Content not syncing between Macs

lawesterman

I started my library on Mac A using Zotero storage, then bought Mac B, synced the library to B, and have been doing most of my work on B. I cannot get the libraries to completely sync between these two machines. In particular, some but not all attachments are not synced from B -> A. I tried resetting from B->server and server->A, and while all the entries seem to be present, a number (but not all) of attachments are missing, including PDFs and web pages.
I'm using Zotero 4.0.29.16 on both machines from within Firefox 49.0.2 on both machines.

adamsmith

Note that restoring to/from server is not a good way to troubleshoot/fix problems in most cases and can make things worse, so please don't use this unless you know exactly why.
Then see
https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/files_not_syncing

lawesterman

I performed the actions for debugging a 'files not syncing' problem. The problem id is D1783834494.

dstillman

You appear to have submitted that in the middle of syncing. We'd have to see the complete first sync after resetting file sync history.

lawesterman

Okay, I tried again, allowing the sync to complete, and the file is still not visible on Mac A. Problem ID is D650646456.

dstillman

Remote file not found for item null/FZB2ZZ66

Attachment file '/Users/[...]/Library/Application Support/Firefox/Profiles/gqopir4a.default/zotero/storage/FZB2ZZ66/[...].pdf' not found

The file you're trying to open doesn't exist on zotero.org. See the linked instructions again — you have to check whether the file you're trying to open is available online in order to know which computer is having trouble syncing it. It's not the computer you submitted this from.

lawesterman

Again, I'm lost. I did a complete upload of my library from Mac B to the Zotero server. All files available on Mac B should be available on Zotero at that point. I then did a complete replacement of the library on Mac A from the Zotero server. Why isn't the library on Mac A exactly the same as the library on Mac B at that point?

The file I tried to open (at the end of the debug dump) is available on the Zotero server - I specifically checked.

Here is a link to a screen capture on Mac B, showing a specific PDF file open in the Firefox browser, demonstrating that it is present on Mac B; this library was fully synced onto the Zotero server replacing the previous contents on the server: https://www.dropbox.com/s/j6y0574eooanyk1/Screenshot 2016-11-15 21.44.49.png?dl=0

Here is a link to a screen capture on Mac A (after the reset/sync/file open) showing that the specific PDF file is listed as being present on the Zotero server, but it is not marked as present on Mac A and cannot be opened on Mac A:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fh6xg2qwb7h24jn/Screen Shot 2016-11-15 at 9.45.05 PM.png?dl=0

dstillman

That just shows that the attachment item is on zotero.org. If the file had synced, you'd be able to open the actual PDF from there. So the file sync problem is on the computer where you added that file.

lawesterman

So even though I'm trying to sync Mac A, the problem is on Mac B. What is the problem, if the file is actually at the zotero.org site?

dstillman

Sorry, I don't follow. The issue here is that the file isn't on zotero.org. If you're referring to another file, you'd have to provide the same debugging info for that one.

lawesterman

What if I reset the file update history on Mac B, then reset the server version from Mac B? Will that insure that the PDF file I displayed in the screen captures (which is present on Mac B) is actually uploaded to zotero.org?

dstillman

You just need to follow the Files Not Syncing steps. Don't use the other reset options.