Attachments not uploaded to library or computer no. 2

sicahjes

I have just come across a very frustrating issue. I needed to work from home today, so I opened Zotero (Mac) to start reviewing documents. Unfortunately, I have just discovered that folders of articles I have recently compiled will not allow me to access the associated PDF (it lists it as existing, but gives me the error 'File Not Found. It may have been moved or deleted outside of Zotero').

I came across this guide: https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/files_not_syncing

I checked my online library, and what do you know - these PDFs file names listed, but no hyperlink is available to review them. So, Zotero knows that the file has been attached to the parent item... but has seemed to lose the file at some point.

It would seem that the common denominator is using the chrome app to transfer online articles to my standalone (this is a guess). Does anyone know what I can do to prevent this from happening again. Do I need to manually download all attachments and attach them to a parent item? I really hope not.

I now need to travel into uni to try and troubleshoot this issue. As far as I remember, I can open them from Zotero using that computer... so much for a day of working from home. This has impacted LOADS of documents.

Any advice to help out my frustrated self would be appreciated!

Info:
I use standalone at uni (Computer 1 - Windows)
Sync to standalone at home (Computer 2 - Mac)
Use Chrome app

adamsmith

I doubt this is due to the Chrome App. You'll have to troubleshoot file syncing from your work/uni computer following the files not syncing page you link to. There's really not much we can say before that -- so far what you're seeing is just standard behavior for files that aren't synced.

sicahjes

Thanks for the reply.

Shouldn't they, at the very least, be syncing to Zotero online? The parent cards are online and on computer 2, just not the attachments.

I'm not even 100% sure that the attachments are on my uni computer. I'm getting ready to go in and check now.

adamsmith

File sync can not work on either end -- both uploading to the Zotero server and downloading from it. So there's really nothing particularly unusual here so far.

sicahjes

It seems that I have reached my storage quota - would this stop the sync between computers?

adamsmith

it would stop file sync to the Zotero servers and thus between computers, yes. You'll need to either buy storage from Zotero or use a 3rd party webDAV service for syncing (the former is more convenient, helps support Zotero development more broadly, and also allows access through the Zotero website, the latter is cheaper, with many services offering multiple GB of free storage).

sicahjes

Thanks, I just read another thread, and it stated that there is unlimited record storage - but limited attachment storage.

So to clarify: Zotero will keep a record of the citations, regardless. However, storage of associated attachments is limited. Thus why I can see the record in my online and synced libraries, but no attachment. Have I understood this correctly?

If I opt for more storage, I'll support Zotero (it is a great citation management tool). I just need to figure out how important syncing and online attachment storage is. I'm 12 months in, and this is the first time I've needed it.

Thanks, once again, for your help :-)

adamsmith

Zotero will keep a record of the citations, regardless. However, storage of associated attachments is limited. Thus why I can see the record in my online and synced libraries, but no attachment. Have I understood this correctly?

yup, exactly.

sicahjes

Thank you