PDFs in Local Zotero Storage Folder Not Showing up in Local Library

mjhill02
Hello,

I have a number of PDFs in folders in my Zotero Storage folder that are not showing up in my local Zotero library. Neither the PDF or the reference to the PDF is showing up. The PDFs were assigned folders by Zotero. They have folder names like 2X9N5W9Z. Is there anyway to recreate the references to these PDFs in my library with the attached PDFs without having to go through all of the folders in storage, and do this manually. (This would be very time consuming, so I'm hoping there is a better solution;-)).

Thanks!
Matthew
  • dstillman
    2X9N5W9Z is an item in your library. You can paste these item keys into the Zotero search bar in All Fields & Tags mode at the root of your various libraries to see the items in question.
  • mjhill02
    Thanks Dan. Searching my library by the item key works for most items in my Zotero storage folder, but not all of them. For some of the item keys, when I search my library, nothing (no reference) shows up. It seems like some of the references must have gotten deleted, without deleting the PDF and its folder (and item key). The item keys, thus, seem to be orphans, with no parent in my library. Is there any way to reconstruct the reference using the item key? Or do I have to delete those folders (and their associated item keys), reimport the reference (e.g. from Google Scholar), and then reattach the associated PDF. I also have folders and item keys for snapshots where the references are also missing.
  • dstillman
    Can you share an example item key?

    Generally speaking, you shouldn't worry about what's in the data directory — Zotero manages it for you. If you deleted something in your Zotero library by mistake, you can obviously add it again, but something wouldn't just disappear from your library.
  • mjhill02
    edited August 15, 2021
    I've been going through my storage folder, and it looks like close to 30% of my PDFs and associated item keys don't have a counterpart in my library. I'm not quite sure how this happened. If you could suggest the easiest way to remedy the problem, I would appreciate it! (This is maybe forcing me to do some long overdue spring cleaning of my library!).
  • dstillman
    We can't help you further until you provide an example key.
  • mjhill02
    Hi Dan. Here are a few sample keys (and folders that have a PDF in them) with no counterpart in my local library:

    ~2PFQBZU6
    ~2PX8X7QW
    ~2QFMD7K8
    ~2QKX7A9A
    ~2R84P6XP

    Let me know if you'd like me to provide you with others.

    Thanks!
  • dstillman
    They're just items in your group libraries.
  • mjhill02
    Thanks Dan! Don't know why I didn't think to check there.
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