Upgrade StorageReferences missing from Zotero library but present in Word plugin
A chunk of references have disappeared from my Zotero library and I don't know why. They are visible in MS Word in the document in which I was just citing them, but gone from my Zotero library, including online. So as not to drip feed, I'll describe the steps I took, below.
I have been using Zotero for the past few months exclusively on one laptop with automatic syncing on, and also manually pressing sync regularly. This morning I had to switch to another laptop because I didn't have my charger with me. I don't think the switch to another laptop is related to this issue for reasons that I will explain below, but I mention it anyway for context. Before switching off the first, original, laptop, I pressed sync to be sure my library was up to date. I then installed Zotero on the second laptop and logged in to my account there, downloading my library.
So far so good, I started work on the second laptop, adding more references, manually pressing sync occasionally, and began citing some in a Word document. At some point that afternoon, I wanted to change some details in one of the references I had just cited and so looked in the Zotero library for that reference but it wasn't there. Funny. I went back to Word, and there it was in the footnote. Not only that, but when I used the Zotero plug in to add another citation to the Word document the reference I wanted came up in the search as an option to add as a citation through the plug in. But I still could not find it in the Zotero library.
I started checking other references that were cited in the document. Some where in the Zotero library, but others were missing. The missing ones continued to be available to cite in the Word document.
I checked the trash folder in Zotero. No luck. The missing references were not there. Did I have a tag selected so that only some Zotero entries were showing? No. Not that.
So I went back to the Zotero program and sorted the items in my Zotero library by date added, and immediately noticed a big gap between 5/7/2019 and today 22/07/2019 at 16:00ish (time might not be exactly right because I have now closed Zotero and daren't open it until I have some advice on what I should do). All references added between those dates and 16:00ish today are missing -- and I have been spending hours every day adding new references.
Panic. I turn on my first laptop, the one that until today I have been exclusively using for Zotero since I first began a few months ago. I put this first, original, laptop in flight mode, and open Zotero and check the library: the references are missing there too. (this is what makes me think the problem is not the switch from first to second laptops).
I locate C:\Users\\Zotero for my Zotero data and make make a copy of this (including hidden files and folders) on both laptops.
What should I do now? If someone could advise me, I would be grateful.
Possible complications:
1. The time on the operating system of the second laptop is one hour out (16:00 should be 17:00). I thought this might be a reason for the problem, but then I found that the files were missing on the first laptop too even though it could not have synced due to being in flight mode.
2. Some of the references that are missing may have been added while I was on the second laptop. I can't remember since they were added around about the time of the switch (other references added on the second laptop are still there). Nevertheless, there is a chunk of references missing from the first laptop, that predates the laptop switch.
3. I'll repeat again that the exact times of the "date added" in the different libraries may be out by a few hours or minutes as explained above, because I haven't been confident to reopen Zotero again and check until I get some advice.
Help!
I have been using Zotero for the past few months exclusively on one laptop with automatic syncing on, and also manually pressing sync regularly. This morning I had to switch to another laptop because I didn't have my charger with me. I don't think the switch to another laptop is related to this issue for reasons that I will explain below, but I mention it anyway for context. Before switching off the first, original, laptop, I pressed sync to be sure my library was up to date. I then installed Zotero on the second laptop and logged in to my account there, downloading my library.
So far so good, I started work on the second laptop, adding more references, manually pressing sync occasionally, and began citing some in a Word document. At some point that afternoon, I wanted to change some details in one of the references I had just cited and so looked in the Zotero library for that reference but it wasn't there. Funny. I went back to Word, and there it was in the footnote. Not only that, but when I used the Zotero plug in to add another citation to the Word document the reference I wanted came up in the search as an option to add as a citation through the plug in. But I still could not find it in the Zotero library.
I started checking other references that were cited in the document. Some where in the Zotero library, but others were missing. The missing ones continued to be available to cite in the Word document.
I checked the trash folder in Zotero. No luck. The missing references were not there. Did I have a tag selected so that only some Zotero entries were showing? No. Not that.
So I went back to the Zotero program and sorted the items in my Zotero library by date added, and immediately noticed a big gap between 5/7/2019 and today 22/07/2019 at 16:00ish (time might not be exactly right because I have now closed Zotero and daren't open it until I have some advice on what I should do). All references added between those dates and 16:00ish today are missing -- and I have been spending hours every day adding new references.
Panic. I turn on my first laptop, the one that until today I have been exclusively using for Zotero since I first began a few months ago. I put this first, original, laptop in flight mode, and open Zotero and check the library: the references are missing there too. (this is what makes me think the problem is not the switch from first to second laptops).
I locate C:\Users\\Zotero for my Zotero data and make make a copy of this (including hidden files and folders) on both laptops.
What should I do now? If someone could advise me, I would be grateful.
Possible complications:
1. The time on the operating system of the second laptop is one hour out (16:00 should be 17:00). I thought this might be a reason for the problem, but then I found that the files were missing on the first laptop too even though it could not have synced due to being in flight mode.
2. Some of the references that are missing may have been added while I was on the second laptop. I can't remember since they were added around about the time of the switch (other references added on the second laptop are still there). Nevertheless, there is a chunk of references missing from the first laptop, that predates the laptop switch.
3. I'll repeat again that the exact times of the "date added" in the different libraries may be out by a few hours or minutes as explained above, because I haven't been confident to reopen Zotero again and check until I get some advice.
Help!
No items in your online library (or any synced computers) have ever been deleted. The plugin will show you cited items from the document itself at the top of the search results, so items missing from the library can show up there. But if you click on an existing citation, click Add/Edit Citation, and then click on the blue bubble for that citation in the citation dialog, a popup will be displayed, and if the item is in the library there will be a "Show Item in My Library" button at the bottom of the popup.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my query.