[5.0 beta] How to reset sync

In 5.0 beta there is a Reset Data Sync History that will merge the local and remote library. If I recall correctly, there are options in Zotero 4 to choose whether the local or remote versions should be used for resync.

In my present case my online Zotero library (My Library) is very out of date and I would like to reset sync using only the local version.

How would one achieve this?

With thanks.
  • "Restore to Zotero Server" isn't yet implemented in the beta.

    How did your library get out of date, though? Do you just mean that you haven't synced in a while? Unless you restored from a backup locally or made changes on another computer, all your local changes would just be applied to the server (though obviously you should make sure you have a backup of your local Zotero data directory).
  • (If you really needed this now, you could install Zotero 4.0 (for Firefox is probably easiest) and point it to an empty custom data directory, and then do a Restore to Zotero Server with that to clear the server data.)
  • Many thanks for this suggestion. I have tried but it starts to become complicated, as Firefox knows about the existence of the 5.0 beta installation (I presume I would have to use a separate profile to solve this problem). As this is not desperately urgent I think I will wait for Restore to Zotero Server to be implemented.

    In response to your question about how the local library became out of date: I haven't synced in a long while (for a range of reasons) and, having done some extensive housekeeping locally, there will be many items on the server that have been deleted locally. If I sync these items will be restored locally - I presume - and I don't want to undo my housekeeping.

    If my assumption is incorrect, please let me know.

    Many thanks.
  • there will be many items on the server that have been deleted locally. If I sync these items will be restored locally - I presume - and I don't want to undo my housekeeping.
    No, it doesn't work that way. Only explicit deletions are synced. (Otherwise, deletions you made locally would always be immediately undone, because a locally deleted item would always be missing remotely.) So you should be able to just sync normally.

    I can't guarantee there aren't still bugs in the 5.0 sync upgrade process, of course, so again, you would want to be sure to make a full backup of your data directory first. You could then easily restore to that if something didn't work right in the initial 5.0 sync (which we could also fix before 5.0 Final).
  • Many thanks - I will give it a go!
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