Sorry for the delay -- lunch. Sounds like it's all going according to plan so far.
"local" is the database that your local "stand alone" Zotero is pointing at. "remote" is the online copy (containing the data that you exported in the first step). "merged" shows the data that will be used if you approve the current selection between "local" and "remote."
Somehow changes were made to some items in both libraries after they were separated. Zotero is just asking you which version you want to use for each. Just look at the items and decide which you prefer. Since you don't know which was changed when, it's probably best to look briefly at each, and approve them individually.
how do i open each file? (without canceling the sync)
also, is it possible that a 'duplicate' pair of files will have independent modifications? (eg. i made on the external, and then made more modifications on the version once the library reverted back to local drive location... without actually getting the old modifications.)
The metadata is all shown in the panels, there is no need to refer back to the items in the database or online. This will not move file attachments; they will be preserved in the end, but you don't need to worry about them now.
The independent modifications are what is triggering the conflicts. If you are concerned about tidying up in the finished database, you can identify items in that class by modification date. All you need to do at this stage is make choices.
well, i went through all the conflicts (basically always selecting the default which was most recent modified, or the older if they were the same date).
my library is currently pointed to the external drive. it seems like the syncing process moved the actual files (pdfs etc) to the external. my library may have a few less documents (six less or so?) or maybe not.
so is that it— the external library is now synced and totally updated?
also, i guess i should delete the local library to avoid this happening again..? or do i simply rename it so zotero doesnt automatically switch to it again?
It would be good to check your document, to see that links work okay. Find a reference that was added recently, after the jump back to the drive on your computer, and open it with the normal "Quick Format" dialog (the ribbon). Click on its bubble. If the reference is linked, it will show an "Open in Library" button at the bottom.
If the attachment-sync boxes were unticked, PDFs would not have moved. Zotero will show the items as having attachments, but they will refuse to open. You can check for missing attachments by clicking the icon in the upper-rightmost corner of the center pane, and selecting "Attachments" to add that column to the center panel. If you click on the label above that column, it will sort your library into three tiers: attachments present and synced (a blue dot); attachments expected but missing (a blue circle); and no attachments (nothing).
You should be able to restore missing attachments from the other library, by exporting those items from there with their attachments, importing them to your main (external-disk) library, and then merging duplicates.
To protect against another mishap, you can just open the profile directory (or wherever the Zotero data directory in your computer is at), moving up one level, and rename the directory "zotero" to something like "zotero-OLD." Then if the library pointer slips back again, Zotero will create an empty library, and you will immediately know what has happened.
Those sound like problems with the document itself, rather than the Zotero library. To confirm, open a fresh document, and try inserting the new and the old citation item into it. If that comes off smoothly, it's a document issue (and there are steps to deal with it).
Removing the bibliography during drafting should speed things up significantly, yes.
i have 90 items where the expected document is missing. for some reason, i can't find these items on either the external or the local drive.
If you mean the attachments, I wouldn't know; you would have to revisit the sources and recover those separately. ZotFile is very handy for that kind of work.
so, it looks like these items that i can't locate are items that hadn't been renamed... so were stored in 'random' titled folders... still, though, even when i type in the name of the pdf it does not appear.
when i import items into zotero, i would find the citation info, and then under 'manage attachments' i would select 'rename file' according to the retrieved metadata. but if i didn't rename it (either i forgot, or i intentionally wanted to preserve different pdf titles within the heading of one single metadata item) then the pdf would seem to be stored in some weirdly titled folder...
Ah, okay. All attachments are stored in weirdly titled folders, in the "storage" subdirectory, that's normal. Renaming the file renames the file inside its folder, not the folder itself.
Have you checked duplicates since the merge? There is at least a possibility that those items have duplicate companions with working attachments.
i will continue searching. please let me know if you have any thoughts. i suspect they are in another folder (rather than deleted—they are not in trash or unfiled!)
Upgrade Storage
"conflict resolution: the following item has been changed in multiple locations. Choose the version you would like to keep then click continue."
...do i select 'local', 'remote' or 'merged' object?
...and then do i also select the box that says "use remote version for all remaining conflicts (1 of 77)" ?
(is "remote" the object in the online library?)
"local" is the database that your local "stand alone" Zotero is pointing at. "remote" is the online copy (containing the data that you exported in the first step). "merged" shows the data that will be used if you approve the current selection between "local" and "remote."
Somehow changes were made to some items in both libraries after they were separated. Zotero is just asking you which version you want to use for each. Just look at the items and decide which you prefer. Since you don't know which was changed when, it's probably best to look briefly at each, and approve them individually.
how do i open each file? (without canceling the sync)
also, is it possible that a 'duplicate' pair of files will have independent modifications? (eg. i made on the external, and then made more modifications on the version once the library reverted back to local drive location... without actually getting the old modifications.)
The independent modifications are what is triggering the conflicts. If you are concerned about tidying up in the finished database, you can identify items in that class by modification date. All you need to do at this stage is make choices.
my library is currently pointed to the external drive. it seems like the syncing process moved the actual files (pdfs etc) to the external. my library may have a few less documents (six less or so?) or maybe not.
so is that it— the external library is now synced and totally updated?
also, i guess i should delete the local library to avoid this happening again..? or do i simply rename it so zotero doesnt automatically switch to it again?
d
You should be able to restore missing attachments from the other library, by exporting those items from there with their attachments, importing them to your main (external-disk) library, and then merging duplicates.
when i move the cursor into a citation and select edit, it does not work. so i am assuming the reference is not linked...
thoughts?
one time it also froze and i had to force quit both zotero and ms word.
when i try to edit an older citation, it opens zotero citation editor, but can't seem to actually edit.
https://www.zotero.org/support/word_processor_plugin_troubleshooting#debugging_broken_documents
im not sure why they were suddenly not working in the main dissertation doc, but now i re-tried and it seems to be working (slowly, as usual)
(would it work faster if my document did not have an embedded bibliography?)
assuming the links are okay.
i have 90 items where the expected document is missing. for some reason, i can't find these items on either the external or the local drive.
any thoughts on this?
Have you checked duplicates since the merge? There is at least a possibility that those items have duplicate companions with working attachments.
i will continue searching. please let me know if you have any thoughts. i suspect they are in another folder (rather than deleted—they are not in trash or unfiled!)
huge thanks to you!