Upgrade StorageSymlinks in Zotero (Linux) installed through Flatpak, prevents external files/folders
TL;DR (A) Use the direct-download Zotero zip file instead of Flatpak; and (B) deactivate "Fast Startup" (in Windows 10/11).
This is a notice for users with symlinks to data and storage folders outside the conventional file structure, say on a Windows partition with NTFS, this is only for advanced users who do experimental work; if you don't know what a symlink is, this is NOT for you. If you're the programmer of Zotero and feel stressful about users that use symlinks, this notice is NOT for you, either.
This is a note for the special case:
- You use Linux. (Problem A and B)
- The Linux uses Flatpak for installations. (Problem A only)
- You use symlinks to external files. (Problem A and B)
- You have stored Zotero data on a Windows NTFS partition and want to access that from Linux. (Problem B only)
Problem A: Because Flatpak puts its installed programs in a "walled garden" with high fences, Zotero 7 (or any version) may not work as expected, if you start to add symlinks. If the symlinks point to external partitions, hard drives, veracrypt containers etc., Zotero won't recognize the existance of such targets, it simply acts as if the target files and paths don't exist. (Attempts to give permissions by and through FlatSeal, a permission configurator for Flatpak apps, might not work, either.)
Solution to problem A: The easiest way is, to download and use the Linux zip file directly from zotero.org/download and use the program directly, without any Flatpak involvement.
Problem B: If you have your files or (Veracrypt) containers on an NTFS filesystem partition, say, on C:\ in Windows 11, and Zotero on Linux shows the initDB error, it means, that Windows 11 has a special and active energy option that prevents Zotero on Linux to access the NTFS partition.
Solution to problem B: This special energy option is called "Fast Startup" (»Schnellstart« in German). It needs to be deactivated for working with Linux. The internet can explain how to deactivate that, no need to spell it out here. (It is possible but quite unlikely that you need to do a chkdsk or ntfsfix, as many suggested on Stack Exchange.)
Both problems, A and B, arise, if you are a Windows user and you try, want to try, or use "Zorin OS", which is designed to look and feel like Windows but in Linux. Zorin OS uses Flatpak.
This is a notice for users with symlinks to data and storage folders outside the conventional file structure, say on a Windows partition with NTFS, this is only for advanced users who do experimental work; if you don't know what a symlink is, this is NOT for you. If you're the programmer of Zotero and feel stressful about users that use symlinks, this notice is NOT for you, either.
This is a note for the special case:
- You use Linux. (Problem A and B)
- The Linux uses Flatpak for installations. (Problem A only)
- You use symlinks to external files. (Problem A and B)
- You have stored Zotero data on a Windows NTFS partition and want to access that from Linux. (Problem B only)
Problem A: Because Flatpak puts its installed programs in a "walled garden" with high fences, Zotero 7 (or any version) may not work as expected, if you start to add symlinks. If the symlinks point to external partitions, hard drives, veracrypt containers etc., Zotero won't recognize the existance of such targets, it simply acts as if the target files and paths don't exist. (Attempts to give permissions by and through FlatSeal, a permission configurator for Flatpak apps, might not work, either.)
Solution to problem A: The easiest way is, to download and use the Linux zip file directly from zotero.org/download and use the program directly, without any Flatpak involvement.
Problem B: If you have your files or (Veracrypt) containers on an NTFS filesystem partition, say, on C:\ in Windows 11, and Zotero on Linux shows the initDB error, it means, that Windows 11 has a special and active energy option that prevents Zotero on Linux to access the NTFS partition.
Solution to problem B: This special energy option is called "Fast Startup" (»Schnellstart« in German). It needs to be deactivated for working with Linux. The internet can explain how to deactivate that, no need to spell it out here. (It is possible but quite unlikely that you need to do a chkdsk or ntfsfix, as many suggested on Stack Exchange.)
Both problems, A and B, arise, if you are a Windows user and you try, want to try, or use "Zorin OS", which is designed to look and feel like Windows but in Linux. Zorin OS uses Flatpak.