly JPG, with a few PDF) downloaded mostly from Ancestry.com and a few other sites. The file name of each has a six-digit accession number (e.g., 000123) followed by some descriptive information about the file's contents.
I needed a way to manage this growing list of files. I discovered I can drag & drop files into the Zotero library. Doing so turns each file into an attachment, with the file name preserved exactly.
Following the import, there's clean up work:
- The attachments created this way are stored inside Zotero as copies of the original files. If syncing to Zotero online, many such attachments will cause Zotero to bump up against the 300MB online storage limit. To avoid this issue, I went to Zotero Preferences > Sync and unchecked the box that says "Sync attachment files in My Library using Zotero."
- Next step is to create a parent item for each attachment newly-imported into Zotero. Right click on the attachment, scroll to the bottom of the drop-down list, and select "Create Parent Item." This creates a parent item with Item Type = Document, and the document's name is exactly the same as the attachment. Perfect!
- It's a waste of space to have Zotero store attachments when they already exist in another place. So the next step is to delete them. Right-click on the imported attachment in the Zotero library, then "Move Item to Trash".
- Now that the copied attachment is gone, the final step is to link the original to the parent document. Right-click on a document, then select "Add Attachment > Add Link to File..." from the drop-down menu. Navigate to the existing file, and attach.
Control-clicking (or Command-clicking if on a Mac) makes it possible to process multiple files all at once, in Steps 2 & 3. The most tedious step is #4, because one has to link the attachment files one-by-one to the parent document in Zotero.
Zotero has become my tool of choice to manage this growing list of genealogy files. Before deciding on Zotero, I tried other citation managers. Overall, Zotero keeps things simple while being quite powerful.
I am going to have to try this out. Thank you for sharing.
Great procedure! I have never used the feature to create a parent record to an attachment. I have several places that will come in handy. Thanks for pointing it out.
And I'm glad to hear you are finding Zotero valuable, as I have!
When all you want to do is drag & drop files AS LINKS into Zotero, there is an even better way to accomplish Step 1. Select files (one or more) that are outside Zotero. Holding the mouse button down, drag them into Zotero. While keeping the mouse button held down, WAIT for the Zotero window to become active. You'll know this happens when the Zotero window changes color. THEN press Control-Shift (Mac: Command-Option) and release the mouse button. Your linked files will drop right into place.
Hmmm...I think I accomplish the same thing and only deal with the doc on my computer once. I link the file from my computer to Zotero using the green plus button "Link to File". Then I add a document/newspaper article, or whatever my linked file relates to and either name it the same as my file or not. I drag my linked file to that document/newspaper article, and it becomes a child linked file. When I tried adding the document/newspaper article and then pulling the file from my computer using the paper clip "Attach Link to File" the file name changed in both Zotero and on my computer to match the name of the document/newspaper article. I then had to fiddle with changing the name back, which was a pain. Anyway, this is working for me, and I don't need to first save the file to Zotero and then send it to the trash and then link it to the parent file.
That's odd, Linda. I've used a Zotero feature that lets you deliberately choose to rename a file to pick up the information from the parent, but I haven't seen it do that without my choosing. I wonder if there is a preference setting? Let me see if I can find something.
Yes, it's a preference setting--on the General tab. deselect "Automatically rename attachment files using parent metadata." See if that's selected on yours. It's not on mine, and I followed your procedure with no trouble with renaming the parent item.
Thank you, Donna. That solved the problem I was having. I really like that I can rename linked files in Zotero, because I have simplified my file naming protocol since I started using the program and thought I would need to rename files in my computer and the links would be broken.
Have a great time at AGS. Wish I was there to meet you and Donna.
