Zotero is a little confusing

mg734
I am not sure how this is supposed to work. I want my zotero to login but it doesn't seem to do that. I also want zotero to use one database for all my devices. It seems to want to sync which I don't understand. Also I don't seem to have any control over getting it to sync.
I am trying to recover from a hard drive failure and I am in my 4th year of a PhD If I don't get zotero back I am in serious trouble.
  • michwatsonoz
    What do you mean by it won't login? Where are you trying to login to? If you want Zotero to login to your online Zotero account to sync to your new harddrive/machine, you need to set that up in: Edit -> Preferences -> Sync. Put in your username and password and choose your sync options.

    When you say you want it to use one database, do you mean to store your data or to look up new references?

    If you want it to use one database for all your devices, you need it to sync to your online Zotero account.

    Zotero normally syncs automatically but you can force a sync by pressing on the sync icon.
  • tim820
    edited September 16, 2024
    If while using Zotero on your old computer you had an online account, and you had data sync turned ON in the settings, and syncing was up-to-date, then all your data would be online (data syncing is free and unlimited). If you also had file syncing turned ON, all your files would also be online, as long as you were under your online file storage quota.

    If so, you would be able to log into that same account now, via the Sync settings in Zotero desktop. You can also login to the web library in your browser with the same account at the top of the main Zotero page.
    https://www.zotero.org/

    The options for setting up Zotero on your new computer are the same as those for transferring a library between computers. If you did not have a fully-synced online account, you could copy your database from a backup copy (or from the old computer if the disk is still accessible).
    https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/transferring_a_library
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