No "Confirm" Button in Preferences to Start Syncing Process???

Emily_MB

Hello,

I have a Zotero library via the FIrefox extension and wanted for the first time to create a shared group.

Zotero Version: 4.0.29.10
Running on Firefox 47.0.1
On a MacBook PRO with OSX 10.10.5

I've never synced my library before, so I went into the preferences and entered my username/password but there is no "enter" or anything... so all I could do was close out the preferences window.

This did nothing. So I tried hte "Create Account" within the settings and made a new account (this one) and tried again.

Once more nothing happens.

Am I missing something?

I don't even need to sync my full library. I just want to be able to have a shared group for a project I'm working on with another person.

Thank you for any insights!

adamsmith

With automatic sync (which is recommended and the default) sync will just start with every change as well as periodically on idle.
Otherwise, you can click on the green round arrow at the top right of Zotero to sync.

Zotero preferences, like preferences of all comparable software, have an OK button that saves changes and exits. That's the same for other apps that sync, be it e-mail programs like Outlook and Thunderbird or file syncs like Dropbox.

Emily_MB

Thank you Adamsmith. Did you mean to say "Zotero preferences, like preferences of all comparable software, DOE NOT have an OK button"?

If it DOES have a button, it's not displaying for me.

Also for some reason I do not have the green sync button in the upper right of Firefox. I did check the selective sync option but there is no button for the forced sync.

Emily_MB

Also, is there a way for me to ONLY sync the group I've created?

As of now it appears in my online account (with nothing else) but not on my Firefox library (where everything is)

adamsmith

Sorry, I think there is no OK button on Mac (no idea why -- I'd guess it's default windows behavior in Firefox, but not sure). Anyway, closing the preferences has the same effect.

When you open the Zotero pane (i.e. click on the Zotero button at the top right in Firefox) Are you sure you don't see a round green arrow at the top right? Would look like this: https://www.zotero.org/support/sync#data_syncing
That would be very odd.

adamsmith

And no, no way to just sync a group at this time. (And please don't use all caps for emphasis; it's considered yelling. _underscores_ work well)

Emily_MB

Sorry about the caps. I'm not super savvy on internet-speak.

There is strangely no sync button. I had looked for that as well.

If I were able to have that appear how do I select what even syncs? And if I can select item by item then couldn't I simply select the group to sync?

adamsmith

Zotero doesn't have selective Sync. It's all or nothing (you can disable file syncing -- but the metadata will still sync). Obviously just because you sync doesn't mean that you'd be sharing something.

Could you take a screenshot of your Firefox window with the Zotero pane open, upload it to any free image hosting site (imgur, dropbox) and link to it from here?

Emily_MB

oh! victory! the "sync" button is in the Zotero pop-up at the base of the Firefox extension.

thank you so much for your help :D

dstillman

On a Mac, preferences are "instant apply" and take effect as soon as you enter them, so there's no OK button.

Selective sync is coming in 5.0.