Lost my Zotero.sqlite with no sync or Time Machine backup!

emekaene

Help!!
I just finished a 400-page book with Scrivener. While trying to convert the embedded citation tags from Zotero via LibreOffice, my Zotero library disappeared. Nothing was consciously deleted. I assumed sync was working all along, but this was not the case, and Time Machine does not go back far enough.
I still have the tags in Scrievener. Is there a way to rebuild the Zotero library using those tags?

dstillman

You don't appear to have ever set up syncing, no.

When you say "Time Machine does not go back far enough", what exactly do you see when you go back?

Generally this happens when people try to clear disk space using some tool and accidentally delete the (potentially large) Zotero database file, zotero.sqlite. You can see Locating Missing Zotero Data for what exactly to look for in the data directory that would suggest that that's what happened.

dstillman

As for your question, I'm not sure what you mean by "tags" in Scrivener. Can you share a screenshot?

emekaene

https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u15087824/9w4co8m916udnikc1q63.png

{ l
Vanderkam, 2019 | | | zu:0:85519N4P}

I meant the embedded citation tags copied from Zotero and pasted as markers in the Scrivener document.

dstillman

OK, from the ODF-Scan plugin, you mean. No, there's no data there to reconstruct your library from.

See the page I linked to above.