PDFs not syncing from server to new laptop

hollyvscott
I have a new laptop and I synced my library from the server to it. Everything came through fine except for the PDFs. My PDFs are on the server but not showing when I open my library from my laptop. From reading through other discussions it seems like I should re-set from the server but I wanted to confirm this. The message at the top of the syncing instructions made me nervous. ("The following operations are for use only in rare, specific situations and should not be used for general troubleshooting. In many cases, resetting will cause additional problems.") I don't want to reset and get additional problems so just double checking that this is the right way to go and I didn't miss another way to fix it.
  • aurimas
    My PDFs are on the server but not showing when I open my library from my laptop
    What do you mean they are not showing? The PDFs are not listed in the Zotero library, or they're listed but not opening? Also, you're saying they're on the server, because you can open them directly from zotero.org?
  • hollyvscott
    When I login and access my library through zotero.org I see the PDFs and I can open them. When I go in to zotero through my firefox browser I don't see the PDFs at all.
  • aurimas
    The only way that is possible is if your library is not syncing at all and you added a PDF to an item on a different computer that is syncing.

    See last three paragraphs here https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/changes_not_syncing
  • hollyvscott
    1. The green arrow is not spinning (or, rather, it spins a little bit, finishes spinning and reports that it has synced)

    2. No red error messages

    3. Sync pane shows I am syncing with the account I use on zotero.org

    I added the PDFs several months ago on my old laptop. I don't use any other computers. I have only used zotero on my old (now dead) laptop and the now on the new laptop. What I see on zotero.org is my entire library, with the PDFS. Should I use the re-set from the server instructions?
  • aurimas
    No, please don't reset. Could you take a screenshot of an item in your Zotero library in Firefox that's supposed to have a PDF attachment, but does not? Post it on some image/file hosting website (e.g. imgur.com, Dropbox, etc.) and link to it here.
  • adamsmith
    @aurimas - why not reset the file sync history at this point? That seems like a reasonable step.
  • aurimas
    If the PDFs are not showing up in the library it probably wouldn't help. But I'm really not sure how that could even happen. I'd like to avoid resetting any sync to avoid masking an underlying issue.
  • adamsmith
    oh right, they can't see them at all. Yeah, you're right, then. Screenshot is a good idea.
  • hollyvscott
    Here is the snapshot:
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/jq123i8h4hegm2q/zotero.PNG?dl=0
  • adamsmith
    no, include the middle panel. That's where the PDF would be.
  • hollyvscott
    Oh dear. Just realized the problem and it's that I forgot where PDFs show up in Zotero. I thought it was the panel on the right but it's the panel on the middle. Sure enough, there they are-- I can see and open my PDFs. I feel silly now-- thanks so much for your help!

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