Where is data directory value stored for stand-alone zotero

wrknowles · September 3, 2014

I'm faced with a dying GPU on my main computer (Mac MBP 15" with the dreaded AMD failure), but it runs fine (for the time being) as a server. So I'm running off a borrowed MB Air, but keeping all my files on the MBP 15". I installed Zotero (both stand-alone and firefox) and pointed them at the data directory on the other computer, only to get "Database upgrade error [Exception ... "Component ... 0x80520013 (NS_ERROR_FILE_READ_ONLY)..." Appears that Zotero thinks that the database is locked or R/O on the MBP 15. No big deal. I should have a new computer in a week, so I can just run Zotero off a sync from the Zotero server. So I blow away the Zotero lines in prefs.js and Zotero in Firefox comes up, happy as a clam, pointing to a new db in .../Firefox/Profiles. But Zotero stand-alone still insists on pointing to the MBP 15. So blow away Zotero stand-alone and re-install, and I still get the error. Snoop around in ~/Library, and don't see any configuration files for Zotero. Spotlight for Zotero: no luck there either.

So--where do I find the configuration for stand-alone Zotero on a Mac? That will let me point stand-alone to .../Firefox... and I'll be fine until I'm back on a fully working computer.

Second, and this may be a bug report, if I delete zotero.sqlite-journal, I get "Alert: There was an error starting Zotero." It would seem that I'm pointing where I want to be. When I start Zotero on the "server," it happily just creates the journal and goes about its business. I have full file system access in both bash and finder to the Zotero data directory.

Thanks!

dstillman · September 3, 2014

I'm not totally following all of that, but I think you're looking for the Standalone profile directory. (And don't delete zotero.sqlite-journal. The main thing that will accomplish is corrupting your database.)

wrknowles · September 3, 2014

That's exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!

I looked for that directory, and must have just looked past. That fixed the presenting problem.

And I know I shouldn't delete the journal file; that's why I backed up both the sqlite and journal files. I hoped that I could get some diagnostics for what was really happening if I did (and then, of course, restored it).