What is this "Pipes" folder in my Zotero folder?

danbashara
Hello forum,

I've set Zotero to back up to Google Drive, but I'm having a problem with a subfolder called "Pipes." It contains one file, clocking in at Zero KB in Finder, but Google Drive just sit around backing it up forever. I've searched around for a solution, or even an explanation, but I've come up with nothing. I know very little about computers, so please be gentle with me if I'm overlooking something obvious here. I just can't figure this out. Thank you in advance for any help you might be able to offer.

Dan
  • aurimas
    Where exactly is this subfolder located?

    Also please read the section titled Alternative Syncing Solutions here: http://www.zotero.org/support/sync#alternative_syncing_solutions
  • danbashara
    Thank you for your response! The "pipes" folder is located right inside the main "Zotero" folder, alongside other folders like "locate," "storage," and "styles."

    I was afraid of something like the link you sent me about alternative syncing solutions. I fear I'm already in over my head with Zotero itself--for instance, everything in that linked article might as well have been in German, for all I was able to understand--so Google Drive seemed like the same thing as backing up to an external hard drive. I'm willing to just take advice and do what I'm told, though; do you recommend the symbolic link?

    Dan
  • aurimas
    edited June 3, 2013
    If you're only backing up, then you're ok. You don't need to worry about all the warnings about corrupting your database.

    If you are planning to use Google Drive to sync the attachments between computers, then you should definitely _not_ put the entire Zotero folder in Google Drive. You should only use Google Drive to sync the storage folder that's located in the Zotero data directory.

    I don't recall right now if Google Drive allows you to sync arbitrary folders on your computer, or if the files have to be in a sub-directory of the Google Drive folder. Reading around, I see posts suggesting that they have to be inside Google Drive directory.

    What you should do, is
    1. In Zotero re-locate the data directory back out of the Google Drive folder (same instructions as you followed previously). Close Zotero/Firefox.

    2. Disable Google Drive syncing

    3. In Google Drive folder, _move_ (not copy) the "storage" folder out of the Zotero data directory somewhere else inside the Google Drive folder.

    4. Move the Zotero data directory out of Google Drive folder to the folder you selected above in Zotero.

    5. Set up a symbolic link inside the Zotero data directory and point it to the new location of the storage folder. Here's what it _could_ look like. The "storage" folder is at "C:\Google Drive\storage". The Zotero data directory is at "C:\My Data\Zotero data". You would then create a symbolic link inside "C:\My Data\Zotero data\" directory. You would name the link "storage" and you would make it point to "C:\Google Drive\storage"

    6. Open Zotero

    7. Re-enable Google Drive syncing
  • danbashara
    Thank you so much for this! I'm mid-process right now, but I'm stumped by Step 4. Does this mean that I should open Zotero again and, in the "Advanced" tab, set the Data Directory Location to the "storage" folder that I've just removed from the "Zotero" folder? That's what I did, and got a message saying:

    "The directory you selected is not empty and does not appear to be a Zotero data directory.
    Create Zotero files in this directory anyway?"

    Should I go through with this, or am I messing something up?

    Again, I appreciate your help and patience, more than I can tell you.

    Dan
  • danbashara
    Actually, forget those questions for the moment. Just to clarify: If I am only using Google Drive as a backup (as in, setting Zotero's Data Directory Location to the Google Drive folder), and if I am not planning to use Zotero on any other computer, I don't have to worry about any of this? I really just want to make sure that if my computer crashes and/or my apartment burns to the ground with my computer and my Time Machine external hard drive in it, that I don't lose my dissertation work.

    Thank you again,
    Dan
  • poirmw
    Why not just get yourself a memory stick, copy all of the important files to it, and carry it with you, or alternatively, get two or three or more memory sticks and place each in different locations.
  • danbashara
    I've decided to keep the entire Zotero folder on my computer, in the "Documents" folder, rather than having it link directly to Google Drive; this way I can just manually copy the Zotero folder to my Google Drive folder whenever I make changes. I think, though I don't know for certain, that this avoids the problems associated with setting the data directory location directly to the Google Drive folder. This plan is essentially the same thing as using memory sticks, right?

    Thanks for helping,
    Dan
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