Files linked with ZotFile or ZotMoov

What linked files are

ZotFile and ZotMoov are Zotero add-ons that move a paper's PDF out of Zotero's own storage into a folder of yours — usually one that Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive syncs — and leave a link to it on the item. Zotero calls those attachments linked files.

A linked file never travels with Zotero sync: Zotero holds the item, your cloud folder holds the PDF. That is why such a paper cannot be downloaded in Rectoly the way an ordinary attachment can — there is nothing to download.

Mac · iPadA paper whose PDF is a linked file is marked Linked in the library.

The way round it is the same one Zotero itself uses: every device points at the same folder, as that device sees it. Tell Rectoly which folder that is, and the papers open.

Choose the base folder

In Zotero on your computer the folder is Settings → Advanced → Files and Folders → Linked Attachment Base Directory. Look there first, so you know which folder to pick.

1. Open the setting in Rectoly:
   • Mac · iPadSettings › Sync & Backup › Linked files (ZotFile, ZotMoov).
   • WindowsSettings › Sync › Linked files (ZotFile, ZotMoov).
   • AndroidSettings › Sync & Backup › Linked files (ZotFile, ZotMoov).
2. Press Choose Folder and pick the folder on this device.
3. The row then shows the folder instead of Not set. Remove clears it again.

Where to find the folder on each system:

• Mac · iPadThe picker is the Files app. Choose the Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive or iCloud Drive folder shown there; the provider's own app has to be installed for its folder to appear. On a Mac you can also pick the folder in Finder, such as the one under ~/Library/CloudStorage/.
• WindowsPick the synced folder in the file dialog: C:\Users\<you>\Dropbox\…, Google Drive's G: drive, the OneDrive folder, or any other folder a sync app keeps up to date on this PC.
• AndroidPick the folder with the system folder chooser. Google Drive's own app does not hand folders to other apps, so choose a folder that a sync app such as FolderSync, Autosync or Dropsync keeps on the device — or link the files one at a time with Locate…. Android itself also refuses the top of internal storage and the Download, Android/data and Android/obb folders, whatever the provider.

Rectoly asks the system for lasting permission to read that folder, and only to read it.

The folder does not have to match Zotero's base directory exactly. If Zotero's is Dropbox/Zotero and you pick Dropbox, Rectoly still finds the files; and if it cannot, the first file you point at with Locate… teaches it the rest of the path.

The base folder belongs to this device and this account — each device has its own path to the same cloud folder — so it is not carried over by any backup, and signing out of the account clears it.

Opening a linked paper

Open the paper as usual. Rectoly follows the link from the base folder, copies the PDF into its own store and opens it. Highlights, sticky notes, handwriting and Reading Mode all work exactly as they do for any other paper.

It is a copy on purpose: Rectoly keeps its notes and handwriting in small files beside its own copy, and writing those into your Dropbox folder would put files there that you never asked for. Your folder is left exactly as it was.

If the PDF in the folder changes later — you annotated it in another app on your computer, or ZotFile replaced it — Rectoly notices the file's new size and date and copies it again the next time you open the paper.

Linked files exist in My Library only; Zotero does not allow them in group libraries.

When a file isn't found

If the base folder is set but this particular PDF is not where the link says it should be — a folder was renamed, or your computer's base directory is not the folder you picked — Rectoly says Linked file not found: … and offers Locate….

Choose the file yourself. Rectoly opens it, and compares where the link pointed with where the file actually is. From the difference it works out a rule and applies it to your other linked papers, saying Found. Other PDFs in the same folder can be opened now too. In practice one Locate… is usually enough for a whole library.

The file does not have to be inside the base folder, and you do not need a base folder at all. Pick a file anywhere and Rectoly remembers that file for that paper, saying Found. This paper is now linked to that file. That is how to read linked files where the cloud app hands over single files but never a folder — Google Drive on Android — one paper at a time. The link lasts across restarts; if the file is later moved or deleted, or its permission is withdrawn, the paper says so and offers Locate… again.

What Rectoly does and does not do

• Rectoly never changes the files in the folder. It reads them. It does not rename them, write annotations into them, move them or delete them.
• New PDFs are not linked files. A PDF you add in Rectoly goes to Zotero Storage or to your WebDAV server as usual. Making linked files is the add-on's job on your computer. See Adding a PDF to Zotero and Files on a WebDAV server.
• Nothing is uploaded. The folder is read on this device; its contents never pass through Rectoly's servers. See Your data.
• Linked files and WebDAV are separate settings and can be used together: files that ZotFile moved come from the folder, everything else from Zotero Storage or your WebDAV server.

When something goes wrong

The diagnostics file records what kind of failure happened, never the folder or the file names. See Troubleshooting.