One entry with dozens of un-related files

dawncruth
I had to use my backup to re-build my library after a re-install of Zotero. Most things look ok. However, there are several instances where a citation is incorrectly linked to the wrong metadata. I'm not sure how to fix it. When I right-click on the file, it does not give me the option to un-link it and make a new entry.
  • dstillman
    I'm not sure what you mean here.

    First, a reinstall of Zotero wouldn't affect your data. Are you saying you also deleted your Zotero data directory? Because that's the only way you'd lose your data.

    And when you say you used a backup to rebuild your library, do you mean an actual backup — i.e., a copy of your data directory — or an export (to Zotero RDF, RIS, BibTeX, etc.)? The latter is not a backup.

    And then for the actual problem, can you take a screenshot that shows what you're describing, upload it somewhere (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.), and provide a link here? I don't know what you mean by "a citation is incorrectly linked to the wrong metadata".
  • dawncruth
    Thanks for the response.

    Yep, I knew that a re-install didn't affect the data. I was just setting the scene with that info.

    My backup was a complete data directory backup. Not an export.

    See the link below for a screen shot.
    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Zy6nJUZ64tmF1-ZugPRnC0PlNScN4BGB/view?usp=sharing

    You can see that the Burlini et al entry has many additional files. Those are incorrectly linked with the Burlini metadata. It was not like that before the re-install.
  • adamsmith
    the google drive link is private
  • dawncruth
    My bad. It should work now.

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Zy6nJUZ64tmF1-ZugPRnC0PlNScN4BGB/view?usp=sharing
  • dstillman
    But restoring from a backup — i.e., copying the data directory back into place — just gives you the exact same library you were using before. There's no "rebuilding", and there's no way that your data could be any different from what it was before.

    So did you do something other than just copying the folder back into place?
  • dawncruth
    I don't recall if I did anything else specifically.

    Regardless of how it got that way (my error to begin with or some other error), is there a way to fix it? My only thought is to manually go to all the individual files, move them to a different location and then re-upload them to Zotero.
  • dstillman
    edited January 24, 2023
    There's no easy way to fix, no, because it's not something that could ever happen in normal Zotero usage. Some sort of import process gone wrong might do it, or some misbehaving plugin, but it's not something I can recall seeing before.

    If you actually have a proper backup of your data directory from when it was correct, you can just replace your existing one with that.

    If this is all you have, you don't have to "re-upload" anything in any case. You can go to the library root, drag them out of the parent item in batch, and then either drag each to its proper parent item (if one exists) or run Retrieve Metadata for PDF on it to create a new parent item.
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