Upgrade StorageRevert "Store references in document"
Is it possible to revert the "Store references in document" so that the references are made again to items stored in the local database file (I can't uncheck the corresponding box in Word's preferences dialog, it's greyed out)?
1st EDIT: If I understand correctly, references are always made to items in the local SQL file but the corresponding data can also be included in the Word document itself. So the question here really is: Why can't I uncheck the "Store references in document" box once I have checked it? And why are changes made to items in the database not reflected in the citations in the document? (Seems to be a problem with my machine/setup...)
2nd EDIT: I just saw that if I try to add an additional reference to an item stored in the document itself, the citation dialog box offers me a choice between referencing the stored version of the item and the (possibly changed) originary item in the SQL database. Hmm, that's not the behavior I want or expect...
1st EDIT: If I understand correctly, references are always made to items in the local SQL file but the corresponding data can also be included in the Word document itself. So the question here really is: Why can't I uncheck the "Store references in document" box once I have checked it? And why are changes made to items in the database not reflected in the citations in the document? (Seems to be a problem with my machine/setup...)
2nd EDIT: I just saw that if I try to add an additional reference to an item stored in the document itself, the citation dialog box offers me a choice between referencing the stored version of the item and the (possibly changed) originary item in the SQL database. Hmm, that's not the behavior I want or expect...
At the moment, there's no way to change all of the links to a given item in the document to point to another, although that's probably something we should have. If there's only one affected item, you could delete the citations to that item and re-add the version in the database.
EDIT: I have several versions in my Dropbox history going back to about a month. What could I do once I have figured out which of these versions is the best?
Of course, if you go back to an older version of your database, you'll want to update it with the items you have added/changed since. You could export these items from your current library, replace the database with an older version, and import the newer items into that. That will break the links of these newer items that have been cited in your documents, though.
http://www.zotero.org/support/zotero_data#restoring_your_zotero_library_from_a_backup
to a different computer or a different Firefox profile and then sync.
The downside is that you'd have hundreds of duplicates which you'd need to merge. The upside would be that all citations - pre and post import/export - would still work.
But perhaps the following approach would prevent the need to merge duplicates:
- identify the items in your current library that also exist in your old library (you can sort them by e.g. "Date Modified" and select the oldest ones; their date should match the date of import)
- add these items to a collection, e.g. "orphans"
- set up the sync-merge, as @adamsmith suggested
- after the sync, delete the items from the "orphans" collection
- merge any duplicates that are left. These would include old items that have been changed since they were imported.
(and, whenever you mess around with your Zotero data directory, first make a backup)
And my proposal would only work cleanly if your old library would be recent enough to include all the items that existed when you exported/imported.
technical details to follow if everyone else thinks this will work.
sync new database to Zotero.org. turn off internet. restore old database. disable sync. identify references that we're cited from the old database (I.e the ones that had lost their connection to the new database). tag them with whatever tag you want (this should bump the date modified). get back online. enable sync. now everything but the tagged items should be deleted and your new items synced to your computer. merge duplicates.
Edit:
The step-by-step guide:
In a few documents, when I opened them, Zotero would complain that some entries don't exist in the Zotero library anymore, so I had to re-assign them (not such a big deal).
Now, I don't want to screw things up again, so please excuse my asking: Is there a safe way to find out which entries in the now restored older zotero.sqlite file have changed in newer versions of zotero.sqlite? (I have a backup of the most recent zotero.sqlite that has correct entries but won't work with the Word files.)
Looks like I avoided disaster. Thank you all for your help!