Full-text content sync fails with "Error connecting to the server": standalone app to Zotero storage

gothamgreen

Issue: Sync fails with the: "JavaScript Error: "Error connecting to the server. Check your Internet connection." error message, when I try to sync from my laptop Zotero standalone app to my Zotero cloud storage. This has happened consistently over the last couple of days, but only if I have "Sync full-text content" enabled in Zotero app preferences. If the full-text sync option is unchecked, then the sync goes through with no problems.

Debug ID: D764751053
Report ID: 509373701
OS: MacOS 10.13.2
Zotero version: 6.0.30

Remedial steps already tried:
1. Verified that all proxy settings are turned off/unchecked in both the OS and Zotero.
2. There is no firewall, and no security software running.
3. The internet connection is fine. All other internet requests go through.
3. Restarted the laptop.
4. Restarted Zotero multiple times.
5. Uninstalled and reinstalled the Zotero browser connector, for both browsers (Chrome and Firefox).
6. Changed default browser in the OS from Chrome to Firefox.
7. Verified that my Zotero storage account is unlimited and payment is up to date.
8. Ran local database check from within the app. The local database is reported to be fine and uncorrupted.
8. Read and checked the docs (https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/connection_error), and others' similar issues on the forum, such as:
https://www.zotero.org/support/connector_preferences
and
https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/107305/error-connecting-to-server-check-your-internet-connection-during-syncing

dstillman

Sorry about that — that error message is misleading. There's an issue where some large full-text-content requests are failing in an unexpected way, which is resulting in that error message.

We haven't been able to reproduce this, but if you can still reproduce this with the Zotero 7 beta, we can try to fix it.

gothamgreen

Thanks. I will try to download Zotero v7 Beta, and get back to you. Is there a way to duplicate my Zotero database/folder, and point the 7 Beta version to that? I'm worried about non-revertable changes mentioned on the 7 Beta docs page.

In the meantime, to help duplicate, the reason I have such a large upload is because my Zotero now has 8Gb's worth of 36,620 files in it (single library, single user, no groups). It got slow, and I had to turn off auto-sync. I think I collected too many files / megabytes to manually sync up. Not a complaint, but just an fyi, to tie to the regression QA testing for Zotero 7.

dstillman

Is there a way to duplicate my Zotero database/folder, and point the 7 Beta version to that? I'm worried about non-revertable changes mentioned on the 7 Beta docs page.

You should always have a backup of your Zotero data directory, but I'm not sure what you're referring to. From the Zotero 7 beta announcement: "That said, Zotero 7 doesn't currently make any database upgrades, so you should be able to switch back and forth between Zotero 6 and 7 without problems."

In the meantime, to help duplicate, the reason I have such a large upload is because my Zotero now has 8Gb's worth of 36,620 files in it

That's not actually the reason — it has nothing to do with the library size. Full-text-content uploads are split into <512 KB chunks. There's just a bug where certain batches result in failures.

gothamgreen

I was reading this page:
https://www.zotero.org/support/beta_builds
"though note that beta versions occasionally update the database such that downgrading isn't possible without reverting to a backup copy of zotero.sqlite in the Zotero data directory or removing the local data directory and syncing to pull down data from the online library"
I do regularly backup my full directory, but haven't tested restoring yet :).

Oh interesting. I wonder if I can mess with it productively...

gothamgreen

Ok, I tried with Zotero 7, sync fails. Here's the info:

Zotero version:
7.0.0-beta.52+2f8e536f2

Try 1:
debug id: D542270735
What I did: Started zotero, turned debug logging on, sync (fails), then submit debug.

Try 2:
debug id: D1870148173
What I did: Selected "Restart with logging enabled", restarted, sync (fails), then submit debug.

gothamgreen

"Check Database Integrity" returns "Passed", in case it's relevant.

Should I try unlinking and then re-linking my account or hitting Reset File Syncing History?

gothamgreen

Hey folks, just wanted to see if you were able to see anything in the v7 debug report.

Is there anything I can do to help troubleshoot this?
Might Relinking the account or Resetting File Sync History help?

dstillman

You edited your message, so I assume you realized that all your other data and files are still syncing? This is just full-text-content syncing, which lets you perform full-text searches in the web library and on other devices where you're using "downloaded as needed" file-sync mode.

We've managed to reproduce this, but it may take some work to find a fix, so for now your best bet is to disable "Sync full-text content" in the Sync pane of the preferences or to just ignore the error, since it doesn't affect other syncing.

We'll post here when we have an update.

gothamgreen

Sorry for the delay, went down the work vortex.

Yes, I did realize the files are uploading, thanks for double-checking. It took a while, but I checked with Zoo for Zotero, and on the web interface, and I can see the items.