The attached file could not be found

kasimt
I am using Zotero 5.0.21. And since a few days I have noticed that when I open an attachment associated with an item (e.g. a pdf of an article), then I get this error:

"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 zotero.org."

My computer is the principal user of my zotero account, I only syncing for backing up my zotero on a cloud. I opened up the zotero folder and I see the folder structure and I can see the pdf files. I am not sure how to resolve this issue. Any help would be appreciated.
  • adamsmith
    Is the file stored in Zotero or linked? You can tell by the icon: if it has a PDF-type icon, it's stored in Zotero, if it has a white icon with a chainlink, it's linked.

    If the file is stored in Zotero, if you go to the same icon on zotero.org, can you open the PDF from there?
  • kasimt
    Adamsmith,

    In Zotero, the pdf files are as a pdf-type icon.

    I am not using zotero.org for syncing my data.

    cheers,
  • adamsmith
    Please provide a debug ID for opening one of those files that don't open:
    https://www.zotero.org/support/debug_output
  • kasimt
    I just noticed my zotero folder has shrunk from normally being 15 GB to 5 GB. I have no clue how this happened.
  • adamsmith
    When do you remember the 15GB? Could that have been prior to using Zotero 5?
  • kasimt
    I remember one week it was at 15GB. After installing Zotero 5, I still had 15GB.
  • adamsmith
    Still, debug ID would be helpful. Beyond that, what's the location of your Zotero data folder (you can check in the preferences under Advanced --> Files and Folders)
  • kasimt

    version => 5.0.21, platform => Linux x86_64, oscpu => Linux x86_64, locale => en-US, appName => Zotero, appVersion => 5.0.21, extensions => Zotero automatic export (1.2.4, extension), Zotero LibreOffice Integration (5.0.6.SA.5.0.21, extension), Shockwave Flash (27.0.0.130, plugin), zotxt (0.1.35, extension, disabled), Zotero Better Bib(La)Tex (1.6.100, extension, disabled)

    (2)(+0041168): Attachment file '/home/fran/Cloud/zotero/storage/SUT4FPT3/jhung1906.pdf' not found

    (3)(+0000006): API key not set -- skipping download

    (2)(+0000012): Attachment file '/home/fran/Cloud/zotero/storage/SUT4FPT3/jhung1906.pdf' not found

    (4)(+0000083): SELECT IA.itemID FROM itemAttachments IA NATURAL JOIN items I LEFT JOIN itemData ID ON (IA.itemID=ID.itemID AND fieldID=1) LEFT JOIN itemDataValues IDV ON (ID.valueID=IDV.valueID) WHERE parentItemID=? AND linkMode NOT IN (?) AND IA.itemID NOT IN (SELECT itemID FROM deletedItems) ORDER BY contentType='application/pdf' DESC, value=? DESC, dateAdded ASC [4451, 3, '']

    (2)(+0001615): Attachment file '/home/fran/Cloud/zotero/storage/SUT4FPT3/jhung1906.pdf' not found
  • kasimt
    Sure enough, I can't find any files in the said folder. '/home/fran/Cloud/zotero/storage/SUT4FPT3/'
  • adamsmith
    I'm worried by the "Cloud" bit -- is that a networked/synced folder? That's not a supported set-up and we frequently warn against it because it can lead to database corruption & data loss.
  • kasimt
    Yes. I sync my data to a cloud service as a backup. Oh, you think that might be it?
  • adamsmith
    I'd at least be worried about that, yes, especially because that means you're also syncing the Zotero database. But that's only one way? There's no other computer synced to the same database? And your zotero folder has always been at that same location?

    Does your cloud provider have versioning the way e.g. Dropbox does? Could you check when a given file was deleted?
  • kasimt
    The file is available on the cloud service. The zotero directory on the cloud-network is 15GB. Yes, my computer is the only one that syncs my zotero database, no other computer. Yeah, the zotero folder has not moved.

  • adamsmith
    Really hard to say, but Zotero wouldn't just remove files from your disk -- you can just copy the storage folder back down from the cloud and that should restore the files, but I cannot tell you how this happened in the first place, I'm afraid.
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