online versus local versions of library / Restoring accidental delete

gvdbroek
Hi,
I accidentally deleted a collection in my library and this was synced with my online database. I restored the collection from a backup as described here: https://www.zotero.org/support/zotero_data
This way, I could return to an earlier version of the library locally, and I found back most of the accidentally deleted files, which I copied into a different collection (with different name).

Now, question: I would like to restore the status of my library as it was synched online (because I made additional changes that I would like to keep), but not delete the collection that I restored locally.

Can I do this by syncing with the online copy? In other words, will zotero recognize that I added items and then merge these with the information from the online sync?

Thanks for your advice!
  • adamsmith
    This really depends on the details. Did you delete the collection with items or just the collection? And when you say "deleted files" you mean "deleted Zotero items"?
  • gvdbroek
    Thank you adam, for the quick response! In the Zotero user interface, I clicked on a map/folder (I think this is a collection? in which I have grouped thematically related references). I pressed Delete (meaning to actually delete a single entry rather than the whole collection but I had clicked wrong). I work with links to pdfs that are stored locally and not synced with the Zotero server, so what I need to restore are the zotero entries that point to the local folder with pdfs. This is also the only thing that I sync through the Zotero servers.
    I guess my question at the moment is mostly what happens if I sync now with the local backup – does the local version override the online version, or vice versa, or is a merge made? I do not want to mess things up by introducing conflicts, so if this is a tricky step that could damage my library, I’ll rather use a screenshot and look up the 30 references again. Sigh…
  • adamsmith
    a merge is made, but you should also note that deleting a collection will _not_ actually delete items locally. It just deletes the collection as an organizational unit. The items are still in "My Library"

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