Username not changing in Zotero client after renaming

helios.comms

I'm currently testing what happens when somebody changes their name, e.g. change of surname due to marriage.

So I originally had an account with username test.user10-helios with email test.user10@mydomain.com. This username was used in the sync settings of the Zotero client.

I renamed the email in Office 365 to rachel.clarke@mydomain.com. It was easy to add this new email to the Zotero account, confirm the new email, make it primary and remove the old email address. It was also easy to change the username and here it is changed:

https://i.imgur.com/zYhzOZR.png

I then opened Zotero, unlinked the account and typed in the new username:

https://i.imgur.com/56UU96G.png

But on pressing OK, it goes back to the old username!

https://i.imgur.com/Vjx8zVY.png

What's weird is that it still appears to be synchronising. Why is it switching back to the old username?

I did spot this tab and wondered if it was connected:

https://i.imgur.com/lFmQfdX.png

helios.comms

I tried deleting the client key. Sync then failed, asked me to re-enter username & password but it didn't make any difference. Still showing the old username.

helios.comms

Hmm, actually it stopped synchronising

https://i.imgur.com/UZvuxOz.png

But after unlinking again, clear the account boxes, closing the client and standing on my head, it did start synchronising - but still showing the old username.

Will try again in the morning in case it takes time for the change to ripple around the Zotero cloud/whatever.

dstillman

Does it show the correct username now? The username might be cached in the syncing system for up to a day, but it should eventually update automatically while you sync. No need to unlink. (This also has no effect on the syncing functionality itself. You're still syncing with the same account.)

helios.comms

No, but it's now only 12 hours later. Will try again tomorrow.

helios.comms

Okay, just tried 4 days later and the old username still appears. It's accepting the new name when you logon:

https://i.imgur.com/sBuM7Gm.png

But then it changes back to the original username:

https://i.imgur.com/YllJOZq.png

I'm going to removing and re-installing.

helios.comms

Nope, uninstalling and deleting all data doesn't make any difference. Looking more like a server side/cloud account problem. Will try installing Zotero on a clean Windows 10 build.

helios.comms

This looks like it's a server side/account problem. Installed Zotero on a brand new computer and whilst you logon with the new username, the client changes back to showing the original username.

Should I report this as an error from the client?

adamsmith

(no need for any error reports beyond this; devs read every thread)

dstillman

It looks like the sync system was just caching indefinitely, because we didn't use to allow username changes. I've updated it to cache for 12 hours and cleared yours manually.

(Also, I would strongly encourage you not to try drastic things like uninstalling and deleting all data when we don't suggest doing so. We're here to help, and we can tell you what's worth doing and when it's just something we have to fix. Things like that will at best waste your time and at worst cause other problems and make it harder for us to help you.)

helios.comms

>Also, I would strongly encourage you not to try drastic things like uninstalling and deleting all data when we don't suggest doing so.

As I said at the start, I was testing the process of renaming so there was no data to loose. But thanks to renaming it. Will the rename process now be automatic when we next have to rename an account due to their name changing?