Possible Zotero sqlite file duplicated by google drive. Deleting the duplicates is safe?

carlosegs

Hi,

I've been storing Zotero inside a google drive folder. By chance I checked the Zotero's main folder and I realized some sqlite files seems to be duplicated - they have a (1) at the file name end, as showed in the following screenshot:

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s486/nl/90045115/7bafb674-db21-4aca-97ab-5c851afe67e8

Do they sound possible duplicates made by google drive indeed?

Deleting these duplicates is safe?

To store Zotero inside google drive is safe, or is there any chance to have my Zotero database corrupted?

Many thanks for assistance,

Carlos

noksagt

You should NOT use google drive or other similar automated sync services with your main zotero directory. When Zotero is open, the zotero.sqlite file is not guaranteed to sync successfully & this can lead to sync conflicts/duplicates (as you've observed) & possibly to some data loss that would force you to roll back to a previous version (assuming that your sync service versions files).

You should use Zotero's own syn service to sync metadata.

The PDFs within the storage subdirectory can be synced safely using these third party services. But read: https://www.zotero.org/support/sync#alternative_syncing_solutions

carlosegs

Thanks for information. I read it and it sounds the symbolic link is the handier solution. The only point I am syncing Zotero through google drive is I need to access PDFs stored in Zotero through the mobile phone and tablet.

Regarding the three duplicated sqlite files with (1) at the end of the file name, could I delete them?

adamsmith

you should keep back-ups of them just in case, but yes, you can remove the duplicates.