Can't synchronize ... or anything else...

Hey! I downloaded Zotero yesterday and I have several problems... but for now let's talk about Zotero... ;)

Firstly I can't synchronize the "downloaded zotero" (mac version). Uploaded stuff (nbib, & ris) do not appear in zotero.org (after clicking the green, round "synchronize button" on the left.).
I just get the information : obj.toJSON is not a function and the ID 1625991640 .
That is the main issue now.

Before, I tried to upload the stuff directly in zotero.org but it didn't "read" or "opened" the files with the single citations in it. The file itself seemed like a citation, it just looked like a "mail attachment". (I.e. just the name, clicking on it: the file downloaded back on my laptop downloads)

Uploading the files in "downloaded-Zotero" over a windows laptop worked. But here the files automatically uploaded themselves in my library and I couldn't drag and drop files into a group library (were I can do anything else like upload files -showing up like unopened mail attachments- and erase things, i.e. I have admin permissions)

I swapped my laptop (not a Mac, with Zotero+Firefox plug-in downloaded) with the Mac of my family member... so whatever solution will be easier... I'm in and can re-swap

Thank you so much and stay healthy!
  • Firstly I can't synchronize the "downloaded zotero" (mac version). Uploaded stuff (nbib, & ris) do not appear in zotero.org (after clicking the green, round "synchronize button" on the left.).
    I just get the information : obj.toJSON is not a function and the ID 1625991640 .
    That is the main issue now.
    Let's start with this. (You can just refer to the downloaded version as "Zotero" — that's what people are almost always referring to when they talk about Zotero.)

    Can you provide a Debug ID (different from a Report ID) for a sync attempt that results in an error?

    After doing that, there's a good chance that just restarting Zotero will fix this.
  • Here is the Debug ID D1975140884
  • OK, and after restarting Zotero?
  • No, still not in zotero.org (the new sections are there but not the (full) content
  • But I mean are you still getting the error? If so, can you provide a Debug ID from startup through a sync that fails, using the "Restart with Logging Enabled…" option?
  • I'm not sure what you mean by "(full) content".
  • Some citations are there, some not...
    I'll try the restart debug Id.
  • I'm doing that now btw... still synchronizes... is it normal that it takes so long? (After these long synchronisations the error icon is usually showing up)
  • edited September 30, 2020
    There's an item with an invalid Abstract value in one of the items you're trying to upload, and that appears to be interacting with another problem that's resulting in repeated sync attempts instead of a proper error message telling you to correct that. We'll look into that, but paste "DA96HB6F" into the Zotero search bar in All Fields & Tags mode in your group library and fix the Abstract value in question — you can just clear the field, since it's junk — and then try syncing again.
  • If you saved that item from a site, we'd also want to know so that we could fix it to not import that. (If it came from a file you imported, it'd be a problem with the source.)
  • edited September 30, 2020
    It looks like you have a number of items with the same invalid Abstract field:

    IVD6HPM9
    QFIW9CCD

    Maybe more — you should search. If they're duplicates and you delete them, don't forget to empty the trash.
  • Ok, I'll try that.
    It's from a pubmed search, I clicked on send to citation manager, created a nbib file and wanted to upload that
  • If you have a Debug ID going for these repeated syncs, you can submit that and stop that. Seeing that would help us figure out exactly what's going on here.

    But for the immediate problem you should fix the items.
  • edited September 30, 2020
    The affected items also have a huge number of authors, which is contributing to the problem. If you need these items, that's fine — this should obviously work — but if not you should just delete them and empty the trash so your sync can complete.
  • Hey, sorry but now it can't find the "DA96HB6F" file (debug ID D669899443). Maybe the problem is the withdrawn article? I can't erase it ( D1053888505)
  • You appear to be syncing at the moment, so you should just let it go and see what happens.

    But you're checking for that item on a different computer from the one that was triggering the sync error. Since the item couldn't actually be uploaded, it would only exist on the computer where it was created.
  • OK, you still need to fix the items. You need to do this on the PC, where you created them, not on the Mac, where they won't exist.
  • I found and erased these two VD6HPM9 QFIW9CCD. But there is still the synchronization problem...
  • Did you erase the first item I said? Did you search for other items with this abstract? Did you empty the trash?
  • I couldn't find the first item (DA96HB6F). I searched in the search bar for all files.. With the Mac I was able to erase the others, but not with the other laptop... ( I tried it on both).

    But now a pop up opened while trying to close zotero: Zotero has no access to login/access data probably because of a damaged login data base. I should close Zotero and erase cert9.db, key.db and logins.json from my profile file and re-login in the synchronisation settings
    But where and how do i find mentioned files?
    Would it help to uninstall and re-install Zotero?
  • See here for where to find the profile folder: https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/profile_directory

    Uninstalling won’t help here (it generally doesn’t).
  • Rather odd to get that message if this is a new installation. Do you continue to get it, or did it just show up once?

    In any case, let us know once you're trying to sync again and we can see if you're currently getting any errors.
  • Thank you for your help, I truly am greatful!
    Some articles of symposiums had to long "abstract-values" (abstracts were too long)- so I shortened them ... and now it works.
    So you were right and I just needed a little to get it right...
  • OK, good. The abstracts were invalid, but the behavior here definitely wasn't correct — you should've gotten a clearer error message instead of just endless syncing — so we'll try to fix this for a future version.
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