Move/copy and Sync via WebDAV or simply sync?

trelab
edited February 28, 2018
What is the best advice for the following:

Given a sizeable collection (15GB/55,000 files/20,000 folders) with files stored via WebDAV (pCloud) and given a recent large addition of new items and their pdf attachements- what then is the safest and recommended method to sync another or more computers?

E.g.
1. Computer A: Add items and sync (WebDAV and Zotero) and then sync computer B. This seems the slowest and potentially most problem prone method.
or
2. Computer A: Add items and sync (WebDAV and Zotero) and then copy the "zotero data directory" from Computer A and then overwrite it to Computer B data directory and then sync computer B (WebDAV and Zotero).
or
3. ???

Thank you very much!
  • dstillman
    1 should be fine — that's the point of sync, after all, and Zotero 5.0 is specifically designed to improve syncing of large libraries — but if 2 is easy for you, that would avoid the second sync and lots of data transfer.

    One reason not to do 2 (other than that it's unnecessary) would be if you want to use on-demand download to avoid storing all the PDFs on the second computer.
  • trelab
    Thank you @dstillman. Given my sizeable data set and despite having a backup, I am not confident to best setup/use on-demand download in Zotero and with Zotfile even after reading the documentation on the below...

    Is this done via Linked Attachment Base Directory? The base directory contains the local Zotero items and their linked attachments would be via WebDAV for both computers- right? With similar settings among computers, can WebDAV then be the repository for all attachments with files downloaded on demand at each computer, which would be most preferable.

    What might be suggested to set as a base directory using Linked Attachment Base Directory? If I set is as its current directory, will it then ignore the "storage" folder within the Zotero directory and use the WebDAV directory via ZoteroPreferences/Sync/Settings/File Syncing?

    What is recommended to set Zotfile? "Source Folder for Attaching New files"? "Location of Files"?

    I apologize, now with a large collection (and even with backup) I am much more hesitant to play around lest I lose data, etc.

  • dstillman
    Zotero's WebDAV functionality is for stored files (i.e., those in 'storage'). Linked Attachment Base Directory (and ZotFile, generally) is if you want to use linked files and sync the files yourself (which might be via WebDAV or some third-party storage service, but not through Zotero itself).
  • trelab
    This is a puzzle that eludes me- right now it works on both computers, but I end up with three copies of files: WebDAV, Comp A, & Comp B which takes a lot of bandwidth and while I appreciate the data redundancy, I need to add a couple more computers to the mix and don't want to download all the data to each, but am not sure the best or even a good/safe way to do this.
  • dstillman
    Right, so it sounds like you just want to use Zotero's WebDAV sync functionality with on-demand download enabled.
  • trelab
    Ok, I see it now... Download files "at sync time" vs "as needed"

    Sorry, I missed that little option.

    Thank you.
  • dstillman
    edited February 28, 2018
    (And right now once you download a file it sticks around unless you delete it on disk, but we'll be offering more options for managing the size of the local file cache in a future version.)
  • trelab
    I was just thinking about that. Great! Loving this program and what's coming including the new PDF recognizer! Thanks for all your efforts and help.
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