Cannot sync all my online library

Guojun_Zhou
Report ID:809442852

I can only sync 7 out of 30+ papers in online library to my computer no matter how many times I hit the "sync" button. The papers that were successfully synced were normal (with tags, notes and attachments.). Zotero did not show any error message.

Thank you for helping me tackle this problem.
  • Guojun_Zhou
    I've tried "reset file sync history" and it did not work.
  • dstillman
    See Changes Not Syncing.

    Don't use the sync reset options for troubleshooting.
  • Guojun_Zhou
    I've checked everything on that page. All normal but still can't sync completely.
  • dstillman
    See the end, then.
  • Guojun_Zhou
    The debug ID is D124782604. (Or shall I post it in a separate discussion?)
  • dstillman
    No, here is correct. But what's the issue, exactly? This shows you creating a child note ("test test") that was then uploaded to the online library.
  • Guojun_Zhou
    I have over 30 items in my online library, but I can only download 6 items to my Zotero desktop after many times of syncing. Now it seems that the uploading path is clear but there may be something wrong with the downloading one.
  • dstillman
    If you make a change to one of those items, is it downloaded?
  • dstillman
    Also you have >100 items in your online library, so I'm not totally sure what you mean here.
  • Guojun_Zhou
    I set up a new subcollection and added an item. They are successfully downloaded. But the two old subcollections were not. (p.s. These items were originally uploaded from Zotero for Mac. I was trying to transfer all data to a Windows computer.)
  • Guojun_Zhou
    Maybe I should try a delete-restore thing?
  • dstillman
    If you rename one of the missing collections, is it downloaded?
  • Guojun_Zhou
    I renamed it and and it is not downloaded. I added a new item in it and the new item is downloaded. I also set up a subcollection under that collection and it is also downloaded.
  • dstillman
    Can you start debug output logging, rename a collection online, sync, and submit the Debug ID?
  • Guojun_Zhou
    Finished. D5392885.
  • Guojun_Zhou
    Is there anything else I can do?
  • dstillman
    (3)(+0000002): Retrieving 1 collection

    (4)(+0000003): Matching local collection exists
    That shows the collection being downloaded — and it shows it as already existing in your library.

    To be clear, I was saying to rename one of the collections that doesn't show up locally.
  • Guojun_Zhou
    I think I only have items under collections like what you replied, not collections. From the beginning I have 2 collections in my online library, collection A with 28 items and collection B with 5 items. These two collections are in my local library, too. The problem is that, in my local library I can only find 6 items in collection A and 1 item in collection B.
  • dstillman
    If you don't mind, could you upload your zotero.sqlite file to the DB Repair Tool and provide the Upload ID here? You can ignore the download link the tool provides. That will let us run some tests on the database to see what's going on with your sync.

    Alternatively, you can just close Zotero, delete zotero.sqlite, restart Zotero, and sync to pull down your data into the new database.
  • Guojun_Zhou
    I uploaded this file and here is Upload ID 60178a0b8e110.
  • dstillman
    If you drag all items in the library root into a temporary collection and sync, do they appear on the desktop?
  • Guojun_Zhou
    Yes they do. Maybe I should set up new collections and put the items there?
  • dstillman
    edited February 1, 2021
    You shouldn't need to do anything else. The items were missing locally. By adding them to a collection online, you caused them to be downloaded, and they should now exist in all the same collections they're in online. Are you seeing something different?

    I'm still not sure how this happened, though. What was your process of getting items onto this computer?
  • Guojun_Zhou
    The newly added collection is synced normally and items are now stored where they should be.

    Like I mentioned before, I originally saved my Zotero data on a Mac OS, mostly with the help of Zotero Connector on Chrome. Now I want to transfer all data to a Windows desktop. I haven't added any items onto this one except for those that are synced from online library.

    I firstly uploaded all collections from Zotero for Mac, and then I checked the online library to ensure everything I needed was there. After that I started syncing on the Windows desktop and found the problem and reported it to you.
  • dstillman
    Hmm, OK, that’s very strange — that certainly should’ve worked. Let us know if you see anything else not syncing going forward.
  • Guojun_Zhou
    Thank you so much for your time and patience!
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