Broken Zotero on Mac

nedyr

I was trying to change the data storage folder that Mac Zotero uses from my internal hard disk to a shared directory to link it to the one I use on my PC. Using Settings I changed to the shared folder which was connected and showing in Finder. Zotero on Mac then refused to load giving the message:
"Error
There was an error starting Zotero.
You can report this problem in the Zotero Forums.
[Exception... "Could not open connection to Volumes/DataStore |Zotero/zotero.sqlite: 2153971714" nsresult: "0x80630002
(NS_ERROR_STORAGE_IOERR)" location: "JS frame::
resource://gre/modules/Sqlite.sys.mjs :: openConnection/<<:: line
1336" data: nol
openConnection/</<@resource://gre/modules
/Sqlite.sys.mjs:1336:23
From previous event:
Zotero.DBConnection.prototype._getConnectionAsync@chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/db.js:1197:45"

Since I can't load Zotero I can't get into Settings to change it back.

Any ideas? I have tried deleting the plist file and replacing Zotero settings to yesterday's using Time Machine but still get the same message on attempting to run. Anything else I can do apart from uninstalling and re-installing?

Thanks
John

dstillman

Close Zotero, move the data directory back to the default location in your home folder, go to your Zotero profile folder, open prefs.js in TextEdit, and delete the dataDir line.

dstillman

Or just moving the data directory alone might be sufficient to cause Zotero to prompt you to switch back to your home folder.

Network shares can work, but they don't always behave like standard disks, so if they don't work, all we can suggest is sticking to the local disk.

nedyr

Thanks. That worked. I am back where I was. What I really want to be able to do is choose where Zotero saves a web snapshot or pdf if I am using Mac for research. Don't want to put them on small hard drive. But when I use the extension to save a page with associated pdf it just puts it in storage with no other options. John

dstillman

Zotero always saves files to the data directory, but in an upcoming version, it will be possible to choose how long Zotero keeps local copies of files uploaded via Zotero file syncing in order to conserve local disk space.

nedyr

But what I want to do is tell them where to put then from the start so that I only have one copy which I can look at from Mac or PC

dstillman

Again, Zotero always saves files to its data directory — that's how it manages files reliably and isn't going to change. There are plugins that you let you create linked files more easily, but those don't sync, and you're already using Zotero syncing and stored files.

I'm not sure how what I describe wouldn't help? It would just keep new or recently opened files locally for a few days, and then they would be removed and would only be stored online until you tried to open them again from any device.

nedyr

That's even worse. I don't use online storage with Zotero. All my files are on a separate hard drive connected to both PC and Mac. What you are suggesting means that I will need to move all files downloaded with Zotero before they are removed then put them on my hard drive and re-import them into Zotero making sure the references are correct. That is much more hard work than being able to choose where downloaded pdfs should be stored. Shame we cannot be given choice rather than the machine knowing better than us!

dstillman

Wait, what? You're literally using Zotero Storage — you've been paying for a Zotero Storage subscription for years.

Again, if you want to use linked files, you can do that with a plugin. That's how you would save attachment files to an external disk or in a cloud storage folder without using Zotero file syncing. Stored files are stored within the data directory and managed by Zotero — that's what makes them stored files.

I'm still not clear on what exactly the device is that you were trying to move your data directory to. But if it's a NAS or something that can be accessed from multiple OSes at once, that's essentially equivalent to trying to store Zotero data in a cloud storage folder. You absolutely can't do that — you'll corrupt your database, and you'll likely run into all sorts of problems (like this one) even before you do.

What you are suggesting means that I will need to move all files downloaded with Zotero before they are removed then put them on my hard drive and re-import them into Zotero making sure the references are correct.

I have no idea what you're talking about — I'm certainly not suggesting anything like this. I'm saying that for standard use of Zotero with stored files and Zotero file syncing — which, based on your storage subscription, I was assuming you were using — there's an upcoming feature to reduce local disk usage in the data directory. That's it.

nedyr

I am using storage to sync the 1000s of references I have but not to keep the pdf files online. That is why I want to be able to choose where to put a pdf downloaded using the extension rather than it going into the data storage. I will simply stop using the extension and download the file normally to my hard drive then import into Zotero and add my own references. Not a good way of doing it but I will have no choice.

adamsmith

(You don't actually need to pay for storage to sync metadata).
Not sure why you're so insistent on not using a plugin -- plugins have allowed folks to auto move and link files for many years, so it's not like this isn't possible. There's no need to do this manually (there's also good reasons to make storing in Zotero the default because it's much less likely to break in a whole range of ways).