Files not syncing on iPad - Debug ID: D1105756151

Mattha
I am new to working with Zotero on an iPad. I have the unlimited data storage option through my institution, but some files do not appear on the iPad app (others do), despite opening on the computer and in the online library.

I followed the first 7 steps outlined here and no sync errors appear: https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/files_not_syncing.

Which brings me to step 8. The Debug ID for the iPad is: D1105756151

Many thanks in advance for helping me solve this problem!

(I should add that Z7 is an extremely useful update that I am super excited to use - thanks so much to the whole team for this amazing effort! Now I am just trying to add the iPad to my workflow.)
  • dstillman
    edited August 21, 2024
    There's no attempt to download a file there. Are you saying a PDF doesn't show up in the items list for the item at all, or that it fails to open?
  • Mattha
    Apologies for being unclear: I wanted to say that no PDF is showing up in the items list. If this helps, I could point you directly to the PDF I wanted to read on the iPad.
  • Mattha
    I should add that this is the case with many PDFs in my rather large library: they appear in the online library, but not on the iOS app. So far, I could not identify a shared feature among those not appearing. One thing that is happening on the iPad, though, is that clicking on the item sends me to journal website, rather than open the PDF. On my computer (and online) the PDF opens normally.
  • mvasilak
    Hey @Mattha, can you please provide screenshots or even better video recordings, of such a file that you can open properly in the web library, but not in iOS?
    You can link them here, or email them to support@zotero.org mentioning this thread.
  • Mattha
    Thanks so much, @mvasilak! I just sent you the two recordings (on computer and on iPad) for comparison. Your support is hugely appreciated!
  • dstillman
    If you make a change to the item in the web library (just adding something to a field and removing it is fine), does that cause the attachment to appear on the iPad?
  • Mattha
    Yes, @dstillman - manual changes appear across devices. What I did was make a change in the web library to the same item I recorded beforehand, which then synced to both the computer and the iPad app.
  • Mattha
    (To check: I added "Here" to the Archive field, and it synced fine.)
  • dstillman
    edited August 21, 2024
    But an attachment didn't appear for it when the sync happened?

    Can you provide a Debug ID for doing that? We'd want to see the first sync on the iPad after making a change online. Start logging, make the change online, and then pull down on the items list to make sure it syncs, and then submit the output.
  • Mattha
    I followed the steps you helpfully outlined. The Debug ID is D902522916

    The change synced across devices, but still no PDF attached to the iPad item.
  • dstillman
    OK, and can we get another Debug ID for doing the same with the attachment item itself? If you have the desktop app handy, you can make a change to the attachment title. If only the web library, you can put something in the note box in the bottom half of the right-hand pane after selecting the attachment item.
  • Mattha
    Many thanks for following up, @dstillman!

    I did as you suggested and renamed the attachment title (not the file) on my computer. The Debug ID is: D184746168.

    I can report that the change has now synced across my devices, including the iPad.

    Very strangely, the PDF is now also available on the iPad, which was not the case before. So in one way, my immediate problem with this one file is solved, but there are many other items that do not have the file attached on the iPad. Is the only way to get them to sync to change the item title online or on the computer?
  • dstillman
    Not strange. Basically, the iOS app somehow missed some data previously, and updating the item remotely forces the items to be downloaded. This could be due to a bug that's already been fixed — this attachment was last updated in the online library months ago — or it could be something we haven't caught yet.

    In any case, you can force a full sync by going to the app's settings → Debug Output Logging → Full Sync Debugging → Start Full Sync Debugging. When it finishes, copy the Debug ID in case there's a problem, but most likely everything will be downloaded, in which case there wouldn't be anything to debug and we'd have to wait for someone else to report this with a more recent example.
  • Mattha
    Wow, amazing - the full sync debugging on the iPad did the trick! I now have access to all my files there and everything seems in sync.

    Thanks so much for fixing my problem so swiftly and efficiently!

    One suggestion: I might not be the only person with this specific problem, so perhaps the super helpful instructions in @dstillman's final response could be added to the list here: https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/files_not_syncing

    Just a thought...
  • dstillman
    That page actually isn't describing this problem. That's about files not being available, and the answer there is almost always just that the files haven't been uploaded to the online library from the device where they were originally added (because the person is at their quota and missed a warning message, their storage settings don't match, etc.).

    In this case the attachment item itself — an item, not a file — hadn't synced to the destination device. That's a data-sync problem that should never happen and points to an actual bug that we need to identify and fix. We just need a more recent example to be able to piece it together from logs.
  • Mattha
    That makes sense! Thanks again, I am glad the problem got fixed for me.
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