[Delete]

polsenharbich
edited September 30, 2019
[Delete]
  • dstillman
    edited January 31, 2017
    An RDF file isn't a backup. A backup is a copy of your Zotero data directory.
  • polsenharbich
    Is there a way of having the rokdd app do a proper backup that includes the entire directory? Presumably that is the point of having an app that "automatically exports" your library when new items are added, no?
  • dstillman
    Zotero export isn't for backing up, so by definition that's not what those add-ons (there are a few) are for. They're more appropriate for, say, keeping a BibTeX file used by another program up to date with your library.

    The way to have a backup — of Zotero or anything else — is just to use a backup system that does automated incremental backups of your files — and ideally your entire hard drive, as Time Machine does on macOS.

    (You can of course also use Zotero sync, which uploads changes after every change, but that's not really a proper backup either. It will help you if your hard drive dies or you lose your laptop, but if you delete something accidentally, the deletion is immediately uploaded as well.)
  • adamsmith
    No, the main goal of that add-on is to keep a database -- in particular, but not necessarily, a bibtex database file -- in sync with the Zotero library.
    If you want automated back-ups, don't use a Zotero add-on. Just make sure that whatever automated back-up tool you're using (on Mac that'd be time machine, but I think Window's built-in tool does this too, as do the tools that ship with most external hard disks) includes the Zotero data folder and that's all. See https://www.zotero.org/support/zotero_data#backing_up_your_zotero_library

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