Can't access videos in web library

I have uploaded many .mp4 videos to a web library only (i.e. I don't have them on any Zotero library on a PC). Now I can only access some of them in the web library by double clicking and I don't see how to download or check they are still there (They do show up as entries in the web-library but nothing happens with most of the double clicks). I am missing something.
  • edited July 17, 2021
    You can check in the Attachments tab in the right-hand pane.

    Files you uploaded would still be there unless you purged storage files from your storage settings online.
  • Thanks, I didn't have the attachment tab activated.
    Now I see I have no files at all, there are only "entries" with the .mp4 extension. and notes.
    How can that be? I have not purged the files, and as late as this evening (Norway) added a video with "upload file" from my PC, but it isn't there.
    It is the organisation (SEGM, I am a member of and gave me access and I have uploaded for them) which acquired the Zotero subscription. In the settings it says quota is 300 MB. IS that the reason they didn't upload?
    We have another library, not videos, with pdf's, but that is more than 4 GB, so how can the quota be only 300 MB?


  • What's the URL of the item in the web library?
    In the settings it says quota is 300 MB.
    The group owner has an unlimited plan. Your quota is irrelevant if you're not the group owner.
  • How large is the file?

    Uploading via the web library should certainly work but it's less tested than uploading via the desktop app, and it's possible there was a timeout for a large file that wasn't detected.
  • This file was 213 MB but there is not a single attachment in the libraray.
    That is strange, since initially the library was synced to a PC library on my PC (and perhaps to one or two other members of the group).
    Grateful for any help/resolution,
    Shouldn't one get a "time-out" error message ?

    (I will have to take a break now)
  • This file was 213 MB but there is not a single attachment in the libraray.
    I'm not sure what you mean by that. There are many gigabytes of attachment files in the online library. A few recent files are missing, and those never existed online. (There's no way to remove a file from a group library online without deleting the attachment.)
    Shouldn't one get a "time-out" error message ?
    Of course — I'm just saying that's a possible cause here. We'll investigate.

    Note that for any significant work, we do recommend using the Zotero app, not the web library. Again, while uploading files to the web library should certainly work, there could be a bug trying to upload large files that way. If you don't want the files to exist locally when adding files via the local app, you can just right-click → Show File and the delete the file after you've fully synced.
  • We have a "SEGM" library , that was the first one, but hen also a "Media Gender" library and a couple of other libraries. The "Media Gender" library has no attachments listed.


  • I don't know what you mean by "no attachments listed", but this is some sort of misunderstanding. The Media Gender library has 18 GB of attachment files.
  • Hw can I upload a snapshot of the window I see ?
  • Upload it somewhere (e.g., Dropbox or Google Drive) and provide a link here.
  • @aviring-oslo: But just to be clear, the web library doesn't look the same as the desktop app — its items list isn't hierarchical and it only shows top-level items. If that's all you're trying to show, you don't need to upload anything.

    Attachments are shown in the Attachments tab.
  • OK, so I can't see the attachments in the web library since they all are in subcollections, is that correct?

    Then how can I access the attachments in the subcollections? I.e. a) Verify they are there b) download
    As it is I can't see or download any of the stored 18 GB files
  • Some misunderstanding here. I can see all attachments in the SEGM libraray whether in subcollections or the top level (root?)
  • Have to leave it for tonight. it's 01:30 am.
    Appreciate your help
  • You'd have to provide screenshots that show exactly what you're seeing in the different libraries and what you're confused by.

    The web library shows only top-level items (items that aren't child items — nothing to do with collections) in the items list. It looks like you've been adding standalone attachments in this library — attachments that are top-level items, rather than attachments that are child items of bibliographic items. The standalone attachments appear in your screenshot above.

    A standalone attachment won't have an Attachments tab, because it's already the attachment itself. For a standalone attachment, you can open the file in the web library by double-clicking on it. If double-click doesn't work, the file is missing.

    There are 217 items with files in that library, and couple dozen where the files are missing.
  • Thanks for the clarification, I think I got it.
    (Since I have child note items, I assumed I had bibliographic items with both video and notes child items).

    Nevertheless, if I understand correctly, for the purpose of easily seeing if a file is missing or not it won't make much of a difference if I create bibliographic items and make the videos child attachments to these. I may then have "attachment" entries where the file may still actually be missing (e.g. because of a time-out error when uploading).

    1. The problem is that by double clicking and "nothing happening" I will, in the future, never know if there is a server/download/decompression/network delay or time-out (how long to wait) since there is no error message if a file is missing.
    You see how many files I do have and how many are missing without double clicking them. Can't I get the same view? How can I now see which files are missing, without now having to go through double clicking hundreds of files and waiting?

    2. Some videos are 1-2 hrs. How can I download a stored video without opening for streaming/viewing?

    3. IS there a better way to make a video web library so that I
    a) See that the files have indeed been uploaded and at a later date more easily see they are not missing,
    b) can downloaded them without having to stream for viewing?

    (4. Shouldn't there be an error message if a file is missing when double clicking? Please add to wish list.)
  • As I say, we'll investigate the upload issue, but for the scale of work you're doing, you should use the desktop app.
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