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What doesn’t use the free unlimited Zotero storage?
I read over the terms for using Zotero to store information. Am I correct that notes and tags are items which don’t count against the free Zotero storage? If I don’t use snapshots and file attachments, will I then be unlikely to run out of storage to sync?
I am so sorry I only just now saw your question. Zotero tells me that only attachments use up your storage. I think it treats the snapshots from the web as attachments, but I am not sure. I can say that I have been using Zotero for more than 10 years and have not yet needed to buy cloud space from them, because I use links to attachments on my computer, rather than embedding them in my Zotero data.
Quote from Donna Cox Baker on December 12, 2020, 3:12 pmI use links to attachments on my computer, rather than embedding them in my Zotero data.
So how do you backup the would-be attachments? Do you use a cloud service or, whatever? Just curious because as soon as I used their cloud service, I was full. I have a bazillion entries and going through and removing attachments is too tedious a project to even consider. What do you think of when you back up your files, that you back-up Zotero?
Hi, MagnoliaSouth. I store all of my Zotero attachments on Dropbox, where I have a 2TB account. It keeps several versions back--and that's what you won't get with Zotero's storage. Zotero's storage is intended to sync for remote or multiple-account access. It's not intended for the protection of data. It keeps one copy.
I use a free product called AOMEI to back up the Zotero database--also backing it up on a regular basis to Dropbox. So far, I've never needed it, thankfully.
Now for the tedious part--the attachments you have embedded in the Zotero database: It's not going to be as quick and easy as you might like, but there are ways to make it as efficient as it can be. If you have either of my books, read Chapter 5 carefully. It's basically the same chapter about attachments. You'll want to choose a base directory as you start to link to attachments on your hard drive or in your dropbox tool.
If you have some folders in Zotero with a lot of attachments in them, you can drag and drop the attachments into your file folder of choice on your drive or dropbox, then drag them back into Zotero as linked files. You do this by holding down the shift and control keys before you drop the files into Zotero. When you see them safely in your Zotero folder, select the old ones that are embedded and put them in the trash. You'll need to empty the trash and sync before you'll see savings in Zotero. To have these attachments where they were originally, you do need to do this a folder at a time.
If you, like me, have attachments spread out a few here, a few there, through a thousand folders, you might want to take another approach. Find your Zotero database on your hard drive. Look in your Zotero--Preferences--Advanced--Files and Folders. The Data Directory path will show there. Go to that folder on your drive and do a search for files with the most likely file types. For me, most of my attachments end in PDF, so I do a wildcard search for *.PDF in my Zotero folder, allowing it to find things in subfolders. (If you have huge attachments that are TIF, JPG or some other variation, choose what's likely to be eating up the most space.)
Sort the list largest to smallest and start working from the largest one. Find the attachment in your Zotero database and do the process above to create a linked version then delete the embedded one.
Let me know if you have questions. I hope it begins to solve the problem, though I know there is work ahead.
If, by chance, you're on Apple, you might need to tweek the instructions above. If anyone else has an idea how to reduce the tedium ahead for MagnoliaSouth, please weigh in.
Good luck!
Donna
