The file ... cannot be deleted.

Dear all,

first of all a huge thank you to the developers and the community of Zotero. I've been using the tool for more than two years now and it has become truly indispensable.

I only have a minor problem, which I haven't been able to solve despite consulting the Forums and trying all sorts of fixes. Basically, when I am syncing my library, it shows the following error [anonymised]:

"The file 'C:\Users\Me\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\wx3at3yc.default\zotero\storage\8V95AEC7\xx121@files.scrf.net.lnk' cannot be deleted.

Check that the file is not currently in use, that its permissions allow write access, and that it has a valid filename.

Restarting your computer or disabling security software may also help."

I have traced the file in the parent directory and deleted it, but it somehow shows up a bit later nevertheless. Even formatting and changing computers hasn't changed anything about this. I have also entered the name of the directory (8V95AEC7) into the Zotero "search everything" box, as was recommended somewhere on this forum, but the search didn't deliver any results. I have no idea why Zotero keeps thinking that this file should be synced?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Best wishes,
Simon
  • Usually that error is due to security software on the computer interfering, though in this case it's possible the problem is due to that file being a Windows alias. Do you have any recollection of how that actually ended up in your library?

    In any case, your best bet is to delete it. Make sure you're in All Fields & Tags mode when pasting in 8V95AEC7, and make sure you're in the library root. (If you're in any group libraries, also check in those.) The item could also already be in the trash in one of your libraries. Once you find it and delete it, be sure to empty the trash or delete it manually from the trash.
  • Dear Dan,

    many thanks indeed for your quick reply! It turned out that the file was indeed in the trash of a group library, everything works flawlessly now.

    Again, many thanks for your swift help (and of course for your excellent work at Zotero!).

    All best,
    Simon
  • (@Dan -- might be worth considering some easy way to empty all trashs? Maybe in the preferences? Errant items in some library trash seems like a recurrent cause of confusion)
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