Get full text: ignores library specific file directory

[buhtz]

JabRef 5.2--2020-12-02--f22968e
Windows 10 10.0 amd64 
Java 14.0.2

My relevant settings:

Library Properties -> General file directory -> "./Files"
Options -> Preferences -> Linked files -> Main file directory -> [empty]

When I press the "Get full text" symbol for an entry in "General" tab beside the "File" field a PDF is downloaded and stored.
But it is stored not in ./Files (the library specific general file directory) but in the mail file directory. The latter field is empty and I also assume that JabRef use the directory of the current open bib-file as the working directory here.

As a user I would assume that JabRef use the Library specific file directory - ./Files in my case.

[Siedlerchr]

You need to uncheck the option "Search and store files relative to the library directory" because that takes precendece over all other file directories.
https://docs.jabref.org/finding-sorting-and-cleaning-entries/filelinks

In some settings, the bib file is stored in the same directory as the PDF files. Then, one ignores all the above directories and enable "Search and store files relative to library file location". In this case, JabRef starts searching for PDF files in the directory of the bib file. It is also possible to achieve this result by setting . as "General file directory" in the library properties.

[buhtz]

OK, then you have to redesign something.

The words of that option does not make it possible to link it to the "get full text" feature. I wouuld assuem that most of the users does not understand this.

Main question: Why is this option needed? Who use it? Why would a user store its PDFs in a library specific sub-folder (e.g. ./Files) but the "Get full text" files to a different directory. Makes no sense in my view.

Simply: Kill that option.

[Siedlerchr]

The Get Full Text uses the settings for the file directory as well. So does not matter if you add a file locally or download it. Feel free to adjust the help accordingly (Just click "Edit on Github at the help page")

The checkbox was previously named "Store files at bib file location". There are cases/users that have all pdfs and their bib file in the same folder. So when you tick that box, all other file directories are ignored, no matter if they are filled or not

[buhtz]

The Get Full Text uses the settings for the file directory as well. So does not matter if you add a file locally or download it.

This is definitly not the case as I reported.
"Get Full Text" does not use "General file directory" of the "Library Properties".

The checkbox was previously named "Store files at bib file location".

Sounds better for me. ;)

There are cases/users that have all pdfs and their bib file in the same folder.
So when you tick that box, all other file directories are ignored, no matter if they are filled or not

Yes. But in that case a user would not set the "General file directory" of the "Library Properties" to another value. Again: I see no usecase for that option. There are only two usefull cases.

1. Store PDFs in bib-file location.
2. Store PDF in a different location.

But not 1+2 together. Because of that the "Search and store files relative to the library directory" setting is useless.

[Siedlerchr]

Still cannot reproduce:

Preferences -> Linked File:

LIbrary properties:

The File is located in /users/christophs/_JABREFTMP
The new File is then downloaded into /users/christophs/_JABREFTMP/Files
(The directory Files has to exist before!)

JabRef relatives the file path to the file directory, so it might look a bit confusing at first.
(I also noted a little bug that the file is not linked directly after download=

[calixtus]

Devcall: any update on the status here?
A good first issue would be to provide a test case for this issue (#6207).

[State-Of-Joshing-Gentle-Peevishness]

As a user I had some issues with the wording here as well. I have one directory for my .bib files and different directories for my .pdf files. I assumed that the option "search and store files relative to library file location" (preferences > linked files) would mean the the paths are relative to the libraries directory, i.e. "../pdfdirectory/" instead of "/home/username/Documents/pdfdirectory", especially as library properties > override default file directories mentions "override" specifically. But when I used the clean-up option to move files, only the .bib file-directory was used as storage. I believe the old wording mentioned above "Store files at bib file location" is better. Thanks for all your work!

[calixtus]

@State-Of-Joshing-Gentle-Peevishness thanks for your reply. This seems indeed to be an issue.
Solving the wording issue is a lot of thinking about documentation work and just a little bit of code changes.
Would you like to put some work into this? (if you're not familiar with java coding, no problem, we could take this part of the fixing the issue)

[Siedlerchr]

The wording has been made more explicit in #8148