Lost attachments (PDF and others)

groetker

Occasionaly my Zotero library is not able to find attachments (PDFs and screenshots). It says "File could not be found".

I am unable to localize these lost files, even when searching the whole hard drive for the name of the respective file.

Is there anything I can do to prevent loss of attached files?

Thanks,
Ralf

adamsmith

Almost certainly these files aren't "lost". There are two main ways this can happen:
1. (this account for 95% of this) You sync between multiple computers but either don't have file syncing enabled or it doesn't work. You will still see the attachments on the other computer, but the files aren't there.
2. In some rare cases - e.g. saving snapshots from the NYTs with adblock enabled - snapshots aren't actually saved, even if they show as saved.

groetker

Thanks, Adam. But unfortunately, these two explanations/solutions don't work.
1. It's not a syncing issue. I don't sync between computers.
2. The snapshot was saved

I experienced one case of loss today: all of the sudden, I wasn't able to access (and to find) a saved PDF that I just had opened some minutes before.

adamsmith

create a debug ID for an attempt to open a "lost" pdf and post it here:
http://www.zotero.org/support/debug_output

Is your Zotero data folder in its default location, or did you move it to a custom location?

groetker

Custum position!

groetker

This is what I get when I choose "reporting an error". But: all this concerns only that part of my database where I do sync. The error I am talking about is in a library which I am the only user of. The title of the missing PDF is not mentioned in the message below:

Could not read chrome manifest 'file:///C:/Programme/Mozilla%20Firefox/extensions/%7B972ce4c6-7e08-4474-a285-3208198ce6fd%7D/chrome.manifest'.

[JavaScript Error: "File 'Hoffnung-Garskof, Jesse. 2011. To Abolish the Law of Castes. Merit, Manhood and the Problem of Colour in the Puerto Rican Liberal Movement, 1873–92.pdf' not found after processing download 322640/5IKPI4ZC in Zotero.Sync.Storage.processDownload()" {file: "chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/storage.js" line: 690}]

[...]

[JavaScript Error: "File 'TUXQZZT6.zip' not found after processing download 136013/TUXQZZT6 in Zotero.Sync.Storage.processDownload()" {file: "chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/storage.js" line: 690}]

[...]

[extra output removed — D.S]

groetker

And THIS is the full output of the debug report. (The same comment applies as to the shorter output above.)

[output removed — D.S.]

dstillman

All we need are the Report IDs and Debug IDs (which also provide additional information on versions, etc.) requested in the instructions, not raw output. And that second block of output you provided was not debug output.

In any case, based on the above errors, either something is broken about wherever you're storing your Zotero data or something like security software on your system is interfering with Zotero's filesystem access.

groetker

All the items on the list concern those elements which are part of a library where I am just a member, not the manager. My impression is that the owner of the library indeed made some changes, so that my system cannot find these items any more. But, again: the errors that I am concerned about are in that part of the library which I do not share with other members.

---------------------------------------------------
This is the ID when using the option "reporting" in the drop down menue:
1497371795

this is what I get when using the control panel, after activating the debug mode:
ID is D249357635.

thanks
Ralf

dstillman

C:\Dokumente und Einstellungen\User\A[...]\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\0v2biwbb.default\zotero\storage\WRF8GJ38\W[...]3.pdf

Does this file exist? Is it your file?

If not: http://www.zotero.org/support/kb/files_not_syncing

groetker

It should be mine - at least that's the name of my profile (0v2..). But I cannot find a folder called "WRFGJ38"!

dstillman

By "yours" I mean from your own library, added by you, instead of from a group and added by someone else.

But it looks like it's from your own library. Did you add it on this computer?

dstillman

The point, though, is that you're getting errors that indicate that something is broken about Zotero's access to your filesystem, or at least that part of it. The errors above are from syncing, but if you're getting those you'd likely also have problems creating files locally.

dstillman

And if WRF8GJ38 doesn't exist, I highly doubt it ever did and that you could ever access this file. It's much more likely for there to be an error creating a folder and saving a file to it than for a folder that existed previously to disappear on its own.

(The fact that this file doesn't exist on the server either would seem to bear this out.)

groetker

Yes, it's mine in that sense.

... but then: if just access would be broken, then I would be able to find the file via the search function. (I did the test: I can find existing PDFs in Zotero storage via "search".) But these missings files I cannot find. And the file had been created: I've seen it!

dstillman

No, I mean access to write the file in the first place. You're definitely getting errors that indicate a filesystem access problem.

I can't really provide much more help here other than to say that if you can reproduce adding a file and having it not be available, provide a Debug ID for the full process and we'll look at it, but those errors don't point to a problem with Zotero itself.

The fact that the attachment item exists on the server but the file doesn't strongly suggests that the file never existed, though. You have other files created the same day that are on the server.

groetker

Okay, I'll watch for it if I can reproduce it.


As I now recognize, all of my older files (> 2011) are concerned. And these had existed! (Because I have used them.)

Ralf

groetker

PS: Not all. Just many of my older files (> 2011) are concerned.