Upgrade StorageHow can I restore Zotero exactly as it was before reinstalling it?
Hello everyone,
I recently updated my W10 to W11, which caused Windows to crash.
I had to reinstall Windows and all my softwares, including Zotero. I hadn't made a backup before the crash. However, I was able to clone my hard drive before reinstalling Windows.
I would like to restore my Zotero exactly as it was before the crash. I know where to find the PDF files, but if I place them in the same directory in my new Zotero installation, I will probably lose my library tree structure (the main page that appears when you open Zotero, with all my categories and subcategories).
My question is: in which files is this information stored, so that I can replace the corresponding file in the new installation with the file from my cloned version?
I hope these details are clear enough to be understood.
Best regards
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
I recently updated my W10 to W11, which caused Windows to crash.
I had to reinstall Windows and all my softwares, including Zotero. I hadn't made a backup before the crash. However, I was able to clone my hard drive before reinstalling Windows.
I would like to restore my Zotero exactly as it was before the crash. I know where to find the PDF files, but if I place them in the same directory in my new Zotero installation, I will probably lose my library tree structure (the main page that appears when you open Zotero, with all my categories and subcategories).
My question is: in which files is this information stored, so that I can replace the corresponding file in the new installation with the file from my cloned version?
I hope these details are clear enough to be understood.
Best regards
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/transferring_a_library
The easiest way is syncing (Option A), if you were fully synced previously - in that case there is a full copy of your library online. Otherwise you would have to use Option B, to copy your entire data folder hierarchy across.
If B, are you saying that you have a copy of your Zotero library's complete data folder hierarchy (as it was prior to the update) that you can locate on your cloned hard drive ? That's what you need to copy (as described at the link).
The sqlite database file in the data folder contains your collections structure and the recorded locations of all your files. The data folder hierarchy also contains your PDF files (unless you were using "linked" PDF files; in which case the database has a record of their locations, but the files are obviously located elsewhere on the computer). So copying the entire data folder hierarchy across (as described in Option B) recreates your entire library structure.