Syncing does not go through

jenlnorvell

I am trying to sync a group library with zotero server from the standalone version. I know this can take a long time, but when I click the sync button, I get the waiting icon on my mouse and Zotero stops responding. I'm not sure if I should continue waiting or if there is some other error going on. I've tried closing out zotero numerous times and restarting my computer, but no syncing has occurred. I have synced this group folder before, but when there were many fewer items in the folder.

I'm new to this and don't know how to get a debug id when Zotero stops responding. Is there a way to tell if this syncing request is going through?

Also is there a way to sync a group folder without syncing your whole library?

adamsmith

Also is there a way to sync a group folder without syncing your whole library?

no.
Since it sounds like you're trying to download a large library and group, you should let Zotero run for a significant time - ideally an hour or so - even if it appears frozen

aurimas

What version of Zotero, which OS?

Also is there a way to sync a group folder without syncing your whole library?

Not currently, no.

jenlnorvell

version 4.0.17
Windows 7

Ok, I'll try letting it run longer.

aurimas

Windows makes this a bit more difficult, but if the sync does not end up going through try the steps described here: https://www.zotero.org/support/debug_output#windows

I don't think Zotero is supposed to _freeze_ for more than a couple minutes (the sync does take time, but Zotero should be responsive). If you do run the real-time debugging, see if it stops scrolling at some point (that would be a good indication that an error occured). If the scrolling does not stop, then just proceed with the Select All - Copy steps after giving it five minutes or so.

jenlnorvell

I did the real-time debugging and it did not stop scrolling. I copied the output but I'm not sure what to do what that now. After about an hour and a half, the sync stopping running and the error button came up by the syncing error and said out of memory.

I thought that since I had unchecked the file syncing options for my library and group libraries (I don't need the files in my group library), that storage wouldn't be a problem? Is this an appropriate error message?

Thanks for your help.

dstillman

the error button came up by the syncing error and said out of memory

Try syncing immediately after restarting your computer with no other programs open (and without debug output enabled), and let it go until it finishes or crashes with an error message. ("Not Responding" doesn't count.)

dstillman

Also, have you recently added a large number of items locally? Is your Zotero trash empty? You're not actually downloading much of anything from the server, so this should only happen if there are a huge number of local changes to sync.