No sync from WebDAV to local machine

roussine
edited 5 days ago
Hello - the situation is: after saving an item by Connector when the main app is off, it goes (with its attached PDF) to the zotero.org library, and then is synced to a WebDAV repository (the PDF exists and can be opened, although it is not renamed according to Settings); however, the PDF wouldn't sync to the local database when the app has started and loaded the parent item ("The attached file could not be found at the following path.." error).

Will be grateful for an advice if this can be bypassed. Great thanks
  • dstillman
    No, that's not quite right. If the desktop app is closed, the Connector will save metadata and PDF to the online library, but nothing will get synced to WebDAV. Neither the Connector nor the online library know anything about WebDAV. I assume you mean you're opening the PDF in the web library, but that's using Zotero Storage.

    So if you're using WebDAV (or if you've customized your renaming settings), you'll want to make sure the app is open before saving from the Connector and never give it permission to save directly to the online library. The app will then upload the file to WebDAV.
  • roussine
    Thanks for making it clearer. This case may be more complex, I guess: indeed, the file was opened from the web lib, but - the attachment got to WebDAV anyway (without renaming), meaning it somehow avoided the local database when the app was syncing (?)

    A related question: does the sync from online to local break (or is not intended) under active WebDAV and renaming settings? - Thanks!
  • dstillman
    edited 5 days ago
    Why do you think it made it to WebDAV? If the file was openable from the web library, it's in Zotero Storage. You can't open it in the desktop app because the desktop app is configured to use WebDAV, and the file doesn't exist on your WebDAV server.
    does the sync from online to local break (or is not intended) under active WebDAV and renaming settings?
    I'm not sure what you mean by that.
  • roussine
    Right.. my apologies. I noticed an entry on WebDAV timed by the saving of this item, and did not unpack the zip to verify - this appeared an existing, earlier PDF that got somehow updated on WebDAV by the app.

    May you please confirm: if the WebDAV-configured app is unavailable and smth is saved with Connector, the child files in Zotero Storage are only downloaded manually?

    It might be useful to implement a WebDAV saving in Connector to cover such sync scenarios. Thanks!
  • dstillman
    if the WebDAV-configured app is unavailable and smth is saved with Connector, the child files in Zotero Storage are only downloaded manually?
    If by "downloaded manually" you mean download them manually from the web library, yes. You would need to save the file to disk, add it to Zotero as a separate attachment, and delete the original attachment (so that these files didn't fill up your Zotero Storage quota).

    We're not going to re-implement WebDAV saving in the Zotero Connector, sorry. That's too complicated a feature for the browser extension.
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