Need to move my library out of Windows Documents?

My library resides in a My Documents subfolder on my Windows machine. That folder is backed up to the cloud. From what I've read, that was a mistake.
1. Was it? Will my library be corrupted (as the Cornell website states?)
2. How do I move the library to a non-cloud backup directory?

Thank you!
Gerry
  • It depends. If it's synced with the cloud, such that changes can be pulled down, then yes, it absolutely should not be there. If it's purely a one-way backup, it's technically OK, though it's possible you'll run into trouble. See Can I store my Zotero data directory in a cloud storage folder? for details.

    If you decide to move it out, you'd set a new location from the same place where you set it to that one: from the Advanced → Files and Folders pane of the Zotero preferences. (If you're moving it back to the default location, though, you can just close Zotero, move the folder to your home folder, and restart Zotero, and it will detect that automatically.)
  • Dstillman - Thanks! Your answer and the link were very instructive. I now understand how the file system works and what I can and cannot do. It is obviously dangerous to trust a location for the locked Zotero data that might be overwritten by the cloud service by updates from multiple devices. I now have the data safely in my user directory, which is not stored on the one-drive cloud. I have a subscription to The Zotero cloud. In the event of a problem with my local storage, such as a hard-drive failure, backup from the Zotero cloud is ok, but not ideal since it can break links. Therefore, I will take the advice and also add a hard drive backup.

    Thanks! I want to build the database and links to Obsidian for years and want the system to be reliable.
    Gerry
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