Upgrade StorageMigrate Zotero from one computer to a new computer
Hi Everyone:
I need to help someone move their Zotero setup from one computer to a new laptop. Both computers are Windows---the new one is Windows 10. One thing--the version of Zotero that is being used on the old computer might be version four of zotero.
My question is: What is the best procedure for migrating Zotero under these conditions to ensure that zotero links to current papers are preserved?
I need to help someone move their Zotero setup from one computer to a new laptop. Both computers are Windows---the new one is Windows 10. One thing--the version of Zotero that is being used on the old computer might be version four of zotero.
My question is: What is the best procedure for migrating Zotero under these conditions to ensure that zotero links to current papers are preserved?
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https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/transferring_a_library
sync is easier, but may require Zotero (or other) file storage beyond the free 300MB for attachments.
Both will work across different OS and with Zotero 4 to 5.
1. When i met with the library patron she already had zotero on their new laptop---it was version 4 something.
2. She commented that she tried to use zotero with one of her papers and "it didn't work".
So this was my strategy:
1. backup the zotero directory from the new machine to a safe place.
2. uninstall zotero from the new machine. (because i do not know what the problem is and instead of investigating that why not just do a fresh new install.)
3. Sync her library from zotero.org to her new empty installation on her laptop.
Problem (at least i think its a problem)
When we installed the new version 5 of zotero on her machine it loads with data from her library. In other words, the new copy of zotero does not have an empty library--why would that be? I wonder where it is getting the data from since syncing would not be set up, we moved the old data is stored to a different place before we uninstalled the old version, and the new default data directory in Zotero 5 is in a different place right?
What i want to achieve is that we install version 5 on her new machine, it syncs properly with her online zotero, and it works with her old papers.
I saw this in the documentation under Restoring your Zotero library using Zotero syncing:
....If you have a local Zotero library that you want to overwrite, close Zotero and delete the old Zotero data directory before syncing. Syncing your database with a different Zotero account will also prompt you to remove the existing local database....
Do you think this would work? thank you!