Online storage suddenly filled up

toddntucker

I recently installed Zotero Standalone on a new Windows 10 computer. After installing the Zotfile add-in, some setting was changed - switching my storage from where I had initially put it (within Dropbox) to my C Drive. This resulted in a temporary disappearance of a few years' worth of items. I was able to correct this by manually re-changing the Data Directory location to within Dropbox.

After this sequence of events, however, I got a sync error notification that my online storage was overfull. Can you advise? Do I need to make some sort of specification for the base directory (currently blank)? Or was there some duplication of files that occurred as a result of these changes? Thanks for anything you can provide.

bwiernik

You absolutely should not put your Data Directory folder within Dropbox. That is not how to set up Zotfile/Dropbox. Move the Data Directory folder back to its original location.

Next, in the Zotero preferences, in the Sync tab, disable attachment file syncing.

Next, in the Zotero preferences, in the Advanced tab, set the "Linked files base directory" to be the folder in Dropbox where you want the files to be stored.

Finally, in the _Zotfile_ preferences, set the file storage location to the folder in Dropbox where you want the files to be stored.

toddntucker

Thanks. I've done this. Okay to reenable attachment file syncing afterwards?

bwiernik

If you are using Dropbox/Zotfile, then you aren’t using Zotero file syncing, so you can leave it disabled (though leave _data_ syncing enabled).

toddntucker

Ok , data syncing is enabled, Zotero attachment files disabled, and I am getting this error message when I click on a library item.

"The attached file could not be found. It may have been moved or deleted outside of Zotero, or, if the file was added on another computer, it may not yet have been synced to or from zotero.org"

From a search for the item in my linked attachment base directory (Dropbox\zotero\storage), I can see that the PDF is on my hard-drive (and Dropbox). But it's not being retrieved through clicks on Zotero Standalone.

Thoughts?

toddntucker

I don't know if this would affect the issue, but the linked attachment base directory is currently set to relative rather than absolute paths.

dstillman

If you view debug output from Help → Debug Output Logging when you try to open the file, where does it say it's looking?

toddntucker

Here's what I get when I go to that drop-down menu:


[JavaScript Error: "Win error 5 during operation move on file C:\Users\toddn\Zotero\storage\2GJ6U8QI\.zotero-ft-cache.tmp (Access is denied.

)" {file: "chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/fulltext.js" line: 976}]
Zotero.FullText resource://zotero/bluebird/util.js:16:16
module.exports/PromiseSpawn.prototype._promiseRejected@resource://gre/modules/commonjs/toolkit/loader.js -> resource://zotero/bluebird/generators.js:106:18
module.exports/Promise.prototype._settlePromise@resource://gre/modules/commonjs/toolkit/loader.js -> resource://zotero/bluebird/promise.js:576:17
module.exports/Promise.prototype._settlePromise0@resource://gre/modules/commonjs/toolkit/loader.js -> resource://zotero/bluebird/promise.js:614:5
module.exports/Promise.prototype._settlePromises@resource://gre/modules/commonjs/toolkit/loader.js -> resource://zotero/bluebird/promise.js:689:13
Async.prototype._drainQueue@resource://gre/modules/commonjs/toolkit/loader.js -> resource://zotero/bluebird/async.js:133:13
Async.prototype._drainQueues@resource://gre/modules/commonjs/toolkit/loader.js -> resource://zotero/bluebird/async.js:143:5
Async/this.drainQueues@resource://gre/modules/commonjs/toolkit/loader.js -> resource://zotero/bluebird/async.js:17:9


version => 5.0.60, platform => Win32, oscpu => Windows NT 10.0; WOW64, locale => en-US, appName => Zotero, appVersion => 5.0.60, extensions => Zotero LibreOffice Integration (5.0.14.SA.5.0.60, extension), Zotero Word for Windows Integration (5.0.11.SA.5.0.60, extension), ZotFile (5.0.9, extension)

toddntucker

Update: I am realizing that I can still access attachments pre-middle of 2017, as well as very recent attachments. Thus - unlike at the time of my first post in this thread - I have library data entries for my entire post-2011 use of Zotero. However, like at the time of the first post, I cannot access attachments for that missing period (basically post-middle of 2017). Any ideas?

dstillman

That's not the relevant part. When you try to open a file that's not found, it logs a line that says "Attachment file [path] not found".

toddntucker

When I attempt to open a file, a dialog pops up that says

"File Not Found: The attached file could not be found.

It may have been moved or deleted outside of Zotero, or, if the file was added on another computer, it may not yet have been synced to or from zotero.org."

When I go to the debug output, it says "(2)(+0000012): Attachment file 'C:\Users\toddn\Zotero\storage\U8T5UCUG\Afonso_2010_European Integration, Tripartite Concertation and Labour Market Policies in.pdf' not found

It is strange that it is looking there, because my Linked Attachment Base Directory is set to: C:\Users\toddn\Dropbox\zotero\storage, i.e. within Dropox (though, per your guidance, the data directory is set to C:\Users\toddn\Zotero\

dstillman

The Linked Attachment Base Directory only applies to linked files. That's a stored file.

You can convert stored files into linked files with ZotFile.