Zotero cannot locate files

aemdev
id - 302626353

My mac broke Friday and I'm temporarily using a windows 7 laptop. I've synced my library to the chrome connector. All articles are there, however, some do not have attachments. Anything I saved to zotero on the day my laptop broke does not have the attachment. I've not yet checked to see how far back this goes.

My web library when trying to open up docuemnt reads - Received error from Zotero server: Not found.
When I open up the articles in zotero the message reads - 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.

Can anything be done to retrieve the files?
  • dstillman
    No files of yours have synced in about the last month. You were likely just hitting your storage quota, which would've been indicated by an error icon (and message when you click on it) next to the sync button.

    Do you have a backup of your Mac disk?

    If you won't be getting your Mac data back, your best option is really just to view the article online, download the PDF to disk (assuming you still have access), and then use the Locate button in the file-not-found dialog to select the downloaded file. Zotero will automatically copy the file back to the appropriate location, and you can then delete the downloaded file.

    If you're OK with possibly getting preprints, you could alternatively delete the attachments, right-click on the parent items, and use "Find Available PDFs" to look for open-access copies. If you're affiliated with an institution and have VPN-based access (not a web-based proxy), that would also work to download gated copies directly from publishers. For items for which that didn't work, you'd need to go and download PDFs to disk and drag them onto the parent items.
  • aemdev
    Thanks. So I’ve managed to fix my Mac short term. Do I just need to upgrade my Zotero storage? Also, when I eventually get a replacement Mac, do I need to do anything before installing Zotero? Or will the upgrade solve the problem?
  • dstillman
    As long as you have enough storage space for all your attached files, just syncing is sufficient. When you sync a new computer, it just pulls down all your data and files.

    (But if your old Mac is still working, you'll want to use Migration Assistant anyway, which just copies all your files and settings over. If for some reason you didn't want to use Migration Assistant, you could still transfer your library just by copying the data directory if you wanted to.)

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