missing all attachments

vtse
I've got an urgent and rather alarming inquiry. I've been using Zotero since 2010 and have recently upgraded to the 1 GB account in Apr. I have since noticed that I can no longer access my attachments. I keep getting the message "File not found - The attached file could not be found.

It may have been moved or deleted outside of Zotero". Can you please advise? I have not been doing anything differently and have never had this problem before. This is very alarming. The only new thing is the upgrade of the account. Can you pls advise as a matter of urgency?
  • adamsmith
    provide an error report ID
    http://www.zotero.org/support/reporting_bugs
    after triggering the error and let us know what the filename of the item is (as displayed in the right-hand pane in Zotero).
    Also describe your set-up - are you syncing between several computers? Does this occur on all computers or just on one?
    Finally - which OS, which Zotero version?
  • dstillman
    A Debug ID for the opening attempt may also be helpful.
  • vtse
    Dear Adam

    Thanks for your suggestions.

    Have submitted error report, ID 167029862. The filename of the item is "external_list_20110108.pdf" and it is located in My Library/Prof/HA/HA Drug Formulary - HA Drug Formulary

    I have a desktop & a laptop. I've tested both and found that the problem is only with the desktop. On that note, am I supposed to be able to access attachments off the web browser? If so, I'm having trouble with that too.

    I'm using iMAC, OS X 10.6.7
    Zotero version 2.1.8

    Thx so much
    V
  • dstillman
    http://www.zotero.org/support/kb/files_not_syncing
  • dstillman
    edited July 7, 2011
    Also, it's not clear to me whether you're saying that the files used to be accessible from the computer where they're now not or that this is just a newly synced computer. If the former, provide a Debug ID, as I requested above. If the latter, consult the above link.
  • vtse
    Thanks Dan.

    This is a new problem. Attachments have been accessible from the desktop previously.

    The Debug ID is D1786889109. I've used the same file as per for the error report.

    Thx
    Vicki
  • dstillman
    OK, so from your home directory, go to Library/Application Support/Firefox/Profiles/jd5h058i.default/zotero/storage/.

    Do you see a T9B5IRKP directory? If so, is there a external_list_20110108.pdf file within it?
  • dstillman
    And if not, do a Spotlight search for external_list_20110108.pdf. If you get any results, press Cmd-Enter to see where it's located.
  • vtse
    Hi Dan. There is no T9B5IRKP directory in the ....zotero/storage/ folder. Also, the file external_list_20110108 cannot be found via spotlight.
  • dstillman
    How many folders are in the 'storage' folder on that computer?

    Perhaps you somehow ended up in a new Firefox profile and simply did a fresh sync of only your data (and not your files, though if that PDF isn't accessible on the server it wouldn't have synced anyway).
  • vtse
    I think you've lost me on this one. There are 253 items in the storage folder. I don't know how to translate the folder names to items in my Zotero library. But as far as I can gather from the Zotero front, none of the attachments are locatable. This is a very serious problem.
  • dstillman
    Look through the storage folders and see what files are inside, and also look at their modification times. You're the only one with access to your system, so you'll need to look around a bit. (Or, if you have an IT department, ask them to help you.)

    I can't tell you what happened, but there's really no way for Zotero to lose access to all its files unless you moved the zotero.sqlite file separately from the 'storage' folder or synced from a new Firefox profile without syncing files. Zotero identifies attachments via the eight-character strings that make up the folder names within 'storage'. If something causes a folder with a particular key to no longer be there, you'll get the message that the attachment is missing.

    See Mozilla's Profiles page for instructions on how to check whether you have another Firefox profile on your system.
  • vtse
    I still don't understand. How can they have disappeared on my Desktop but not on my laptop?

    Can you explain a bit further about how I match up the folders in Storage against the what I have in Zotero library?

    Also, what is on the online system right now? Is the file there still?

    Can I upload what's on my laptop to online and then to desktop?
  • dstillman
    For PDFs, you can see whether the files are on the website by looking yourself. If you're logged in, they'll be accessible if they're there. The Files Not Syncing page that I linked to above explains all of this, and it also explains how to reupload them if necessary.

    For the rest, you'll need to reread my previous message.
  • vtse
    Sorry if I'm asking dumb questions but I'm not very techno savy and am doing my best. Thanks for your patience.

    Re the Firefox Profile, I've followed the instructions and the only profile it opens in Finder is jd5h058i.default, which I believe is the same profile folder we've been looking at.

    Re your explanation about how to ID folders between Finder & Zotero. I'm sorry that's gone way over my head. For example, the folder named 3IJKNKBZ, I don't have the faintest idea how this translates to which folder in my zotero library? (help!) I haven't actively made any changes and have looked at the trash bin for folders with the same 8 character configuration and found nothing (I've never empty the trash bin before).

    I've done some cross-referencing between the desktop, online and laptop. Attachments I've added in May 11 are there both online and on the desktop. Things which have been added Apr 11 and earlier are missing in both but present on the laptop (it is possible that the files have not been lost there cos the laptop has not been used for a while and therefore not been recently sync'ed? I'm still on Zotero 2.1.5 on the laptop and I can't find the folders in ...Application Support/Firefox as the Firefox folder doesn't exist). Can you pls tell me where to locate the folders on the laptop so I can at least back that up?

    The only changes I can think of making is migrating from the free 100MB account to the 1GB account in Zotero in Apr 11.

    Is there a way of copying what's on the laptop over to the online version? I'm reluctant to just press sync as I'm concerned that will simply sync the online version to the laptop and I'll lose even that version.
  • dstillman
    I've followed the instructions and the only profile it opens in Finder is jd5h058i.default, which I believe is the same profile folder we've been looking at.
    You're saying there are no other folders in the Profiles directory alongside that folder?

    Is it possible you were using a custom data directory before?
    I don't have the faintest idea how this translates to which folder in my zotero library? (help!)
    All I'm saying is to open some files in those folders and look at them to see what they are, since that might help you figure out those files exist and others don't.
    I'm still on Zotero 2.1.5 on the laptop and I can't find the folders in ...Application Support/Firefox as the Firefox folder doesn't exist)
    Then you're looking in the wrong place.
    Can you pls tell me where to locate the folders on the laptop so I can at least back that up?
    http://www.zotero.org/support/zotero_data
    Is there a way of copying what's on the laptop over to the online version?
    I've already linked twice to Files Not Syncing, which explains that.

    I'm afraid I can't help you beyond this. If you're still having trouble, I recommend asking someone computer-savvy to review this thread and help you out.

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