Zotero is opening up twice on my second user

keomeara
Hi, I have two "user" accounts on my Mac - one user for personal stuff and other user for work. But I want to use my full Zotero library on both sides.

I just figured out I was having a sync problem and that I was too low on zotero storage and so wasn't able to access pdfs on my work user, so I upgraded my storage account and synced and pdfs seem to be available now (at quick glance).

I have quit the app and restarted the computer but everytime I open Zotero in my work user it opens zotero twice. I suddenly see two icons in dock even though I've tried to remove them bot, and then I get error messages because there are two versions running. I'm not sure how to fix this? Also one of them continues to require me to use "force quit" to close it. Thanks for your help.
  • dstillman
    I'm not sure if it will fix this problem, but to start, if you'll have Zotero open in both accounts at once, you'll at least need to configure Zotero and the Zotero Connector in one account with different HTTP port numbers. The warning there about word processor usage would also apply, so if you're using word processor integration you would want to get in the habit of closing Zotero in one account before using Fast User Switching.

    And I assume you know this, but this configuration does mean that you're duplicating your Zotero data directory, with all attached files, in both accounts on your disk. The alternative would be to set up permissions such that Zotero could access the same profile directory and data directory from both accounts, but that's more complicated, and you'd always need to close Zotero before switching accounts.
  • keomeara
    Hi there. I don't have them open in both users at the same time. When you say close is that just closing it or somehow logging out on each user? I don't know what word processor integration is or if I'm using it?
  • dstillman
    When you say close is that just closing it or somehow logging out on each user?
    Closing as in quitting the app — Cmd-Q or Zotero menu → Quit Zotero. Just closing the window isn't sufficient.
    I don't know what word processor integration is or if I'm using it?
    https://www.zotero.org/support/word_processor_integration
  • dstillman
    edited March 11, 2019
    You can also confirm this by simply logging out of one macOS account completely instead of using Fast User Switching, and that's a good test regardless. Does the problem you're describing still occur?

    How are you launching Zotero?
  • keomeara
    I am not using Fast User Switching - I am actually logging out of each user each time, and I am actually quitting the zotero app not just closing the window.

    I do use the word processor integration for in text citations - but I've not been doing that yet today - so I have not had any warnings there (yet).

    When I click on the zotero in the work user it's still opening it twice.
  • keomeara
    re: launching: I have the icon in my dock
  • dstillman
    What's the exact error message that you're receiving?

    I would remove Zotero from the Dock and then start Zotero from the Applications folder, making sure you're not launching it from the .dmg you downloaded.
  • keomeara
    Hi there, sorry I have not followed up on this yet. With my graduate thesis due in a few weeks I've decided to postpone trying to solve this problem by working on the thesis draft in my original user on my computer where Zotero only opens up once not twice. After graduation I can return to trying to fix this issue.

    However, I have a new problem the last weeks - I often get error messages when I try to add in an in text citation - I get "failure to update document" messages and I keep getting messages saying I'm "modifying" another citation (which I'm not doing, I'm simply adding in a new citation in a new place). It was asking me if I wanted to accept the modifcation yes or no and originally I was saying yes but I have realized now that zotero was then changing other citations in a way that is now incorrect. I keep getting stuck in this window where I either have to say yes or no and it starts pulling me through a million other citations and asking me to say yes or no, and I can't just quit the request and go back to the document and try to figure out what is going on.

    My computer is updated. Zotero says it has no updates to install. I'm afraid I'm going to have to go back and check all my citations now - but how can I prevent this from now on?
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