Problem when more than one person works in a group library

michellebosche
I've been encountering problems when more than one person works out a group library at the same time. I constantly get the exclamation mark in the red circle. When I resync, sometimes I get a notification that the edits I made might not save/sync. This is problematic if I am interacting with multiple entries and have a hard time keeping track of what changes have been successfully saved.

Is it possible for multiple people to work in the group library simultaneously? If yes, any advice for this problem?
  • adamsmith
    Should not be a problem. Do you have automatic sync turned on?
    Other issue might be time code--make sure that the system time on all involved computers is set correctly.
  • michellebosche
    Thank you for your help, Adam. Yes, automatic sync is turned on. As for the time code, can you clarify what that is?
  • adamsmith
    Zotero uses the system time to log when a given action is performed. If the system time isn't right, that can cause problems with syncing (since it gets the order in which actions where performed and how it relates to individual syncs wrong).
  • adamsmith
    Also, what's the exact error message you're getting when you click on the red exclamation mark?
  • michellebosche
    I did not take a screen shot of the exact error message, and currently I am the only person working out of it. If/when it shows up again, I will save the exact message.

    Re system time: how do I check whether this is right?
  • adamsmith
    Your computer should be set to the right time zone and show the right time (that's the main clock that's usually at the top or bottom right of your screen). Details matter by system, though if it's wrong (which is not that common) it's usually Windows that screws this up.
  • michellebosche
    Would it be problematic for people in different time zones to be working in the same group library simultaneously?
  • adamsmith
    no. Internally all computers use UTC. As I say, what matters is that the computer is set to the right time zone and shows the right time in that time zone.
    (to be precise, what matters is that the computer shows the current time in the time zone to which it is set; there's not actually a problem keeping your computer on European time when travelling to the US, say)
  • michellebosche
    In that case, I just checked and the computers should fine. Is there another possible reason for the sync problem?

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