Unable to Open Local PDFs Offline

martialb

Report ID: 1452282969

I am trying to use Zotero when offline.

When my computer is offline, Zotero:

1) Will not open PDFs or other files attached to items
2) Intermittently raises a report error: “A file sync error occurred. Please try syncing again."

Notes:
- All files are stored locally
- Preferences > Sync > Data Syncing> Sync automatically is OFF. Sync full-text content is ON. I have also tried with Sync full-text content OFF. No change.
- When I reconnect to the Internet, all the requested PDFs open in Zotero
- I am still able to open the files offline by navigating to their location on my hard drive.

dstillman

If you can't open the files offline, they're not stored locally, by definition.

When my computer is offline, Zotero:

[…]
2) Intermittently raises a report error: “A file sync error occurred. Please try syncing again."

If the file doesn't exist, Zotero will try to download it when you try to open it. Generally Zotero should know that you're offline and not try, but in some cases it might not be able to detect and will still try to download the file, and then you'd get a sync error.

This has nothing to do with the "Sync full-text content" setting. The relevant setting for syncing files is the "as needed"/"at sync time" file-syncing setting.

I am still able to open the files offline by navigating to their location on my hard drive.

Meaning what? If you do right-click → Show File, it will either show the file or say that the file doesn't exist.

martialb

"Meaning what? If you do right-click → Show File, it will either show the file or say that the file doesn't exist. "

Correct: The file exists on my hard drive. The Data Directory also goes to a folder my hard drive. Even offline, using Zotero, right click, “Show File,” I can navigate to the attached PDF and open it using Adobe etc. I just cannot open the PDF or other files in Zotero when I am offline. And the error report crops up intermittently regardless of whether I try to open a PDF.

dstillman

Can you provide a Debug ID that shows this happening for a given file?

Are you using "at sync time" or "on demand" for file syncing?

If a file exists locally, you modify it on another computer, you sync Zotero on that computer, and then you sync Zotero on this computer using "on demand" file syncing, Zotero on this computer will know the file was modified and needs to be downloaded. If you're later offline and try to open the file, Zotero won't be able to download the file, and you'll get a sync error, because the alternative would be opening the outdated local file, which could lead to a file conflict.

If you're sometimes working offline, you should use "at sync time" for file syncing.

martialb

Following Debug instructions:
– I went offline
- I tried to open a PDF in Zotero by double-clicking it. Nothing happens.
- I right click => Show file => navigate to fold and open the PDF using other software
- I go back online and generate debug report.
- Result: D103262015

I am not sure if that is what is needed. When I get the automatic error report, it provides the following:

[JavaScript Error: "The connection was refused when attempting to contact wss://stream.zotero.org/."]

[JavaScript Error: "WebSocket connection closed: 1006 "]

[JavaScript Error: "The connection was refused when attempting to contact wss://stream.zotero.org/."]

[JavaScript Error: "WebSocket connection closed: 1006 "]

[JavaScript Error: "Error connecting to server. Check your Internet connection."]

[JavaScript Error: "Error connecting to server. Check your Internet connection."]

[JavaScript Error: "Error connecting to server. Check your Internet connection."]

[JavaScript Error: "S3 returned 0 for 1/HKKEBYLW -- retrying download" {file: "chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/storage/zfs.js" line: 180}]
Zotero.Sync.Storage.Mode.ZFS.prototype.downloadFile 6.0.16, platform => Win32, oscpu => Windows NT 10.0; WOW64, locale => en-US, appName => Zotero, appVersion => 6.0.16, extensions => Zotero LibreOffice Integration (6.0.3.SA.6.0.16, extension), Zotero Word for Windows Integration (6.0.2.SA.6.0.16, extension)

martialb

Note: I only use Zotero on one computer. I do not modify files elsewhere.

martialb

Changing the “at sync time” setting makes no difference. PDFs still do not open in Zotero when I am offline.

martialb

Maybe it is not the best solution, but so far this works:

Preferences > Sync > File Syncing

Turn OFF both “Sync attachment files in My Library” and “Sync attachment files in group libraries etc.”

In short, turn off all syncing. Perhaps that works if one uses Zotero on only one computer.

dstillman

(3)(+0000095): Viewing attachment 1/AIVSIYSP

(3)(+0000004): File exists but is queued for download -- re-downloading

(3)(+0000015): File already exists -- replacing

(3)(+0000000): Initializing download request 1/AIVSIYSP

Zotero is trying to download the file you're opening and is then showing an error because you're offline.

Changing the “at sync time” setting makes no difference. PDFs still do not open in Zotero when I am offline.

Did you actually sync once while online with "at sync time" selected? The point is to sync once so that Zotero can reconcile the state of all of your files. Can you provide a Debug ID for doing that?

You're at your file sync quota, though, so some of your files, including this one, just don't exist online. If you actually want to use file syncing, you would want to upgrade your storage. If not, you should just leave file syncing off. (You'd be getting a warning about that on every sync telling you that you're at your quota.)

Also, do you recall previously using "Reset File Sync History"? Zotero shouldn't be trying to download this file at all if it was added on this computer and never uploaded. But it's possible being at your quota is complicating things.