I deleted all my Zotero data from my computer -what can I do?

Shelagh Mooney

I deleted all my Zotero data from my computer -what can I do? My data is still visible in the cloud but I can't download it and I am afrid if I reinstall and I synch, I will lose the data.

dstillman

How did you delete the data? By deleting it from within Zotero or by deleting the Zotero data directory?

If you just deleted the data directory, you can just set up syncing again and it will download your online library.

If you deleted data within Zotero, you should, in fact, delete your data directory before opening Zotero. You can then start up Zotero to the empty library and sync.

Shelagh Mooney

Thank you so much-I deleted pretty much all files and I think that the zotero.sqlite file I have remaining is new and empty. I can still see my library contents on the list (though greyed out)on the website though, I have the upgraded storage. I seem to have some sort of Zotero installation on my laptop, although the Zotero icon isn't on my tool bar. When I open Zotero, it says I have an empty library and I am afraid if I synch it will synch to that emply library.

dstillman

If you have a new zotero.sqlite file, syncing won't delete your online library.

Shelagh Mooney

Thank you so much! Your advice was invaluable- I synched with the cloud and restored my library. It has a few thousand sources and losing it would have been catastrophic. This was a huge learning curve and reminder that I need to back up and save my library data in a secure offline place every few months. All the best, Shelagh