Sync Error: Invalid sortIndex for non-existent items (Report ID: 1343152414)

yhtt
Hi Zotero team and forum users,
I'm currently using Zotero 7.0.30 (x64) on Windows 11, and I sync my library via WebDAV.

I'm encountering a sync error issue:

1. The WebDAV network is working normally — previous files can be synced and downloaded without problems;

2. Now the sync process keeps showing the "Invalid sortIndex for HTML annotation" error, related to item IDs T22UZ8SD and M6FBQZV5. However, I can’t find these items/files in either my local Zotero library or the WebDAV cloud storage;

3. I’ve disabled the ZoteroGPT and Zotero Styles add-ons, then restarted Zotero, but the sync issue still persists.

I’ve submitted an error report, and the Report ID is: 1343152414.

Could anyone advise on how to resolve this problem?
  • yhtt
    Just to add some additional details for better clarity:
    I’ve already tried using the "Replace Online Library" function (via Preferences → Sync → Advanced Sync Settings) to overwrite the cloud library with my local data, but the sync error still persists.
    Additionally, when I ran Zotero.Items.getByLibraryAndKey("T22UZ8SD") and Zotero.Items.getByLibraryAndKey("M6FBQZV5") in Zotero’s JavaScript console, both commands returned false — this confirms there are no residual traces of these items in my local library.

    Hoping this extra context helps narrow down the root cause of the issue!
  • dstillman
    Can you provide a Debug ID (different from a Report ID) for a sync that fails?

    (This doesn't have anything to do with WebDAV. This is a data sync error, not a file sync error.)
  • yhtt
    Hi dstillman,
    Thanks for your prompt response! Here's the Debug ID for the failed sync: D1578588627.
    I hope this helps with troubleshooting the issue — let me know if you need any further information!
  • yhtt
    Hi dstillman,

    I've attached two latest Debug IDs: D19749661 and D138396656 (from my recent operations). I tried downloading a new reference to trigger sync, but the issue persists.

    I also tested removing all plugins and reinstalling them, but the sync error (Invalid sortIndex) still isn't resolved.

    Hope these new Debug IDs help you locate and fix the residual data issue on the server side. Thanks a lot for your assistance!
  • dstillman
    Those are local annotations, and they exist. The code you're running to check isn't correct.

    But these are HTML annotations, and the format of one of the data fields is incorrect — it's the format expected for PDF annotations. This is likely caused by one of your plugins.

    You can look in the debug output for the error and see the data being uploaded, which should let you find the two annotations in question.
  • yhtt
    edited 12 days ago
    @dstillman
    Let me clarify the issue with more precise details:I was using the Zotero Style plugin — first, I opened an HTML document in Zotero, then used the plugin’s PDF comparison feature to open a PDF in the right pane (for side-by-side reference). The intended behavior of this mode is that annotation tools (like highlighting) should only be used on the main HTML document, but I accidentally used the highlight tool on the PDF in the right pane.
    Right after that, an error occurred: the annotation I added (labeled as a "PDF annotation created in HTML") couldn’t jump to the corresponding PDF page, and I couldn’t delete this annotation at all. So I directly deleted the problematic HTML document right then.
    Later, when the sync errors kept popping up, I suspected this document was the cause — so I deleted the entire item (the literature entry associated with this issue) from my library.
    However, the sync error persists to this day. The items linked to keys T22UZ8SD and M6FBQZV5 no longer exist in either my local library or the cloud, yet the error keeps recurring.
    Could you advise what steps I can take next to resolve this?
    ----
    This is the screenshot I took earlier when testing the HTML and PDF comparison function of the Zotero Style plugin.
    https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u9622798/km9oyfbt8rg9v32squal.png

  • dstillman
    Empty your trash. The items certainly still exist or you couldn’t get this error.
  • yhtt
    @dstillman
    Thanks so much! The issue has been fully resolved now.
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