D1724963586 - pdfs not found

josq

I tried to open several pdfs that had previously been downloaded to Zotero and received the message -

The attached file could not be found at the following path:

C:\Users\joqin\Zotero\storage\A7TL83HD\Abrams et al. - 2020 - Considerations for employing intersectionality in .pdf

It may have been moved or deleted outside of Zotero, or, if the file was added on another computer, it may not yet have been synced to zotero.org.

So I upgraded my storage (needed to), restarted Zotero and tried again. Still not working. Followed instructions here: https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/files_not_syncing

The web version of my storage does that the pdfs I am seeking to open in the app on my desktop.

Which led me to the debug instructions (https://www.zotero.org/support/debug_output#debug_output_logging) and the record in the title.

Thank you for your help!

dstillman

The web version of my storage does that the pdfs I am seeking to open in the app on my desktop.

You skipped a word or two here, but I assume you meant that the file isn't online (because it's not). And that means you didn't actually follow the Files Not Syncing correctly, since your Debug ID just shows you trying to open the file on a device where it doesn't exist — and where it can't be downloaded because the file isn't online to begin with.

The point of the page is mostly just that the file is on the device where you added it, and, now that you've upgraded your storage, you need to go to that device and sync successfully so that it's uploaded. The computer where the file doesn't exist is totally irrelevant.

josq

I upgraded after this issue arose, in the hopes that this would solve the issue (it was a recommendation in one of the documentation pages, that this may be at the root of the issue).

I am looking at my Zotero desktop interface, and trying to open the PDF from there (as it had been synced previously).

Can you please give me direction on what to do next?

I had synced everything just fine on my old computer. I thought all the PDFS were online as well as on my computer. This is a new issue on the new computer.

Thanks for your advice.

josq

(When I try to open it, I get this message:

The attached file could not be found at the following path:

C:\Users\joqin\Zotero\storage\TXH8KZPS\Vakalahi and Godinet - 2014 - Transnational Pacific Islander Americans and socia.pdf

It may have been moved or deleted outside of Zotero, or, if the file was added on another computer, it may not yet have been synced to zotero.org.

Then I try to locate and there is a file in a folder ".zotero-ft-unprocessed")

tim820

Re "I thought all the PDFS were online as well as on my computer", can you clarify: Is that specific Vakalahi and Godinet 2014 paper (that is giving you the error on your new computer) able to be opened from your web library ?

dstillman

can you clarify: Is that specific Vakalahi and Godinet 2014 paper (that is giving you the error on your new computer) able to be opened from your web library ?

(No, it's not online.)

@josq: You'll need to follow the steps on Files Not Syncing — if you had, you wouldn't be posting about the files you've mentioned, neither of which is available in the online library.

From the page:

If the file isn't available in the online library, the device where you can't access the file is irrelevant.

There are entire chronological swaths of your files that aren't available online. You either haven't synced the other computer properly since upgrading your storage or you were using other computers at different times and haven't yet synced those files since upgrading your storage.

josq

@dstillman Does that mean I should go to my old computer and sync again from there? Then the files will show up properly online? I had it on automatic sync, so I am totally surprised that the syncing wasn't working. This is/was very important to me in choosing zotero and paying for the storage. I had paid for storage before, I believe, then upgraded recently.

dstillman

Again, you should follow the precise steps on the Files Not Syncing. We don't know your specific computer setup or the history of when you used what computer with what storage quota, but the page walks you through exactly what to do to resolve this.

As I say, if you were at your storage quota while using another computer, additional files wouldn't have been uploaded automatically, and this would be entirely expected. Unless you turned off file syncing, there would've been a warning icon about this on every sync.