Upgrade StorageAttachments not syncing automatically
Report ID: 1565129631
Usually, whenever I change and then save an attachment (a file) in Zotero, Zotero automatically syncs that change to the web library (and thereby other devices). However, as of today, Zotero has stopped doing this. In other words, when I make changes to attachments (files), I have to manually press the button to sync Zotero.
I don't get any error messages.
I've verified that the files are syncing to the web library, once I manually sync them. I have no issue accessing the files either locally or in the web library. The files are in my main library, not one of my group libraries.
This only applies to attachments (files). Once I create new items or change existing items or make other changes in Zotero (such as creating or renaming folders), Zotero syncs automatically as usual.
I've checked that Zotero is set to sync automatically and that it includes full-text content (I haven't changed any settings at all recently). I have the unlimited storage plan, so that isn't the issue either.
All my files are stored in the Zotero data directory, and Zotero has previously synced these files automatically without any issues.
I've tried restarting Zotero and even re-installing it. I'm on a Windows 10 client.
I haven't tried resetting sync options, as they appear to be measures of last resort.
EDIT: I've tried using a different computer and the problem still persists. I've also noticed that the "Modified time"-field in the web library doesn't seem to update, even when the file is changed in the Zotero desktop client and manually synced. I'm unsure if this is how it's supposed to work.
Usually, whenever I change and then save an attachment (a file) in Zotero, Zotero automatically syncs that change to the web library (and thereby other devices). However, as of today, Zotero has stopped doing this. In other words, when I make changes to attachments (files), I have to manually press the button to sync Zotero.
I don't get any error messages.
I've verified that the files are syncing to the web library, once I manually sync them. I have no issue accessing the files either locally or in the web library. The files are in my main library, not one of my group libraries.
This only applies to attachments (files). Once I create new items or change existing items or make other changes in Zotero (such as creating or renaming folders), Zotero syncs automatically as usual.
I've checked that Zotero is set to sync automatically and that it includes full-text content (I haven't changed any settings at all recently). I have the unlimited storage plan, so that isn't the issue either.
All my files are stored in the Zotero data directory, and Zotero has previously synced these files automatically without any issues.
I've tried restarting Zotero and even re-installing it. I'm on a Windows 10 client.
I haven't tried resetting sync options, as they appear to be measures of last resort.
EDIT: I've tried using a different computer and the problem still persists. I've also noticed that the "Modified time"-field in the web library doesn't seem to update, even when the file is changed in the Zotero desktop client and manually synced. I'm unsure if this is how it's supposed to work.
Checking all files in the library for changes is resource-intensive, so Zotero only does it 1) on the initial auto-sync in a session, 2) if you sync manually, or 3) on auto-sync every few hours. For other auto-syncs, it only checks files that have recently been opened via Zotero. And it only performs an auto-sync at all (other than occasionally on idle) if there were data changes within Zotero, since it has no efficient way of knowing that a file was changed in another app.
All of that means that, if you search for a file from outside Zotero and edit it, or you've restarted Zotero since opening the file, it might not be synced for a few hours unless you click the Sync button. If you do open the file from Zotero, later auto-syncs will check the file for changes, but you'd still have to do something else in Zotero to trigger the auto-sync.
A future version might be able to use a different file-monitoring technique to allow any changes to be picked up immediately, but that'd be a ways off.
Note that this is all avoided by using Zotero's built-in PDF reader, which keeps track of annotations separately and syncs them efficiently and immediately.