Syncing PDF annotations with server

ono2000
Hello --

When I create annotations on my PDFs they don't sync to my work computer. I have read the forums and I think this is because there is no change in my "date modified" field. Is there any action I can make to trigger a change in "date modified" so Zotero will re-upload the PDFs that I am annotating so that I can see the new highlights on my work computer?

I am using Zotero Standalone 4.0.17 and Zotfile 3.1 on Mac OS X Mavericks.

Thank you!
Andrew
  • adamsmith
    what are you annotating with? It's not the "date modified field" that matters, but whether the file itself actually changes.
  • dstillman
    Clarification: It's the file modification time that matters, not the Date Modified time in the middle pane. The Modified field in the right-hand pane when a file attachment item is selected is indeed the file modification time.

    So whatever tool you're using has to 1) save changes back to the PDF itself (and not an external file) and 2) has to update the file modification time.
  • dstillman
    (And the file also has to change, as adamsmith says. But Zotero won't check whether the file changed unless the file modification time also changed.)
  • ono2000
    I am using Mac Preview. For the most part I have just been doing highlights. I tried adding a text comment to see if anything happened but I can't tell yet.
  • adamsmith
    did you check whether the time/date under "Modified" when you select just the PDF changes or not?
  • ono2000
    The time/date under "Modified" when I select the PDF attachment does change when I add highlights or annotation.
  • adamsmith
    edited March 6, 2014
    OK, then the annotations should sync. See
    http://www.zotero.org/support/kb/files_not_syncing

    (edit - you should make sure the file changes, too - e.g. slight change in file size, but I'm pretty sure it would).
  • ono2000
    I see the file as changed on the WebDav server (4shared) and I see the extracted annotation on the work computer, but not the highlights in the PDF.

    Is it possible that the file is being uploaded to the WebDav server but then not downloaded on the work computer? If so, is this the next step?

    "If you've performed all these steps, see the file on the server, and still can't access the file on Computer B, then go to the Sync→Reset pane of the Zotero preferences on Computer B, choose Reset File Sync History, generate a Debug ID for the next sync attempt and an attempt to open the file, and post the Debug ID to the forums. Do not use the other options in the Reset pane."
  • adamsmith
    yes, I'd try that next. The extracted annotations sync with the database, so they're entirely separate from file syncing.
  • ono2000
    Just wanted to offer an update here. I realized the problem with trying to sync Computer B was in uploading a 1.77 GB storage folder's contents up to the server after reseting file sync. Instead I just made a copy of my zotero.sqlite file and storage folder and copied it to Computer B. So far, so good.

    But now when I download a new citation (with its PDF) on Computer B, the PDF isn't syncing from Computer B back to Computer A. The PDF looks like it's there but I get the File Not Found message.

    I have looked for the file on the WebDav server (A86Q3VCU) and what appears on the WebDav server is A86Q3VCU (1).prop and A86Q3VCU (1).zip. That folder contains the proper PDF. Is that (1) at the end a symptom of what is going wrong?
  • dstillman
    Yes, absolutely. Zotero would never do that on its own, so your WebDAV server is doing something automatic, non-standard, and bad here.
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