'group library' and 'my library' combined

ktwig2
Hello, I have just had a new hard drive installed in my computer and the technician has copied over the Zotero libraries I have on my Cdrive. He has, however, inadvertently copied a "Group Library" (of which I am a member) into "My Library".
I now feel anxious about calling up Zotero as fear when it begins to synch with the other ten members of my "Group Library" that it will also try to synch the material in my private library (and they other members will also have this appearing in their library). I would very much appreciate advice on this situation.
  • bwiernik
    edited July 23, 2019
    You’re fine. This is the intended backup process. There is only one Zotero data folder. All the items are stored in the same zotero.sqlite database and all the attachment files in the same ‘storage’ folder. Which library an item is part of is noted inside the sqlite file.
  • ktwig2
    Many thanks. That is a big relief. If I leave the group library as part of 'My Library' as it now appears, can I still add material to the 'Group Library'? ie in the past when I opened Zotero there was a clear division on the screen between 'My Library' and 'Group Library'. Now it all appears on my screen as though the 'Group Library' headings are all sub-folders of 'My Library'?
  • dstillman
    edited July 23, 2019
    Can you take a screenshot of what you're describing, upload it somewhere (e.g., Dropbox), and provide a link here? Alternatively, can you email it to support@zotero.org with a link to this thread?

    If the group library is truly now a collection, then somebody — you or the technician — did something wrong, like exporting the group library and importing it into My Library. They shouldn't have needed to do anything other than transfer the Zotero data directory to the new computer, along with all the rest of the data on your old hard drive. It would be very strange if they went into each app and performed manual (and in this case incorrect) transfer steps.
  • ktwig2
    I also wanted to clarify that this was not so much a backup as installing the two Zotero libraries I use every day. ie what is appearing is not sqlite files or the one Zotero data folder but the collections of my two libraries with their parent and child additions. 'Group Library' is very large, about 40GB. Is there a way to re-install it as a 'Group Library' rather than having it as part 'My Library'? I am afraid that if I delete it from my computer in order to reinstall it from my old hard drive than this will also remove it from the shared 'Group Library' of all other 10 users of this library.
  • dstillman
    I still don't really know what you mean here. Can you provide that screenshot?
  • ktwig2
    Hi, Many thanks for your attention to this. Exporting the group library and importing it into My Library is exactly what the technician said he did. I am hoping there is something I can do to recover from this? I will also try to do a screen shot and send an email to Zotero support. However I am still a little afraid that if I open Zotero on my computer to take the screen shot it will start synching to others in the Group Library as it has always been on automatic synch. Is this a reasonable anxiety?
  • dstillman
    OK, so that was definitely not right — this was really just as simple as copying a directory. But it doesn't sound like you would affect the group library in any case, because you imported it into your personal library.

    Do you not have a copy of the Zotero data directory from the old computer, before the technician did anything?

    If not, but your online library was up to date, the easiest thing is probably just to move the data directory out of the way and sync in an empty database to pull down your data. (While you could also just delete zotero.sqlite and avoid downloading all the attached files in 'storage' again, if the imported group library included files then those would all be orphaned and taking up space in 'storage' after you synced.)
  • ktwig2
    Many thanks again. I really appreciate your help. I have just sent the screen shots via email. However, I think that you are right about what the technician has done in importing the group library into my personal library. Yes I do still have the Zotero data directory on the old computer. Is the best approach to delete my personal Zotero library from the new computer and start all over again by copying the directory across? (As should have happened in the first place.)
  • dstillman
    edited July 23, 2019
    Is the best approach to delete my personal Zotero library from the new computer and start all over again by copying the directory across?
    Yes.

    (This is assuming that the change wasn't made on the old computer before the transfer.)
  • ktwig2
    Many thanks for your advice (and apologies for the delay in responding as have been having a short break). I have not tried this yet but believe it will work as the change was not made on the old computer before the transfer. With appreciation.
  • ktwig2
    I have just sent an email with screen shots and link to this discussion to support@zotero. When I came to try to delete Zotero library from new hard drive and copy across old directory I was unsure how to proceed. I have included screen shots to show the steps I believe need to be taken but would appreciate your feedback.
  • dstillman
    You don't need to delete anything — you can just move files to a temporary folder until you're sure what's in each database.

    With Zotero closed, just move zotero.sqlite and 'storage' out of the way (e.g., to a temporary folder on your desktop) in the data directory on your C: drive and copy zotero.sqlite and 'storage' from either the F: drive or the E: drive into that folder.

    It's probably a good idea to disconnect your computer from the network before doing this so that you can confirm what's in the database before syncing.

    Note that the database on the F: drive is from July 23rd, so that would seem to be the last time you ran Zotero from that data directory. That's also when you posted here, so that might mean that that version was modified by the technician. If you do end up using the E: drive version from June 19th, Zotero will pull down more recent synced changes when you sync.
  • ktwig2
    Many thanks. That is very reassuring to have the process outlined. I will let you know how I go. My Zotero directory is very large (over 80GB) and my new hard drive is already struggling for space so I will need to copy the temporary folder (zotero.sqlite and 'storage') onto an external hard drive while I test what is happening with the database. However, I assume that will be okay?
  • dstillman
    Sure.
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