Troubleshooting a custom data directory

robheimburger

I tried creating a custom data directory for Zotero in a place where it’s easier for me to back up files and attachments. I copied all the files in the current Zotero data directory to that folder, and I set the custom directory as that folder.

On reopening Zotero Standalone, all my old files and attachments are available. But when I use the Zotero Firefox browser extension to save a new website, this takes longer than before the change to appear in Standalone, and maybe only after restarting Standalone. Also, when I double-click on the entry to try to see the attachment, the message says, ‘The attached file could not be found.’ Hunting around in my file directory, the new file is still being saved in the default data directory.

However, when I click the ‘Z’ icon in Firefox, the entry appears at the bottom of the Firefox browser, and a double click shows the attachment with a URL along the lines of zotero://attachment/[number]

I tried removing and then reinstalling the Zotero Firefox extension, but the behavior is just the same.

Is it actually possible to use a custom data directory? I’d appreciate help.

adamsmith

It sounds like you may just have to set the same custom directory in zotero for Firefox that you have for standalone

robheimburger

Thanks for the suggestion. I clicked on the 'Z' icon and it displays a window at the bottom of Firefox that looks exactly like the Zotero Standalone window. Under preferences, I went to Advanced > Files and Folders. The data directory location was already listed as a custom directory that's identical to the one I chose for Standalone.

The same problem recurs: I tried capturing an web article using the Firefox browser add-on, and the reference shows up at the bottom of the Firefox screen with an attachment that will open. Eventually, the reference appears in Firefox Standalone, but a click ono the attachment produces this message: 'the attached file could not be found...'

Do you have any more advice? At present it's not working to use a custom data directory.

adamsmith

The data directory location was already listed as a custom directory that's identical to the one I chose for Standalone.

Could you double check this? Every single thing you say indicates that you have separate data directories for the Standalone and Firefox versions. This has nothing to do with whether they're custom or not.
See https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/sharing_data_directory for more on this.

robheimburger

You're right to have me check again since I didn't check closely enough the first time around. The switch in Standalone to a custom directory made 'preferences' in Zotero for Firefox display a custom directory, but that filepath was not changed to the new directory.

Thanks for the help.