sync large library through diferent computers at the same time

florent.prunier
Hi there,
Zotero is great and I am happy to spread it around me, especialy using the Group feature. So thank you for your good work. Recently I purchased a Zotero 25GB storage account to sync all the data and attachments.
My internet connection is slow and the library is big (2.000 references; 8.5Gb of data) so the syncing is going to be long and eventualy boring.
Question: if I copy the library in another computer (via external hard-drive) which is connected to internet (diferent I.P.), is it possible to open the same session in the two computers at the same time (or maybe 2 sessions, the group owner and an invited) and sync from this 2 computers?
I suspect it is a bit weird but I was guessing this would work (obviously, backup first) and speed the process.

Thanks for your help, cheers
  • mronkko2
    If you are using the same username on both computers, yes this would be possible.

    But considering that you could just leave the computer on over the night and just let it sync normally, I do not see really an advantage in doing what you suggest. You may encounter problems and end up spending a lot of your time.
  • adamsmith
    Generally what mronkkos says, though I'm a bit worried by your use of the term "session" - you should close Firefox/Zotero before copying your library to avoid database corruption. See here for more:
    http://www.zotero.org/support/kb/transferring_a_library
  • florent.prunier
    Thanks for the advise.

    With large library I found the upload is much slower than the current internet speed, so that instead of 1Mb/s (checked with a test), it was 1Mb/6-7s... The story was I had to ask some friend connection because mine is 100kb/s... Imagine the time for 8Gb!

    Having said that, Zotero found "multiple locations" for some files (I imagine uploaded twice), so at the end I wouldm't recommend to do what I have done. Nothing really serious for the moment. At worst I have a proper backup (thanks for the important advise refeering to it) but I hope I have not to come throught 5 or 6 days to do it again.

    Cheers
  • florent.prunier
    Now the question (I confess I have not searched this one): is it normal if the Total Storage in Zotero-Home weight 7GBs, but the Local Zotero folder weight 10,7Gbs.
    Is there a way to tidy up? (I have deleted Unfile Items and Trash)
    Cheers,
  • Gracile
    What do you mean by "Zotero-Home"? zotero.org?
  • mronkko
    You can check for orphaned files and delete them using this script

    https://github.com/mronkko/ZoteroCleanOrphans/blob/master/ZoteroCleanOrphanedFiles.pl

    (This assumes that your computer can run perl.)
  • dstillman
    With large library I found the upload is much slower than the current internet speed, so that instead of 1Mb/s (checked with a test), it was 1Mb/6-7s... The story was I had to ask some friend connection because mine is 100kb/s... Imagine the time for 8Gb!
    You may be right, but make sure you're looking at the right units. Network connections are often measured in megabits, which aren't the same as megabytes. It's not uncommon for a residential connection (at least in the US) to be 1 megabit/second up, which would be about 100 kilobytes/second.

    But Zotero does connect to Amazon servers in the US, so uploads would be slower if you're connecting from another country/continent.
    is it normal if the Total Storage in Zotero-Home weight 7GBs, but the Local Zotero folder weight 10,7Gbs
    You may or may not have orphaned folders, but the local folder will always be bigger, since Zotero compresses some attachments before uploading them.
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