Group Library Syncing Issue

wrybenjamin
I just had an annoying problem with syncing a group library.

I have been working on fixing some reference information on my work computer. Today, someone else was using it so I decided to continue working on Zotero on my personal computer, which has not been synced in a while. When I clicked the sync button, instead of updating the local version with the online library, the old folder structure and reference information was uploaded to the server instead, replacing hours of work.

I would like some advice on guidance on how to avoid this in the future. Are there some settings I can change to make sure that outdated Zotero metadata on local computers adhere to newer versions from the server?
  • dstillman
    instead of updating the local version with the online library, the old folder structure and reference information was uploaded to the server
    That's not quite what would've happened. There were changes to collections on both computers, so Zotero erred on the side of preserving data and kept the items that were in the collections on both sides.

    The best thing to do to avoid conflicts is to make sure auto-sync is enabled and to make sure you've synced before making changes locally. That said, the upcoming Zotero 5.0 will be much better at avoiding unnecessary conflicts, and it also treats collection-item membership differently to avoid a conflict when items are added/removed at the same time.
  • insectdiversitynus
    edited May 5, 2017
    Yeah, I was eliminating some superfluous files so I guess Zotero erred on the side of caution by reverting.

    Is there a projected release date for Zotero 5.0? Was reading up on the new features and it sounds exciting.

    - benjamin
  • LiborA
    Benjamin, if you are not in critical phase of and project, then you can migrate on 5.0 version now. Current beta is really stable for every day using.

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