Will zotero6 compatible with zotero5's database and can I use 5 and beta at the same time?

Hi, my name is Fred, I'm Very new to zotero.
I heard built-in pdf and ios app will be available, thus there're 2 questions.
I wonder if I can transfer papers to 6 in the future if I use zotero 5 now?
Another is, that is it possible to use zotero5 and beta version at the same time? The pdf function is really appealing to me, but I have some work to do with zotero now and I'm worried whether old plugins can work fine.
That's all, thanks guys.
  • The preview features are available behind a preference in the current Zotero 5 beta, and existing plugins for Zotero 5 should work fine.

    It's not possible to go back to the main release after installing the current beta, but you can turn off the preview features at any time.

    If you're not comfortable using beta software, I would recommend staying on the release version, but many people use the beta for real work.

    You'll be able to easily upgrade to Zotero 6 when it comes out, no matter what version you use now.
  • New Zotero versions always upgrade seamlessly from older ones, yes.

    You cannot, however, use Zotero 5 and the current beta at the same time easily, as the beta version does update the database.

    I don't think there have been any reported incompatibilities with add-ons in the new beta, though. What you _can_ do is make a back-up of your database, try Zotero 5beta with all plugins, see if they work, and if they do not, roll back to the backup:
    https://www.zotero.org/support/zotero_data#backing_up_your_zotero_data
    (Zotero also creates an automatic back-up when you update to the beta, but always better to be safe)
  • I haven't tried it myself, but from another thread I infer that the plugin 'mdnotes' is broken.
  • Ah yes, right -- anything that works directly with Zotero notes might be affected.
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