WebDAV Zotero 5.0.17 on Win10: Error "not a valid WebDAV URL"

umor
edited September 1, 2017
Zotero is a wonderful software. Thanks to all those, who contribute to it.

Last week I switched from my old Win 7 computer to a new Win 10 computer. I also switched from Zotero 4 to Zotero 5.0.17. Everything went smooth. Except for the WebDAV server sync.

I am using the WebDAV server provided by my university. It is run on Filr by Micro Focus (which used ot be called Netstorage by Novell) https://www.microfocus.com/products/filr/.

I am using exactly the same configurations under Zotero 4 as under Zotero 5.0.17:

Tick at "Sync attachment files in My Library using WebDAV"
URL: files.boku.ac.at/my_files
Username: ***
Password: ***

After going to
"https://files.boku.ac.at/my_files/zotero"
and confirming my logins there, Sync works under Zotero 4 on Win 7. And so did "Veryfy Server".

Under Zotero 5.0.17 on Win 10 instead, I get the following message from Zotero when running "Veryfy Server": "https://files.boku.ac.at/my_files/zotero/ is not a valid WebDAV URL". Even after loggin in at https://files.boku.ac.at/my_files/zotero

DebugID: D597856707

Any ideas what might be the problem why the same configurations work under Zotero 4 on Win 7 but not under Zotero 5.0.17 on Win 10?

Hints appreciated!

Ulrich
  • dstillman
    An HTTP OPTIONS request for https://files.boku.ac.at/my_files/zotero/ is returning a 404. I'm not sure why 4.0 would work, and I can look at a Debug ID for Verify Server from that just out of curiosity, but ultimately you'll have to talk to your WebDAV server admins. (A browser makes a GET request, so you might be able to view your files from the browser after logging in, but that doesn't mean that it's working properly as a WebDAV server.)
  • umor
    Dear dstillman,

    thank you for your reply and for trying out the URL.

    I asked my WebDAV admins and they came to the conclusion that the WebDAV is working (they say the 404 is not replicable). It seems the problem is related to the process of verification. It there a way of disabling the verification in Zotero (or setting it manually to "verfied")?

    Thank you for your help, Ulrich
  • dstillman
    they say the 404 is not replicable
    Did they actually try an OPTIONS request, though, or are they just referring to GET/POST requests? An OPTIONS request is clearly failing with a 404 in your debug output.

    You can skip verification by setting sync.storage.verified to true in the Config Editor (available from the Advanced pane of the prefs), but an OPTIONS request is used in normal syncing too, so if that's not working then syncing won't work.
  • umor
    Hello dstillman,

    thank you for your well informed replies and suggestions.

    My IT support checked the OPTION request:
    The OPTION request in the directory
    * "https://files.boku.ac.at/my_files/zotero" indeed returns 404 error.
    * "https://files.boku.ac.at/my_files" returned 200 "ok".

    Is there a way to remove the Default "zotero" sub-folder such that I can put the files in "https://files.boku.ac.at/my_files"

    Note: Skipping the verification by setting "sync.storage.verified" to TRUE, just changed the error message to
    "An error occurred during syncing: A WebDAV file sync error occurred. Please restart Zotero and try syncing again. If you receive this message repeatedly, check your WebDAV server settings in the Sync pane of the Zotero preferences.",
    but did not resolve the issue.
    Just, as you predicted :-)

  • dstillman
    Is there a way to remove the Default "zotero" sub-folder such that I can put the files in "https://files.boku.ac.at/my_files"
    No. This is a server problem, and your server folks will need to fix it.
  • umor
    Hello dstillman,

    we didn't get the Micro Focus Filr based server to support Zotero 5 WebDAV sync. But my university now provides a Seafile based SyncNShare server (https://www.seafile.com/en/home/).
    With the Seafile WebDAV server sync for standalone Zotero 5 works perfectly (run under Win 10 and Ubuntu 16.04).

    Thank you for your multiple advice which helped a lot in finding out what to do!

    Best regards, Ulrich

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