Deleted tags remain in online library

wfranko

I had a bunch of automatically generated tags in my personal Zotero library that I never wanted but didn't realize were being created. So I turned off the option to import all attached tags and started the tedious process of manually removing all of the unwanted tags. This was successfully done on my first computer, PC1, using the FF extension. I just recently started using a new computer, PC2, and synced it with my Zotero account (again with the FF extension). After the initial sync, however, PC2 imported all of the old, unwanted tags. PC1 still does not have the deleted tags even after syncing. I have noticed that all of the unwanted, deleted tags are still showing up on my online Zotero library.

Any suggestions on how to permanently delete these tags? Thanks.

adamsmith

Have you tried emptying your Zotero trash (bottom of the left panel) and syncing again?

wfranko

Yes, the trash is empty. Is there any way to delete tags from the online library interface? This seems to be the problem...maybe.

fcheslack

The online library isn't the problem if they are syncing back to your client. The online library caches your tags for as long as your browser session is open, but it doesn't change your synced data unless you save an item (and then it's only saving the item, not re-adding tags).

wfranko

"The online library isn't the problem..."

OK. Any idea why/how the deleted tags are repopulating when syncing a new computer?

dstillman

I have noticed that all of the unwanted, deleted tags are still showing up on my online Zotero library.

Showing up how? Attached to items, or just in the tag selector?

Do they show up online after restarting your browser?

wfranko

"Showing up how? Attached to items, or just in the tag selector?"

Some of both. The ones not attached to an item do not show up after restarting FF but the others (deleted once before) are still there.

dstillman

If you can reproduce this, provide a Debug ID that shows deleting a tag, syncing, and having it not disappear from the website (after restarting Firefox, though you'll need to send the debug output in first and copy the Debug ID—you can also load the website in a different browser to check).

wfranko

Is it possible that the automatic tags associated with items already in my library were repopulated when I initially synced my account with my new computer?

dstillman

I'm not sure what you mean.

wfranko

I'm wondering if those items with URLs attached imported any associated automatic tags when I synced my account with my new computer.

Again, just trying to figure out why my library had automatic tags attached to items when I initially synced my account with my new computer when I didn't have any automatic tags in my library (on my old computer) prior to the sync.

dstillman

Automatic tags are added to items when you save them. There's no way for them to be added any other way.

rlvesco7

I have the very same issue. I painstakingly removed bogus tags that were imported because I had the "automatically tag items" setting set when I was importing citations. I unchecked that setting and further imported citations no longer brought in bogus tags.

HOWEVER, when I went to sync my citations to my new computer, it brought all those dead tags back to life (on the new computer only). Now I have over 1000 tags that I will have to figure out how to remove them. To make matters worse, it appears you can only delete one tag at a time!!

Beyond going into the sqllite database is there a solution to this that won't take me several hours to fix? This is important because I tend to manage my citations by tags only.

Thanks.

dstillman

Brought back to life how? Were they still attached to items, or did they just appear in the tag auto-complete and tag selector (with "Display All Tags in This Library" enabled)?

Do the tags appear in your online library?

rlvesco7

PCA - original computer
PCB - new computer

On PCA with "Display All Tags" it shows my curated tags, no bad or imported tags. No imported tags show up on autocomplete either. And no imported tags are associated with them on computer A.

After synching A with B, I see bad tags. That said, I see them online as well.

So my first instinct was to suspect that tags were not being synched properly (i.e. if deleted on PCA, they would not be deleted online). However, I ran some tests creating new tags and synching them. They appear online. I then deleted them on PCA, synched, and then they disappeared online. So it appears that works.

However, for some documents it does not.

For instance, I have a document: Markets and Hierarchies: Some Elementary Considerations.

It has no tags on PCA, but online, there are tags. And on PCB there are tags as well.

Dunno why certain files are keeping their tags.

This tag: ASSOCIATIONS, institutions, etc.

is no where to be found on PCA.

rlvesco7

Note, I also just deleted my trash, which I had never done before.

I then synched and closed my browser.

Upon checking my library online, the bogus, imported tags remain.

My local Zotero remains clean - only my tags exist.

dstillman

"ASSOCIATIONS, institutions, etc." is definitely still associated with items—three different ones—in your library online. Do those items exist on PCA? Online they haven't been modified in a few years.

rlvesco7

Yes. Those items exist on PCA.

The tag above is not associated with them on PCA or any other file --- except online.

dstillman

OK. My guess is that this happened through some fluke that triggered a full sync after you did the deletions. If that's the case, the problem will go away after an upcoming sync overhaul. In the meantime, we can't really do much with this unless you can reproduce it.

For tags that appear on PCB, you can delete them there and sync to remove them from the server. If you have orphaned automatic tags on the server, I can also remove those for you if you want. I see ~600 automatic tags in your library, with the last one added a couple years ago.

In general, make sure you have auto-sync enabled. You're much more likely to run into problems if you perform a large set of changes with auto-sync off.

rlvesco7

Understood. Thank you for investigating -- I really appreciate.

Quick question that could help this:

Could I seed the new computer, PCB, with PCA's zotero database and file structure? Or would that create a bunch of problems when I tried to sync the two computers?

dstillman

Yes, you can.

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