Half of the files cannot be located after migration ...

Dear Zotero-Team and Community, I am trying desperately to move my Zotero-data-folder from one Mac user account to another. There is just one weird problem occurring again and again. Half of the pdfs linked to by 2,5GB paper collection are shown as transparent icons in my library after the migration and if I try to open them, they cannot be found by Zotero. Zotero then offers to locate them, if I click on locate ... nothing happens. Any ideas? I really need to move my whole library from one user to the other ... is there any other way, promising to work better? Warm regards, Patrick
  • edited December 14, 2022
    https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/transferring_a_library

    If you move the Zotero data directory from one computer to the other, you will have exactly the same data and files, as long as you were using the default, recommended stored files. If you were using linked files and the files are at a different absolute path, you'd need to set up a linked attachment base directory on this computer, and Zotero may be able to relink the files automatically.
  • Hey dstillman,

    thank you for your quick response, much appreciated.

    Not being aware that I ever used linked files, I feel like there is a different problem, but let me give it a try.

    How can I differentiate between linked files and stored files in my library? Is there a way to identify linked files and change them into stored files?

    As I said, I am not aware to ever have used linked files consciously but who knows ...
  • Linked files have a chain in the icon.

    What's the exact error you're getting for a missing file? And have you tried to open the same file on the other computer?
  • Ok, I got linked files. I was always wondering what the chain symbol means. Is there a easy way to change an attachment from linked to stored or do I need to open it safe it re-import it and delete the linked one?
  • edited December 14, 2022
    Yes, you can convert linked files to stored files from Tools → Manage Attachments. (But you have to do it on the original computer, of course, and then copy the folder again.)
  • So cool, it works ...
  • ... for 180+ files it would have been a hell of a manual process. I believe that the migration will now work better. Thank you very much for your help!!! Warm regards from cold Berlin!
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