Zotero won't let me import data

tamanishajjohn
My laptop (mac) and Zotero updated yesterday and since then, I have been unable to restore my data back onto Zotero.

-initially, it kept saying that the data base was empty, and would not allow me to change the data directory (even though I was able to zee my Zotero storage files and the sqlite file)

When I finally thought that it would just allow me to import the information, I received this error with a Report ID: 1452648614

So I am just posting this for some clarity/information about why I cannot restore my references...
  • dstillman
    As we said on Twitter, you should go through this documentation:

    https://www.zotero.org/support/zotero_data#locating_missing_zotero_data

    Something appears to have deleted your Zotero database. The linked instructions explain how to look for other zotero.sqlite files that might contain your data.

    To clarify a few things:
    initially, it kept saying that the data base was empty
    It said that when you tried to sync, and that's because it is. You have an empty database for some reason. That's why you're not seeing any data.
    would not allow me to change the data directory
    No, you were trying to set the data directory to the 'storage' subfolder of the data directory. That's not the same as the data directory itself, and setting that as the data directory would make a mess of your Zotero data directory and not fix the problem, which is why the software stops you from incorrectly doing that.
    (even though I was able to zee my Zotero storage files and the sqlite file)
    You still have attachment files in 'storage', but that's not the same as your database, which is the .sqlite file in the parent directory. The .sqlite file is likely either 1 MB or 5 MB, which means it's an empty database. The instructions explain how to look for other, larger backups in that directory or elsewhere.
    When I finally thought that it would just allow me to import the information, I received this error with a Report ID
    You appear to be trying to import an .sqlite file. That's not a correct thing to do, which is why it's not working.
  • tamanishajjohn
    Thank you!

    I was able to figure it out, by deleting zotero and all of the associated files from my mac-- with the exception of the August 11th backup. When I redownloaded Zotero, I clicked on the back up and was told that it was unable to import. So then I went back in the advanced option and changed the directory, and it allowed the backup sqlite to load.

    I got back my data!
  • dstillman
    edited August 13, 2020
    Hmm, OK, that's not quite the right steps, though.

    What's your current data directory? You want to leave that set to the default — /Users/:username:/Zotero. All that matters is that there's a zotero.sqlite in that folder with your data in it (so it should be bigger than 5 MB), and there should also be a 'storage' folder within it with subfolders containing your PDFs and other files.

    You don't want to change the data directory to any other location, you don't want to import anything, and you don't want to delete anything other than perhaps an empty (1 MB or 5 MB) zotero.sqlite file so that you can copy a larger backup file into its place.
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