.PDFs not on Zotero Server?

carolyneroberts

I pay the extra money every year for Zotero storage to enable file syncing, but it seems that none of my .pdf attachments are on the Zotero server. I don't tend to look at my library online through the web - only from my local copy. When I looked at a number of entries online, there were no .pdf files there. Needless to say, I am a bit concerned, and hope there is a way to enable proper syncing.

carolyneroberts

As a quick follow up, I've been obsessively checking and rechecking, and just now the notes and attachments came back online, in sync with the local copy. I have an over 700MB library so I was concerned. Although I remain perplexed about why things sometimes show up and sometimes don't, I'm happy to see I can access my full library online when necessary!

dstillman

Are you saying there was just a temporary problem displaying your items and files, or had they just not yet shown up (in which case it just hadn't finished syncing). Are you still having trouble?

carolyneroberts

It's rather perplexing. When I look on the Zotero website from one of the PCs that I have Zotero loaded on locally, the notes, attachments, and .pdfs still don't show up - although they are on my local system. (And some of these attachments have been in my library many months.)

When I access the Zotero website from my iPad through Safari, everything shows up online. I didn't realize there was a difference between the two. When I sent the last message, I just checked my iPad. I assumed that when the notes and attachments suddenly appeared on the Zotero website on my iPad that it would have mirrored the site on Firefox. But in checking just now, the problem of missing notes and attachments remains when I access Firefox through the PC. I have the latest version of Zotero - 3.0. My Firefox version is 11.0.

What's also strange is that when I access the Zotero website through the iPad on Safari, I have the option of sorting the library by creator, date, or author, whereas that functionality doesn't exist when I access the Zotero website through my PC via Firefox.

I should also say that I only just recently received this iPad as a gift and have done very little with it, but I did bookmark Zotero in Safari because I wanted to get a sense of the online capability of Zotero since I don't have the option of having a local copy of Zotero on the iPad. This is what prompted the exploration.

I hope this makes sense - I'm very confused...

dstillman

The computer you access the website from makes no difference, as long as you're logged in via the same account.

What's also strange is that when I access the Zotero website through the iPad on Safari, I have the option of sorting the library by creator, date, or author, whereas that functionality doesn't exist when I access the Zotero website through my PC via Firefox.

This doesn't make sense to me. Can you take a screenshot, post it to a free file-sharing site such as imageshack.us, and provide a link here?

For the general issue of files not being available across machines:

http://www.zotero.org/support/kb/files_not_syncing

carolyneroberts

Thanks for the message. Unfortunately, the link about syncing is not the issue because it's not that I can't find the attachments, the attachments are simply not showing up on the Zotero website. I get no message about attachments missing, etc. The interesting thing is that they are showing up on my brand new iPad which has literally nothing on it except the Safari web browser.

I'm sorry if I'm not being clear. I have only one account and I am not speaking about anything other than viewing my Zotero library on the actual web on the PC on which everything is stored - from my local Zotero library to all the copies of the .pdfs. If any computer should work and show all the attachments it would be this one. Although it shouldn't matter what machine or browser you use to view the website, it surprisingly does matter in this case.

I have put links to three images below:

The first image is from my Zotero library on the Zotero website from within the iPad via Safari. It shows the handy little arrow by the "Creator" field and shows the listings alphabetically sorted by Author - something which does not show up outside of when I view the website from the iPad.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/38/zoterofromipadcreatorar.png/

The second image is from my Zotero library on the Zotero website from my PC via Firefox. It shows one listing which should have notes and attachments, but which shows none.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/543/zoterofrompcfirefoxatta.png/

The third image is the same listing as the one above, which should have notes and attachments. As you can see, notes and .pdfs are indeed present when I view this listing in my Zotero library on the Zotero website from my iPad via Safari.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/41/zoterofromipadsafariatt.png/

In short, I have only account, and as you can see, what appears on the web from within the different browsers and machines is markedly different.

dstillman

Your Firefox installation is broken, you have JavaScript disabled, or you have an add-on that's preventing JavaScript from working on zotero.org.

Make sure JavaScript is enabled in your Firefox preferences and, if that doesn't help, disable your other Firefox extensions.

fcheslack

Do you have javascript enabled on your PC, or any plugins like NoScript that would interfere with the page running javascript?
You can check if it's enabled in the Firefox preferences on the Content tab.

carolyneroberts

I checked to make sure javascript is enabled and it is. So, I just restarted Firefox in safe mode with all add-ons disabled, and there has been no change. I don't have NoScript installed either. Should I try reinstalling Firefox or try upgrading it to version 12?

fcheslack

Try reloading your library without the cache (ctrl-shift-R) and clearing your zotero.org cookies (Preferences > Privacy).

What version of firefox and windows are you on now?

edit: also what is the url in the address bar on that page?

carolyneroberts

I cleared the cache, reloaded the library, and cleared the Zotero cookies and still no change. I am using Firefox 11 and Windows XP.

Do you mean the URL for my library on the Zotero website? That URL is: https://www.zotero.org/carolyneroberts/items/

I also did an experiment from my PC to see what would happen through IE, and everything is present - all attachments, .pdfs, notes, and the handy arrow by the creator heading. It does seem to be some sort of Firefox problem.

fcheslack

You should upgrade Firefox if you can. And you might also see if a fresh firefox profile works.

dstillman

(See http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/Managing-profiles for the latter.)

carolyneroberts

I will work on this and let you know how it works!

carolyneroberts

So far I've had success! I've not yet upgraded the Firefox, but I just created a new profile and Zotero is working perfectly again! Thanks so much to both of you for all your help and support this afternoon and evening!

dstillman

OK, great. You'll want to transfer your Zotero data directory from the old profile directory to the new one, as well as your old Firefox data (though you'll want to do the latter one part at a time to make sure you don't reproduce the problem.

carolyneroberts

Thanks for the information. I just finished doing those two tasks and my Zotero is restored to my local drive and Firefox is functioning well! Thanks again!