How to edit a library's link types

You will add, rename or delete the link types that sources can carry, for one library.

Prerequisites

• The library can be written. In a read-only library the editor shows the list but every save fails with "This library can't be edited, so the change was not saved."
• You know that link types belong to a library: a group library can have a different list from My Library. See Settings: Zotero Timeline.

Open the editor

1. Open Zotero's Settings and choose the "Zotero Timeline" pane.

2. In the Link types group, pick the library in the Library select. It starts on My Library.

Add a type

1. Click Add.
2. Type the name in the Label field.
3. Click Save.

The new type is at the end of the list and is offered wherever a source type is chosen.

Rename a type

1. Click the type's row, then click Edit.
2. Change the text in the Label field.
3. Click Save.

Existing links keep pointing at the type, so they show the new label. With an item selected in the main window, the Timelines section in its item pane repaints with the new label while the Settings window is still open.

Delete a type

1. Click the type's row, then click Delete.
2. Read the confirmation titled "Delete link type". It says how many source links in this library use the type. If it says it could not check, the library's timeline data could not be read, and the count is unknown.
3. Confirm to delete, or cancel to keep the type.

Links that used the type are not removed. They show "(unknown type)" until you change them in the event editor. Adding a type back does not restore them: it gets a new id.

Verification

The list in the editor shows the change. For a rename, a source that used the type reads the new label in the item pane's Timelines section.

Troubleshooting

• "These are the default link types. They have not been saved for this library yet..." Nothing is stored yet. Your first change creates the list.
• "A library's link types can't be empty..." You tried to delete the last type. Add another first.
• "...can't be edited here. Update the plugin to edit them." A newer plugin version saved this list. Update the plugin.
• "Zotero Timeline could not read this library's link types..." The stored note is damaged. The plugin will not overwrite it. Fix or restore the note from the trash. See Recovering trashed plugin data.
• A form you typed in is gone. Switching library discards an open form. A failed save keeps it.