one zotero library for both mac and windows (parallels) ?

catherinenrg
Hello guys,

I use zotero standalone and mozilla firefox plug-in on a MacbookPro and I am pretty happy with it, but I'd like to use Word (and zotero plugin) on windows (through parallels). The problem is that I want to keep working (organizing, filing etc) on my mac-zotero-standalone but at the same time use word-plugin on windows parallels. Is that doable without exporting the library from mac to windows parallels? The library (only local) is approximately 3gb and located in the part of the disk that is "accessible" from both mac and windows parallels simultaneously.
any help would be really appreciated !
  • adamsmith
    It should be possible to just point Zotero on Windows to the data directory you have for Mac. These instructions should help:
    https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/sharing_data_directory#sharing_the_data_directory_manually
  • dstillman
    Be aware, though, that setting the data directory across the VM will likely break the built-in file locking on the database, so you'd need to always be sure that Standalone/Firefox on the Mac were closed before opening Standalone/Firefox in Parallels. Otherwise you could pretty easily corrupt your database.
  • catherinenrg
    thank you both very much!!
    I did what adamsmith suggested and it worked after a restart. unfortunately, I didn't thought about the problem mentioned by Dan Stillman so I faced the message about the corrupted zotero library. No problem though as the data restored from the automatic backup (I had kept one too). But, I believe that I won't be so careful all the time, so do you have any other suggestion?
  • adamsmith
    sorry about that, didn't think of that. Keeping two separate libraries for Mac and Windows and using Zotero sync should work nicely.
  • catherinenrg
    no worries adam!I didn't want two separate libraries because of the size (3gb), which makes sync not free. But I just realized that I only need the zotero.sqlite (only few mb) synchronized on my Windows library to use the metadata for citation in Word and not the whole zotero storage with pdf etc. I just tried it and seems working.So two separate libraries for Mac and Windows and sync-ing only the sqlite file is a safe configuration for simultaneous use or should I be careful of anything else?
    really grateful for your help!
  • adamsmith
    yes, that's perfectly save - data sync - i.e. everything but the files - is free regardless of the size of your library anyway - so if you don't want the files on Windows, turn off file syncing (in the sync tab of the Zotero preferences) and everything should just work smoothly the way you want it to.
  • catherinenrg
    great, thnx!
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