Zotero Sync not working from other client computers

dhsu800
Hello, I have been eagerly awaiting Sync Preview, since I do have XP at work, and a Mac laptop and desktop at home, and Zotero is really the basis of how I keep track of papers and references.

I got Sync Preview working fine with my Mac laptop, and can look at file attachments that are stored on my university WebDAV server. However, I have a series of other not working issues:

1. From my Mac desktop at home, I can see the complete library, but when I go to the attachments, they are not found by Zotero.

2. From my XP desktop at work, I can't synchronize the Sync library at all. First, the existing library only has a few papers from an old Zotero library. Looking at the other posts on this forum, when I first went to sync, I got the "reconciliation unimplemented for attachment items" message. Having nothing to lose on this computer, I cleaned out the library, reset all of the sync functions (client, server lock, clear server data), reverified the server settings and restarted Firefox. Now, when I go to Sync with my empty library, nothing and no sync happens.

I'd be quite grateful for any advice that you have.
  • dhsu800
    Hi, I've tried working on this a bit more. I created a new Firefox profile on my Windows XP computer entirely, and reinstalled Zotero sync, and reentered my Zotero forum ID and WebDAV server information. However, when I click on sync, it still spins once and then stops. I am not being patient enough?

    Looking at the debug output in my console window, and here's what I see. Lots of updated styles and translators. Then, it says:

    Checking repository for updates
    HTTP GET http://www.zotero.org/repo/updated?last1220484900&version=1.5-sync2.2&m=2
    Opening database 'zotero for dummy statement
    Initializing dummy statement for 'zotero'
    SELECT version FROM version WHERE schema='sync'
    A remote update is already in progress -- npt checking repository
    Integration server HTTP listening on 127.0.0.1:50001
    Not initializing data HTTP server
    SELECT version FROM version WHERE scheme="syncdeletelog"

    Not sure if this is the heart of the problem, but I hope that it helps.
  • sean
    edited September 29, 2008
    Looks like everything is working as designed. When you cleared the server you erased all your data on the server. You'll need to sync again from your machine that has data.
  • dhsu800
    Well, the result makes sense, but then the design (or troubleshooting) is quite confusing.

    1. Given the difficulties of getting the sync to work, I tried "clear server data" because none of the other reset functions seemed to work. Even if I go back to the machine with the data, resync to the file server, that still leaves me with two machines that are having trouble accessing the file server database, despite the suggested actions on the forum;

    2. IMHO, there shouldn't be an option to clear the server data in the same menu (or at all). Is there a compelling reason to offer clearing server data from the application, rather than clearing the file manually?
  • dstillman
    Even if I go back to the machine with the data, resync to the file server, that still leaves me with two machines that are having trouble accessing the file server database, despite the suggested actions on the forum;
    Have you clicked Verify Server on each machine? That's currently a required step for file syncing to work.

    You can run Zotero with debug output to see what's going on behind the scenes with the file sync.
    IMHO, there shouldn't be an option to clear the server data in the same menu (or at all). Is there a compelling reason to offer clearing server data from the application, rather than clearing the file manually?
    The sync-related options in that menu are temporary and don't represent the ultimate UI, but I don't understand your question. "Clear Server Data" does just that—it clears the data on the server, not the local database (which I assume is what you mean by "file").

    The current recommended process for dealing with a "reconciliation unimplemented" message is to close Firefox, delete zotero.sqlite, and reopen Zotero, at which point it will pull down the data on the server.
  • dhsu800
    Dan, I have tried "verify server" on each machine, after creating a new Firefox profile and the latest version of Zotero sync. It seems to me that this would move the local zotero.sqlite file (correct me if I'm wrong), but reopening Zotero never pulled data down from the server on my other two machines. As for debug output, I will try it again.

    My point is simply that I don't think that "clear server data" should be under the menu for "sync debugging", unless there is a clearer function or path for dealing with sync problems. Although I did hold off clicking this for awhile, and tried resetting the various other functions (like server lock and client), eventually I just did clear the server data for lack of any better ideas. Also, clearing server data is easy enough to do directly on the web server or using another client, but my Zotero data is important enough that I'd rather not to do it again accidentally while also trying to fix syncing problems.
  • dstillman
    Sorry, but I still don't understand your reasoning. "Clear Server Data" 1) does exactly what it says and 2) is a temporary and currently useful troubleshooting action. 1.5 Sync Preview is a test release—the whole point is to make debugging and testing as simple as possible. And "Clear Server Data" doesn't put your Zotero data in jeopardy unless you actually delete your local database, since it's only deleting data stored on the server.

    Also, for troubleshooting, it'd be helpful if you could clarify what "data" you're talking about, as there are two separate sets of data here, metadata and files.

    Either way, debug output may be helpful.
  • dhsu800
    Well, I'd like to store both my metadata and files on the webserver, and look at them from other computers, just like I did with Zotero on one computer. Is *that* possible in Sync Preview?
  • dstillman
    Yes, but they're separate sync operations, with the metadata using the Zotero server and the file sync using WebDAV. So you need to clarify which one you're referring to when you say that sync isn't working.
  • dhsu800
    When I tried sync on computer 2, I certainly did not see the metadata, notes, or subcollection/file folder structure that I did when setting it up on computer 1, though the webserver seemed to remain full.

    In any case, wouldn't both metadata and file sync be fixed by doing all of the things I described above?
  • dstillman
    This is a little too abstract of a discussion. Can you e-mail debug output for a sync attempt to support@zot....org? Thanks.
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