How to keep files separate with two different Zotero accounts

Lauren.Williams
Hello,

I have a personal Zotero account, which I have downloaded as a program on my computer. I have also synced the files in this account with my corresponding personal online Zotero account.

I've just started a new job that uses Zotero to share a lot of information, so they've given me their login information, and want me to download their library onto my desktop program. I'm assuming that in order to do this, I'll need to go into the syncing preferences and enter their account information instead of my personal account information. But I'm worried that when I sync, my personal files will be uploaded to their library, while their files will be downloaded to my computer. Is there any way to keep these two accounts separate without having to delete my personal files? Can I set up my account so that it synchs only certain parts of my library and not others?

Thanks!
  • adamsmith
    The best way to do this is to set up separate user profiles for Firefox (if you're using the add-on) or Zotero Standalone:
    https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profile-manager-create-and-remove-firefox-profiles
    are the instructions for Firefox, the ones for Zotero are similar, if you're on Windows you'll likely have to figure out the full file path to Zotero to run it from the command line prompt.

    You're correct that just entering the new user info into your existing account will cause chaos, so be thorough in keeping the two separate.
  • aurimas
    edited May 5, 2014
    On windows, this is fairly easy to do if you have a desktop shortcut for either Standalone or Firefox (depends on which one you want to use). Make a copy of the shortcut (rename it to something like Zotero Standalone (Work)), then right-click -> Properties. Under Target, move your cursor to the very end (use the End key) and enter " -p" (note the space, no quotation marks). Press OK and then launch.

    Once you create a new profile, you can redo the above, but this time enter " -p <profile name>" where <profile name> is the name you chose for your profile. This way, the shortcut will simply launch the work profile without asking you which one to launch.

This is an old discussion that has not been active in a long time. Before commenting here, you should strongly consider starting a new discussion instead. If you think the content of this discussion is still relevant, you can link to it from your new discussion.

Sign In or Register to comment.