linux access permissions

BobTech
Sorry to bug the forum with this, it must have come up before but I cannot locate it:

I run the latest production version of Zotero (1.07) via Firefox 3.0.1 on Ubuntu Hardy Heron. I have the Zotero Data Directory on an external USB HDD that I use with zotero installations on different ubuntu boxes. This worked fine when the data directory was on a USB stick, but after copying from the stick to the external HDD, Zotero cannot see its data files when I start it up and point to the new directory.

Now my question: which owner do I need to set for the zotero data files? At the moment they are owned by root and a group I call usb (to manage access through the different ubuntu boxes). or is this a permissions issue? Both root and usb have rwx access to the data files ...

Many thanks for any hint that i could follow up,
Bob
  • alexuw
    I'm not exactly an expert on permissions but I think preferably the files should be owned by your login user, not root. Mine are like this (uid alex):

    -rw-r--r-- 1 alex alex 4144128 2008-09-17 19:46 zotero.sqlite

    Obviously for this to work you need to log in as the same user on the different boxes.
  • alexuw
    Should have said, I haven't shared the database on a usb but I have copied it between several different boxes (same login) with no problems.
  • BobTech
    Thanks Alex. I can copy the database alright between different boxes. Where I struggle is accessing the same DB (on my external HDD) from different boxes (even if logged in with the sam eusername).

    Here's the puzzle, restated: my file permissions and ownership are exactly like those of alex, for zotero.sqlite. Zotero will open this file if it is in the default mozilla profile folder but not if I use Zotero preferences to change the default directory to one on my external HDD, where the same zotero.sqlite sits with the same permissions and ownership. What am I missing?

    Thanks
    Bob
  • dstillman
    Can you expand a bit on "Zotero cannot see its data files"? Are you getting an error in Report Errors in the Actions (gear icon) menu?
  • BobTech
    Thanks for coming in on this Dan.
    I don't seem to get to the stage where an error is reported:

    via "gear icon - preferences - advanced", when I try to change Storage Location per "Custom - Choose", the popup directory window lists my external zotero directory with zotero.sqlite greyed out, so does not let me select the file.

    (permissions set as above; have gone through a wide set of permutations of ownerships and permissions to no avail; incidentally, storage/ is not greyed out even though permissions + ownership are the same; my first hunch was that all this may have to do with how sqlite is set up but then realised that it does not require a daemon, so really tapping in the dark at the moment).

    Bob
  • BobTech
    Maybe worth adding that as a 2nd best workaround I ran Firefox's profile directory from the external HDD and then tried installing the zotero add-on as usual, hoping that this would create the database on in the external profile. Does not work though since this hangs the add-on installer ...

    ... I could perhaps try to wine Portable Firefox, but not very keen to go down that route

    Bob
  • dstillman
    You don't select zotero.sqlite. You select a data directory.

    Are you not able to do so?
  • BobTech
    Wow ... bl*!#y GUI ... forest and trees ... ... Thanks guys!

    [crawls back under his stone, an embarrassed but essentially happy man now]
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