Recover files

NataliaSantos_

I created a backup a few months ago, but at the time, I only exported my notes and didn’t enable Zotero to include the attached files. Now, most of the files I need for my work are missing.

Is there any way to recover these files under these circumstances?

dstillman

No, sorry, an export isn't a backup. You would need a proper backup of your Zotero data directory. (You don't say what actually happened, though. Do you mean that you lost all data on your computer?)

Note that it appears you were syncing through a couple months ago and have data in your online library, so you can recover all your data up to that point just by syncing with an empty Zotero library — unless there's more recent data, you shouldn't restore from an export, which will create duplicates. But you're at your file storage quota, so additional files haven't been uploading and wouldn't be available to be downloaded, since they were never on our servers.

NataliaSantos_

Because of other issues with my laptop, I had to perform a system recovery. Before that, trying to “back up” my Zotero files, I exported the Zotero data to an external hard drive. But I only exported the notes, not the attached files. After completing the system recovery and reinstalling Zotero, some files remained, but many others were lost. Is there really no way to recover those missing files?

dstillman

See above.