Unable to access attached pdf's (zotfiles) on Computer B though they appear on Computer A

bhowe15

Followed each and every step in the instructions

Debug ID Debug output has been sent to the Zotero server. The Debug ID is D1275594013.
  • bhowe15
    Reviewed Forum Post on not syncing following error message when trying to open a file on computer B: "Attached file could not be found. It may have been moved or deleted." when I try to open a file on a synced computer?
  • bwiernik
    What is likely happening is that Zotero hasn’t finished downloading all of the PDFs. Try changing your sync settings to Download Attachment Files “As Needed” then trying to open a PDF again.
  • bhowe15
    The pdf seems to be there, but it just won't open. On computer B. Computer A is fine. When I click on the Parent file, I get the message and when I click on the pdf file attached to the parent file I get the same message.

    I also sent in the debug file hoping that might give some insight.
  • bwiernik
    Oh, I didn’t see that these were Zotfile links. Is the file path to your Zotero files exactly the same on the two computers?
  • bhowe15
    Just got my laptop back, the one that seemed to be working. It had to be reimaged for a completely separate issue from the School board for which I work as a researcher. I've reinstalled the zotero and zotfile and now I have the same problem on this computer. It has clearly downloaded the pdf files as they appear underneath the parent files. But when I click on either the parent file or directly on the attached pdf underneath, I get the same message:

    The attached file could not be found.

    It may have been moved or deleted outside of Zotero, or, if the file was added on another computer, it may not yet have been synced to or from zotero.org.

    Where should I look to confirm the right pathway between the parent and the attached pdf?

    Thank you for any help!
  • bhowe15
    Further to my above post, I did click on "locate file" it comes up with ".zotero-ft-cache"

    Ran the debug again and the number is "The Debug ID is D1310651242."

    Also checked, as per suggestion by dstillman in another similar post several days ago, for the zotero storage on the c drive and it appears that all the folders are there, but when I click on any one of them, there are two files, the zotero-ft-cache and the actual pdf file (which I can open from there).

    Again, I'm hoping this is a simple thing to fix, but I'm at a loss. Thanks in advance for any help you might provide.
  • bhowe15
    Further exploration revealed that older files with attached pdfs seem to be working. Though I'm not certain, it seems that any pdf's I've added since updating to Zotero 5+ and Zotfile don't seem to work... producing the message mentioned in above queries...
  • bwiernik
    Okay, just because an attachment shows in Zotero doesn’t mean the underlying file is downloaded—that is indicated by the blue circle on the left or right side of the middle pane. If the file is downloaded, the circle will be filled. If it’s not, it will be empty.

    In the Zotfile settings, do you Location of Files set to “Attached stored copy of files” or “Custom Location”?

This is an old discussion that has not been active in a long time. Before commenting here, you should strongly consider starting a new discussion instead. If you think the content of this discussion is still relevant, you can link to it from your new discussion.

Sign In or Register to comment.