Can't get files to sync to group members

I have been having a lot of trouble getting syncs to work across a group.

I have been wanting to launch a group allowing sharing of documents. The group is here: http://www.zotero.org/groups/victorian_planning_history

I have been trying it out with a test user but can't get the system to successfully copy attachments into the test user's account.

In summary: I added my test user to the group. He successfully got access to the group. All the data is visible. Attachments can be clicked on an opened from the group library window. However, when the group library is then copied across to the user's personal library, every attachment gives a not found error message. Forcing a sync does nothing - the sync server doesn't seem to notice that the attachment documents haven't successfully arrived.

I then tried again by deleting the whole test user library, uninstalling zotero for my test user, and then deleting the whole group library. I then recopied the items to the group library from my group admin's account. I went back to the test user, did a fresh install of zotero (I used standalone this time just to see if that made a difference) and tried recopying the data from the group library into the personal library. Same issue, except now even clicking the attachments in the group library gives the error message.

I believe all the group sync settings are what they need to be, and both users (my group admin and my test user) have file sync for group library using the zotero server turned on.

Can anyone think what is happening here? It is becoming very frustrating.

Cheers

Stephen Rowley
  • edited July 16, 2012
    I'm pretty sure groups must be private to allow file sharing.
    never mind. See below. Groups just need to be closed.
  • My reading is file sharing is allowed on public, closed groups. It's just open groups that don't allow it.

    http://www.zotero.org/support/groups

    This appears under Public, Open Membership:

    "Open public groups do not allow file sharing."

    .... But not under the description of Public, Closed Membership.
  • Okay, I went through all those steps without resolution.

    The file is accessible off the server from the group library. However after doing a copy from the group library to my test user's library and syncing, it doesn't end up on either the server or local copy of my test user's library.

    I reset sync history, enabled debugging, and generated debug ID D1849285258.
  • edited July 16, 2012
    I'm not totally understanding you.

    1) Is the file accessible from the group library before the copy?

    2) Is the file accessible from the personal library after the copy?

    3) What does "local copy of my test user's library" mean?

    4) What is this debug output from?

    5) What's an example file that's missing?
  • To be clear, if you can't access a file immediately after copying it from a group library where it's accessible, this doesn't have anything to do with syncing.
  • Cheers Dan, I appreciate it's confusing.

    1) Yes.

    2) No.

    3) I just mean accessing it from within zotero. I guess the distinction I was drawing was between the copy stored on my computer and the server copy that I can access through the website while logged in.

    4) The debug is generated from zotero standalone, using the instructions at the end of the article you linked to, to record the sync process (though from your immediately preceding comment perhaps this is not the right thing to record).

    5) Well, all attachments are missing, but as a representative example there's a pdf attached to the document called "Better Decisions Faster" that isn't there after I do the copy.
  • So, currently, if an attachment is copied between libraries before the file has been synced down from the server, I think the attachment item would exist but the file wouldn't, and subsequent attempts to copy the same item wouldn't have any effect. To see if that's the issue here, make sure you delete an item in the personal library first, empty the trash, and then try the copy again now that the file is present in the group library.
  • Eureka! It seems to have worked this time.

    I feel I'd tried that before, except without emptying the trash. Anyway - it worked this time.

    Much appreciated.

    Incidentally, I am in the final months of my PhD and have uesed Zotero through out. It has been brilliant. Thanks so much.
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