Zotero api won't connect to Mendeley Deskop

eliper000 · 2024-11-04T10:52:57+00:00

I've recently started using Zotero, but as I'm already running out of storage space, I will be migrating to Mendeley (which is supported by my institution).
Unfortunately, when trying to do so in Mendeley Desktop, I'm getting the error 'Sorry, there was a problem syncing your Zotero library: Error downloading file from Zotero API'
The Mendeley help desk informed me that his is an issue on Zotero's end.
At first I thought it might be because I exceeded the Zotero storage space, so I deleted several papers.
However, under settings - storage (zotero website), I can see 'My Library - 287.1 MB' which is under the 300 MB limit.
When I open Zotero, there is a red exclamation mark in the top right. When I hover above it, it says 'You have reached your Zotero File Storage quota. Some files were not uploaded. Other Zotero data will continue to sync to the server.'

What would be the best step forward?

dstillman · 2024-11-04T10:57:01+00:00

It just means the next files queued to sync would each fill up the remaining 13 MB, so it can't continue. You would need to delete attachments until all your files would fit within your quota.

(Note, though, that you don't need to sync files to use Zotero.)

eliper000 · 2024-11-04T10:59:28+00:00

Do the files need to be synced for the Mendeley transfer?

And if you would want to link Zotero to e.g. Overleaf, would your files need to be synced then?

dstillman · 2024-11-05T04:50:04+00:00

Unlike Mendeley, Zotero is completely open, and they used to do a direct transfer from the local Zotero app, but they switched to an online import a while back, which requires files to be uploaded.

Overleaf is a web service, so it of course requires anything it imports to be online. I don't know whether it does anything with files specifically, though.

adamsmith · 2024-11-05T04:53:23+00:00

Overleaf doesn't care about files, not. It just needs the metadata (which always syncs for free in Zotero)

adamsmith · 2024-11-05T04:54:57+00:00

@dstillman -- I think they're asking if the files need to be synced to the Zotero servers for the import, which isn't the case, right? They just need to be on the Mendeley servers and Zotero will then download them locally and you can decide to sync them or not?

dstillman · 2024-11-05T06:16:49+00:00

The question is about importing a Zotero library into Mendeley, not the other way around.

eliper000 · 2024-11-05T08:20:15+00:00

Thanks for your input.
Indeed, what I would like to know is why the Zotero api won't connect to the Mendeley Desktop, and whether this could be related to the fact that I exceeded the storage space to sync files in Zotero.

dstillman · 2024-11-05T08:28:01+00:00

(Note that you're not using these technical terms correctly, which is why there was some confusion here. It's always better to just explain what you're trying to do in terms you understand. Nothing of ours is "connecting" to anything of Mendeley's, and this is not a problem "on Zotero's end". Mendeley uses our web API to perform an import, and of course files need to be online for them to be able to import them that way.)