Zotero deleted/lost many of my items?

Ok, this is driving me nuts.

First, the background: I'm running Zotero 5.0.58. I *think* I have the standalone version, but I'm not sure I know how to tell the difference between it and the Firefox version (I can also see my library online). Everything was working just fine, as of about two weeks ago or so (the last time I checked my library), but, today, I opened it up and all the items (for my next book project!!!) are gone. In fact, when I opened up Zotero, I watched the items vanish before my eyes.

I tried the fixes in this thread (https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/comment/282392/#Comment_282392) in case Zotero was pointing to a different directory, but it seems like my directory is saved in C:\Users\:username:\Zotero. I see no relevant files in my Firefox Profile.

So...any ideas?
  • If items disappear in front of your eyes, that would sound like syncing with a copy of the library where they have been deleted. That could have been you deleting them, but if you've used someone elses computer without removing your Zotero information, it may also have been someone else.
  • And to recover from this, you'd want to temporarily disable auto-sync in the Sync pane of the preferences and then try restoring from a backup of your Zotero data directory. If you don't have such a backup, you can try restoring from the last automatic backup, though you'd likely lose any attached files.

    If you have another synced computer somewhere that you know hasn't been synced since the deletions, you could disable the network connection on that computer before opening Zotero and then restore that version to the online library as explained on the linked page.
  • Well, this is odd--they are all (I think) in my trash folder. *But* I only use Zotero on my computers (not public/shared ones), and there's no way I deleted them. Seems like crisis averted...but I wonder what happened?
  • My bet would be that you accidentially deleted them somehow, but I'd also change my Zotero password just to be extra safe, especially if you're quite sure that you didn't, because Zotero doesn't just decide to move items to the trash.
  • One possibility is that you accidentally did "Delete Collections and Items" on a collection instead of just "Delete Collection".

    In any case, to restore you can select all and choose Restore to Library, though if the collections they were in were removed the collections won't be restored.
  • Thanks so much, you two. Changing password now, and in the midst of Restoring to Library.
Sign In or Register to comment.