Upgrade StorageNothing but problems syncing
I have made multiple attempts this morning to sync my library to no success. First, I was told I have no more free space, but my Zotero/storage folder is only 505 MB in size. So I logged in and deleted my data completely to start fresh. Multiple attempts to sync failed. Server timed out. Other unknown errors. So now I have exactly nothing in my online account, and cannot figure out how to ever resync my library.
What is unclear to me is what folder exactly is being synced? Is it the storage folder and the zotero.sqlite file? Or is the Files folder also being synced? The FAQ is not clear to me the difference between data syncing and file syncing.
Is data syncing syncing the Storage folder and the sqlite file, and file syncing syncing the Files folder too? If I just want to access my Collections and notes, what syncing method am I supposed to use? What settings am I supposed to select in the Zotero preferences pane? And why does the syncing keep failing?
This is totally frustrating because I am trying to put together publicly accessible materials for a brown bag I am giving in a few weeks, and obviously if I can't get the online Zotero to work, this is not going to be an option.
What is unclear to me is what folder exactly is being synced? Is it the storage folder and the zotero.sqlite file? Or is the Files folder also being synced? The FAQ is not clear to me the difference between data syncing and file syncing.
Is data syncing syncing the Storage folder and the sqlite file, and file syncing syncing the Files folder too? If I just want to access my Collections and notes, what syncing method am I supposed to use? What settings am I supposed to select in the Zotero preferences pane? And why does the syncing keep failing?
This is totally frustrating because I am trying to put together publicly accessible materials for a brown bag I am giving in a few weeks, and obviously if I can't get the online Zotero to work, this is not going to be an option.
Zotero sync server syncs essentially what's in your zotero.sqlite. That includes all collection information as well as notes. This is free regardless of the size of your database.
Zotero storage syncs the attached files - that's pretty much what's in your storage folder. This is free up to 100MB of files - it seems like you'd have more.
It sounds like you only need the former for your purposes - uncheck the box for Zotero storage in preferences-->sync. In order to share data for a brown bag, you could also look into setting up a group.
I can't tell you why sync is failing for you - you don't provide much to go by - but large, initial syncs (such as the one after deleting all your data) will take a lot longer and sometimes fail because the server is too busy. I'd restart Firefox and try again and be patient. If you get an error message, provide a report ID and the precise error message.
[JavaScript Error: "[Exception... "'Unexpected request status 2152398868 in Zotero.Sync.Storage.StreamListener.onStopRequest()' when calling method: [nsIStreamListener::onStopRequest]" nsresult: "0x8057001e (NS_ERROR_XPC_JS_THREW_STRING)" location: "<unknown>" data: no]"]
[JavaScript Error: "[Exception... "'Unexpected request status 2152398868 in Zotero.Sync.Storage.StreamListener.onStopRequest()' when calling method: [nsIStreamListener::onStopRequest]" nsresult: "0x8057001e (NS_ERROR_XPC_JS_THREW_STRING)" location: "<unknown>" data: no]"]
[JavaScript Error: "Unexpected file upload status 400 in Zotero.Sync.Storage._onUploadComplete() (0_4XVRTTSK)" {file: "chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/storage/zfs.js" line: 740}]
[JavaScript Error: "[Exception... "'A file sync error occurred. Please try syncing again.
If you receive this message repeatedly, restart Firefox and/or your computer and try again. If you continue to receive the message, submit an error report and post the Report ID to a new thread in the Zotero Forums.' when calling method: [nsIStreamListener::onStopRequest]" nsresult: "0x8057001e (NS_ERROR_XPC_JS_THREW_STRING)" location: "<unknown>" data: no]"]
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As to what folders I was referring to: In my user library, application support/firefox/zotero there are several subfolders:
/files
/storage
/styles
/translators
plus several zotero-sqlite type files in the root zotero folder.
My confusion is how to "map" what my browser Zotero says it is syncing to what the tabs are in my online account. Specifically, is the online Storage tab content mapping to the /storage subfolder on my hard drive? Is the online Library mapping to the sqlite file or to the /files sub-folder? When you distinguish between syncing data and syncing files, does that mean that "data"=the /files folder? and "files"=the /storage folder?
I come at this as a naive user, and while the explanation of syncing in the online documentation makes perfect sense from the perspective of a discrete "definition", it doesn't make sense in a broader context of the browser app and its wording on sync settings, and the online Account "tabs" of Storage and Library--or maybe I am just confused.
zotero server ---> zotero.sqlite
zotero storage ---> storage folder
There really is no "files" folder in Zotero - I have no idea how it got into your zotero folder. What's in it? The other ones you list are supposed to be there.
As for the sync - try again tomorrow - in the meantime maybe Dan can have a look.