Deleted files do not make free space

acgranjon
Hi there,

I had reached the limit of space use, so I deleted a bunch of files from my library, and yet in the settings the storage is still full. I checked in the bin and permanently deleted all the files, yet the space is still not freed.

How can I get my storage space again?

Thanks for your help
  • bwiernik
    Be sure to empty the trash in Zotero.
  • acgranjon
    I did it before posting, that didn't change anything
  • dstillman
    You have to sync after emptying the trash. And you have to actually be below your quota. If you were well above and getting a quota error, deleting some files might not be sufficient.
  • acgranjon
    Right, after syncing I realized that I had to delete all these citations permanently from my computer, not only online. Is there no way of syncing only one way? (i.e. download, but not upload?) I could also work with syncing only specific libraries, but even that option wasn't available.

    And on top of it, that didn't make any change either. I'm just 0.4MB above the limit, and I deleted over 200 files, so that shouldn't be a problem. I am seriously considering looking for other citations methods, despite years of zotero usage...
  • adamsmith
    You can just turn off file sync if you don't need it (sync tab of the preferences).

    Otherwise, if you've been using Zotero for many years and find it useful enough to store >300MB of files, consider paying for storage or look at webDAV for file sync.
    I am seriously considering looking for other citations methods, despite years of zotero usage
    Just a reminder that this is not a cable TV company. There's no customer retention department and this sort of threat has no other effect than to be annoying.
  • dstillman
    I'm just 0.4MB above the limit, and I deleted over 200 files, so that shouldn't be a problem.
    @acgranjon: But just to clarify, it sounds like you're still misunderstanding this. The reason you're at the limit is because it's the limit. You can't upload more than that. So you could have gigabytes more files stored locally and you'd still be at the limit. You can get a very rough approximation of your storage requirements by checking the size of the 'storage' folder in your Zotero data directory, though that'll likely be a bit larger than your actual usage.

    As adamsmith says, if you don't want to pay for a storage subscription, you can either turn off file syncing or use WebDAV file syncing.
  • jabeddu
    I don't know who is replying to this thread, just do you understand the original question? I am having the same issues. I have 2000Mb space, I have deleted more than 2000 thousand entries. Still, I don't have any spaces. Is there have any way to know the size of each folder of my library?
  • adamsmith
    I think we understand the original question, yes. Do you have any reason to believe we don't?

    As we explain, there are two main reasons why deleting items would not get you below a given quota:
    1. You haven't emptied the Zotero trash after deleting the items or
    2. You were significantly above the quota and deleting the items still leaves the rest of your library above the quota.
    Is there have any way to know the size of each folder of my library?
    No (also, note that an item can be in multiple collections, so this wouldn't work). You can look at the size of the "storage" folder in your Zotero data directory (see https://www.zotero.org/support/zotero_data ) for a rough estimate of the volume of data you have, but since materials are zipped online, that's only a rough estimate.

    If you want to find the largest subfolders therein, you can use a storage analyzer application on that folder (free options exist for all operating sytems; that'd be entirely outside of the Zotero interface)
  • victorvm
    Hello,
    I am having the same issue. I deleted one of my groups but the size of the files in that group (939.9 MB) are still shown in the "storage" tab in my profile, just without a group name but simply as "- 939.9 MB". How do I get rid of these files? I can't find them anywhere, all my thrashs are emptied and the group does not exist anymore so I can check the files. They are just blocking my storage.
    Thanks in advance and have a nice day!
  • dstillman
    @victorvm: It might take a few seconds for your storage settings to reflect changes in usage.
Sign In or Register to comment.