Attached file not found, but attachment path correct (Syncing, Dropbox)

Hi all,

Debug IDs: D891234668 (laptop); D91279179 (desktop)

Sorry in advance if I missed a thread on the forums that offers a solution. I did not see and could not find a relevant case.

I am using Zotero Standalone with Zotfile on a Windows desktop and Windows laptop. My institute recently discontinued its original syncing service (Owncloud) and adopted Dropbox. In order to sync across both computers, I used Zotfile to change the location of my files to the relevant Dropbox directory. I selected all of my files in Zotero SA and Manage Attachments -> Rename Attachments. This moved successfully all of the files to the Dropbox file location. I updated the relevant path in Zotero SA and my desktop operates correctly (see Debug ID D91279179).

My problem lies with the laptop. I performed the same steps as the desktop sequence: change files location in Zotfile (matches Desktop), select all files and Manage Attachments -> Rename Attachments, change relative path in Zotero SA.

When I try to view an attachment, I get the standard "attached file could not be found error". I installed Zutilo on my laptop, and can confirm that the attachment path is correct (points to correct location of file in Dropbox). I checked the debug log and confirmed Zotero looked in the correct place (see Debug ID D891234668).

Any ideas why my laptop cannot find the files? Note that I may have changed the relative path in Zotero SA on my laptop before doing the Rename Attachments selection. Could this be the source of the error?

Thank you for any suggestions. Please let me know if I can provide additional information.
  • I solved this problem using Zutilo.

    Interestingly, the attachment file paths on my two computers were different. On my desktop, it was the actual directory name (e.g., C:\(Some File Directories)\(Relative file directory)\(File).pdf). It is set to relative paths, so I figured that was the correct filepath on the laptop.

    From the "Locate file" option on my laptop, I tested one file by locating it in the Dropbox directory. Checking the attachment directory with Zutilo showed that it had a format of "attachments:(Relative file directories)/(File).pdf". The two differences are the "attachments:" replacing the file directory paths before the relative file path directories start, AND the direction of the slashes.

    I am not sure where these issues originated, but I used Zutilo to solve the problem by changing the attachment paths directories in two steps on the laptop.

    Changes:
    (1) Replace "C:\(Non-relative file directories)\" with "attachments:"
    (2) Replace "\" with "/" (I had to select the all instances box for it to work)

    That did the trick. The laptop instance of Zotero SA now finds the files. If this change leads to new problems in the next few days, I will update this thread (or start a new one appropriately).
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