Plugins not copied when restoring backup

Adelagle

I installed Zotero on new laptop and copy-pasted the zotero datafolder contents onto new laptop. Everything excellent except Zofile andd other plugins. Is this something that must be installed separately? I would have thought it is part of the data folder settings being copied. Thanks!

poettli

I think it is part of the profile directory, not the data directory.

Adelagle

Thanks. Does that mean I have to copy-paste

/Users//Library/Application Support/Zotero/Profiles/

Onto my new laptop location?

If this is true, then the guidelines for restoring Zotero to a different computer should mention this, as users would assume that all it takes is to copy the zotero data folder and any PDFs linked in other folders.

dstillman

Settings don't necessarily all apply between computers, so this isn't something we generally recommend.

Adelagle

So how should I copy my plugins and overall profile?

dstillman

It's up to you. You can try copying the Profiles folder, but what we currently recommend is reinstalling plugins and reapplying the settings that are appropriate on the new computer.

Adelagle

Thanks.

dstillman

This also depends somewhat on the OS. On a Mac, people should almost always just use the built-in Migration Assistant, which copies everything to the new computer — you basically open your new computer and everything is exactly the same, and that would include all your Zotero files. I'm not sure if something similar exists for Windows — if it does, it should just work in the same way. When just copying things manually, where there might be path differences or other configuration differences, copying the Profiles folder isn't part of a standard advice.

Adelagle

The Migration assist sucks a bit :) I couldn't use it because my previous MAC was too old. In any case, I want to have it in my work and personal computers, so I am not allowed to use the migration for copying work content onto personal laptop.