The Issue

Some users have found that Juris-M 5.0 did not locate an existing Zotero or Juris-M data directory automatically when installed, resulting in an empty library. When this happens, the data has not been lost; it is only necessary to point the client at the location of the original library.

Do be sure that you have a good backup before making the adjustment. (Backups are always important. If you don’t have a habit of making a regular backup of all your personal data, today is a good day to start.)

Finding the Old Library

Use the search facility of your computer to find the original data directory.

Finding Jurism

If you installed Juris-M for the first time on a Zotero system, the file to look for is named zotero.sqlite. If you have upgraded from an earlier version of Juris-M, look for a file named jurism.sqlite. A Windows search is shown in the illustration. Note that you can see its file address by rolling the cursor over it in the search listing. (On a Mac you can use the Finder for the same purpose.)

Changing the Data Directory

In the Juris-M 5.0 client, change your library’s data directory.

Select a Data Directory

Visit PreferencesAdvanced, and select the Files and Folders tab. Under “Data Directory Location” select “Custom,” and navigate the popup file manager to the directory identified in the previous step.

When the new directory is selected in the file manager, Juris-M will pop up a reminder that data files must be present is the directory, and offer to quit “Zotero” (at present—obviously this should read “Juris-M”).

When “OK” is clicked, Juris-M wil shut down. When the client is next restarted, the content of the selected library will be visible.

This is the simplest method of restoring the previous library content. An alternative method would be to rename the Juris-M directory at the top of your home account, and move or copy the previous data directory to that location. This may be preferred—particularly if the previous data is buried deep among in the Firefox profile data area—but as it is somewhat more complicated, and can be affected by disk capacity limits, that method is not described in detail here.

— Frank Bennett, Nagoya