Files unattached to parent items? (WebDAV)

llmunro

Hello forum,

I've been using WebDAV (not the Zotero Storage) for years to store and sync files with Zotero. I let my WebDAV subscription lapse for some months (oops) and just got it working again. Server set up in Zotero preferences works and sync works. Problem is, none of my attached files that I'd saves seems to be attached to the parent items. On all items that I've tested, I get the Attached File Cannot Be Found message. If I click locate, I get a list of folders with random names, which I understand are for storage. When I click on the folders to see what's in them, I see a file called .zotero-ft-cache rather than a PDF file. I'm hoping that my files are still accessible.

Any advice on my next steps? I'm on Zotero 4.0.29.10 on Linux Mint.

Thanks much.

Best,
Lisa

adamsmith

Is there any other computer you've used Zotero on? Attached files wouldn't get deleted by Zotero, so this sounds like they never synced to the computer you're currently on.

bwiernik

It may just be that file syncing hasn't finished. In the Zotero Sync preferences, try switching Download Files... to "As needed".

llmunro

I have used Zotero on other computers. This is a new install of Mint, so it seems reasonable to assume that files were never synced to this computer. I tried syncing again and changing the sync preferences to "as needed." A huge number of files that I know I had stored on webDAV are not longer able to be found. I do have an old backup of a previous firefox profile. Should I try restoring from that?

Thanks for all of the help and ideas.

Best,
Lisa

dstillman

Zotero doesn't delete files off WebDAV unless you delete them from Zotero, and it always tries to download missing files if "as needed" is selected, so assuming you're using the same WebDAV directory either those files were never uploaded or they were deleted off the server by something else.

If they're neither on this computer nor on the server, you'd have to either find them on another computer and sync them or find them in a backup. Make sure you've reviewed Zotero Data so you know what you're looking for.