Libraries deleted

cpoppe_1

Hi there,

I installed the Beta on a second computer where I also had a library installed. I coverted it to the new 2.0 format. I then wanted to sync it with my library on the Zotero webpage which is larger than the one I had on my computer. It synced, but created a lot of duplicates. I thought that the quickest way around this was to delete the whole library on the computer and sync a second time so that the correct library would be installed. Instead, the library on the Zotero webpage was deleted...
I think I understand the logic behind it, but still it shoulkd not be possible to have the web page library deleted without a warning. Secondly, I think there should be an easy way to handle duplicates.

dstillman

If you delete an item from your local copy of Zotero, that deletion needs to be propagated to other machines. It's no different if you delete all items.

First, make a backup of your entire Zotero data directory (in your case before closing Firefox, despite what it says). Then see the bottom of the page for instructions on recovering from the last automatic backup.

cpoppe_1

Thanks for the quick answer.

But I still do not quite get this. I have copies of my library. So, I copied the copy over to the directory where I keep my library and restarts Firefox. I open Zotero and I have all my references intact. At this point, I expect Zotero to upload the library to my web page at Zotero.org. Instead, it works the other way around: Zotero deletes my library on the PC. And I end up with no libraries on any of my computers. There must be something wrong with this??

adamsmith

That's not what you say in your first post, where you write:

I thought that the quickest way around this was to delete the whole library on the computer and sync a second time

If this is a new problem and you want to use your back-upped copy of the libary to restore it - there is a "restore to Zotero server" in the Reset tab of the Sync tab of the Zotero preferences, which you should use to, well, restore the library to the server.

Dan can explain that with more authority, but what I imagine happened is that the copy on the server still remembered the more recent deletion of the files - think about it this way: Imagine you work on two computers. You delete an item on computer A. Then sync to the server. Now, when you sync computer B you want that item deleted, too. That's what I think happened here on a larger scale.

dstillman

Your copy of the database has an older last-sync date than what's on the server, so when it syncs, it retrieves the deletions (as if it were on another machine to which the deletions hadn't been propagated).

If your backed-up database has the data you want, install it and then use "Restore to Server" in the Sync->Reset pane of the Zotero preferences. You'll have to either disable auto-sync or access the preferences via Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions -> Zotero -> Preferences/Options before opening the Zotero pane.

dstillman

What adamsmith said.

cpoppe_1

Hi there,

I just found it - the restore to Zotero server option. It is ok now. What happened was that I deleted the library on computer B, which also deleted the library on the server. I then went home to my computer A and had my library deleted there as well due to the austomatic sync with zotero server was on. Then I tried to resettle the matter by copying my library from my storage disk back to the zotero folder - which resulted in having it all deleted again. The "restore to Zotero server" makes it work the other direction - and I guess that I can now reselect the "full sync with Zotero server" - well it did that automatically.

Everything is fine now. But I still find this a bit awkward. I use Sugarsync. I do not know if you know it. But in principle it does exactly what the zotero sync is doing: keeping multiple PCs with updated files. But it has a different routine. In Sugarsync, the newest file version is sent to all defined locations. That means, if I update a file on my computer, it goes to the server and then, when I start computer B, the old file there is automatically replaced with the newer file found on the server. It works both ways so to speak, sending the newest files around. I thought that if I had a newer library on my PC A it would automatically upload that to the Zotero server. But it got deleted instead due to the settings. I think the usability of the sync option in zotero would increase if it worked that way.

dstillman

Zotero does work that way. Reread what adamsmith and I wrote above.

I thought that if I had a newer library on my PC A it would automatically upload that to the Zotero server.

You didn't have a newer library on Computer A. As you yourself note, you made changes (deletions) on Computer B, which meant that those changes were newer than what was on Computer A. And your backed-up library was also older.

cpoppe_1

I understand now. Just want to say thanks for your help.

chr