Synchronization problem

TMonT93
Hi

I will try to explain shortly my problem sorry for my poor english. First, I wanted to sync my standalone lib with online zotero, in order to create and modify a group. But i wanted to keep my entire lib offline; standalone. Later i would realize this was not really possible (sadly!) but before that, when i realized all my library migrated to the web library, i... erased my account and recreated another one. And now, when i try to sync, it keeps telling me this library was first synced with another account; if i want to have my group, i need to erase everything. hopefully i have everything backed up.

Well, i have checked many forum discussions and tried many different ways. As my first account is definitely erased, i cannot use it anymore. And my second keeps deleting all my library. The best solution i have found it an export/Import solution, but here the problem is all my collections are lost. And i'm afraid other stuff are lost (like modification and adding date, something else?). And i have to reclassify everything, which is VERY long.

So my 2 questions are:
- is there any other easier solution?
- if not, and if i do by reimporting, do i lose something else than collections, adding/modification dates?

- Third one: for after. There is no way to have a different library on the web than the standalone? I would rather prefer to have only shared data in groups online, for privacy reasons.

Thks

  • dstillman
    edited December 6, 2019
    If you export via Zotero RDF, you shouldn't lose collections, though you would lose Date Added/Modified and break any links to items from word processor documents.

    If you email us at support@zotero.org with a link to this thread, we can restore your deleted account, without data. It's not currently possible to switch the account associated with a local database without erasing data, though that used to be possible and it's planned for a future version. (It's a complicated problem, because once you sync there are various things in the database tied to your account.)

    You can disable syncing of My Library from the Sync preferences ("Choose Libraries…") and still sync groups.
  • TMonT93
    Thks for the answer. Well, i guess i don't understand what zotero rdf export is about. You mean collection by collection maybe? Because if i export my whole lib and then reimport it in a new standalone zotero, all ref are a single collection.
    And about the word processor, is it the same for libreoffice?

    Thks
  • dstillman
    No, you can export our entire library as Zotero RDF, and that should include collections. You need to export the whole library, not just select all items and export those.
    And about the word processor, is it the same for libreoffice?
    Yes. Nothing to do with the word processor. When you export and reimport, they're completely new items with different identifiers.
  • TMonT93
    edited December 6, 2019
    well... the entire library, that's what I've done... I don't understand. It does not include collections.
  • dstillman
    I've just tested this and it's working fine for me. Note that the subcollections will be collapsed by default beneath the top-level collection it creates for the import.
  • dstillman
    You can test it in an empty database. Create a collection, create an item in that collection, right-click on the library and choose "Export Library…", select "Zotero RDF", and export, and then import that library back into Zotero.
  • dstillman
    (But I will restore your old account.)
  • TMonT93
    edited December 6, 2019
    Well, thanks for all... The thing is my library is very heavy (2000 entries) and i think what happens is that at the end of the import, it seems to bug: all ref, notes, pdf are here, but it doesn't confirm the import to be finished. But i'm still re-trying. That's the only explanation I have. thks for restoring the old account
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