no sync to server of items since Dec 2016

davehallgreenwich
No items have been synced to the server since 12 Dec 2016 (176 items do not appear online). I assume it stopped because I reached my storage limit, but I upgraded to unlimited in Feb 2017and still no items since Dec 2016 have been synced to the server, despite automatic sync being on.
  • bwiernik
    https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/changes_not_syncing

    Storage limits only affect syncing of attachment files, not item metadata.
  • davehallgreenwich
    Thanks for the info that storage limits don't affect metadata, and the reference to the kb. I have now disabled automatic syncing, and tried a manual sync instead, and this gives a red error message:
    The name 'Democratization, and the World Economic Crisis. " P...' [sic] is too long to sync. Search for the item with this name and shorten it...'

    However, there is no item with such a name either on this PC, or on the server, or on the laptop which I also use - neither in My Library, nor its trash, nor in any Group Library or trash.
    So this presumably explains the failure to update: but gives me another problem, how to get rid of an item which does not exist anywhere.
  • davehallgreenwich
    I should have added that the error report ID for the sync problem above is 1278684126
  • adamsmith
    Note that "name" refers to someone listed as a creator, not the title of the items.
    Hoave you searched for part of this in your various libraries? Obviously Zotero isn't inventing those words, so they do exist somewhere.
  • davehallgreenwich
    Thanks, I hadn't realised that was the meaning of 'name': but I have now searched both the local libraries and the server libraries and it doesn't appear in the 'creator' field anywhere, either. The phrase clearly originates from a specific issue of a journal, but none of the items in the libraries, either on the PC or the server, come from that journal in that year.
  • bwiernik
    @adamsmith This confusion happens a lot. Maybe the message should more clearly say "Creator name"?
  • davehallgreenwich
    Maybe, but that doesn't help me: the phrase there is no item in my libraries with the reported phrase, either in the 'creator' field or the 'title field'.
    Since this is preventing any syncing happening, I need to do something. Should I try a total reset, 'Restore to Zotero server'?
  • DWL-SDCA
    Should I try a total reset, 'Restore to Zotero server'? NO!

    Don't do that unless specifically instructed to do so.
  • DWL-SDCA
    Try searching for one word, democratization.
  • davehallgreenwich
    Yup, I have done that, a number of times, both locally and on server. The only hits did not have the rest of the phrase nor come from the relevant journal.
  • DWL-SDCA
    I am just guessing with this but it won't do any harm. Check your database integrity:

    https://www.zotero.org/support/preferences/advanced
  • DWL-SDCA
    You said that you examined your local and server trash. Please try emptying both -- including that of any groups.
  • davehallgreenwich
    Done it: passed, no erros were found in the database.
  • DWL-SDCA
    edited April 3, 2017
    One more thing, search for the author name, Luckhurst or search journal title 'politics & policy'. (I remember reading that editorial and found it in my library.) You might also try a title search for: "Introduction to the special issue"
  • adamsmith
    Could we get a debug ID (different from a report ID) for a sync that produces that error, please:
    https://www.zotero.org/support/debug_output
  • dstillman
    No need for a Debug ID. Paste "J5BFZJI5" into the Zotero search bar in the root of your library.
  • davehallgreenwich
    Thanks for all these helpful suggestions, but still no luck: I searched for J5BFZJI5 both locally and on the server, it produced nothing; and yes, DWL-SDCA, I have also tried searching for Luckhurst and for Politics and Policy and for Introduction (nice to touch on common subject areas!), but nothing came up.

    A more general question: I understand why invalid items can't be synced, but is it possible to just put them in a separte queue of 'unsyncables', while allowing all the valid stuff to be synced?
  • adamsmith
    A more general question: I understand why invalid items can't be synced, but is it possible to just put them in a separte queue of 'unsyncables', while allowing all the valid stuff to be synced?
    that will be the case with Zotero 5.0, the way I understand the new sync.

    J5BFZJI5 is the reference that's actually throwing the error, so it _has_ to be there. Make sure that you
    a) have "My Library" selected in the left-hand panel and
    b) definitely have your Zotero trash emptied.
  • dstillman
    edited April 4, 2017
    It definitely was that item, but it looks like that item was actually deleted a few days ago, with a new problematic item with the same data added afterward. So @psiru, look for IDADBRD6 now. There was an attempt to sync that as of a few hours ago.
  • dstillman
    that will be the case with Zotero 5.0, the way I understand the new sync
    Yes.
  • davehallgreenwich
    Success! I found IDADBRD6, trashed it, emptied the trash, and have just enjoyed a fully consummated sync for the first time in 4 months. I don't fully understand how you found those codes, but it worked, thanks so much for the time and wisdom.

    One other general question: could the data entry rules of Zotero prevent the creation of an item with a field which is too long to be synced?
  • dstillman
    could the data entry rules of Zotero prevent the creation of an item with a field which is too long to be synced?
    They could, but only by throwing out data, which we don't like to do. An alternative might be to automatically move that data into a child note on import. (Notes have length limits too, but they're higher.)

    Zotero is a bit more helpful when you try to sync too-long text in a couple places: for tags, a wizard pops up that helps you edit/split/delete the tag, and for some fields the error message includes a button that takes you straight to the affected item. I think in 5.0 it should be possible to do the latter for creator names too (which is difficult in 4.0 for technical reasons), but I can't remember if that's implemented yet in the current 5.0 beta.
  • davehallgreenwich
    Extending error messages to other fields or all fields sounds helpful. I'm not sure that preventing the creation of an invalid/unsyncable field entry is 'throwing out data', isn't it rather preventing the creation of data which is at least partially useless - and then the error messages show how to make it into valid/useable data? But thanks again, and looking forward to 5.0
  • dstillman
    It's true that the data is often/usually junk, but Zotero data does come from many different sources, and the concern is that there might be valid data that made it into the wrong field that you might want to manually move elsewhere, fields that were incorrectly concatenated, etc. But I do think storing it in a note might make sense.
  • adamsmith
    But I do think storing it in a note might make sense.
    +1 -- I do think we want to avoid this fairly frequent source of frustration, even if it becomes less crucial in 5.0

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