Hi
I recently upgraded to X3 from X1 as it was so slow on my 64-bit laptop. Since the upgrade, I have lost some of my groups a few times already. I am not sure what’s happening. I can see the missing group in ‘record summary’ but it no longer appear on the groups list.
Can anyone help? Thank you so much.
Well, it’s difficult to say exactly what’s happening, but I can tell you the most common cause for groups going missing.
Group data is saved in the part of the library known as the .Data folder. When you create an EndNote library, two things are created and saved in the location you choose to save your library, an .enl file and .Data folder. So, for example, if I create a library called Gillian’s Refs and saved it on my Desktop, I would then find two new things on my Desktop:
Gillian’s Refs.enl
Gillian’s Refs.Data
As I mentioned, the group information is saved in the .Data folder. Should the .enl and .Data folder become separated in any way, the group information will be lost. Common ways the .enl and .Data folder will get disassociate include, but are not limited to:
moving the .enl file without the .Data folder
renaming either either .enl file or the .Data folder
deleting the .Data folder
moving the .enl file INTO the .Data folder
Is it possible you could have done one or more of these things? More information about your .Data folder can be found here:
Hi Gillian
Thank you so much for your help. I checked the .Data and .enl files and they are all in the same place. They haven’t been moved or deleted.
Another thing I just noticed is that if I open the same library in X1, I can see the missing groups. I just can’t see those groups in X3. Is it some sort of compatibility issue? I use 3 computers and 2 of them have X3 and the other has X1 on it.
Thanks
Sumon
Just wondering - did you uninstall X1 before installing X3 as there might be remmants of the older program interferring with the newer one (notably as X1 with pre-Vista versions of Windows stored files in the Program Folder). (Note: before uninstalling any program be sure to backup the reference template .xml file if you modified the templates, along with any modified output style, .enl files and .data folders.)
Post-Edit Comment: There also might be a compatibility issue between X3 and Windows 7 64-bit as I think compatibility with 64-bit started with X4 but may be mistaken.
Hi
Thanks for that. I did uninstall X1 before installing X3. and I haven’t modified any templates.
Yes, perhaps I need to get X4 instead because I am using Window 7 64-bit?
@crazygecko wrote:
Just wondering - did you uninstall X1 before installing X3 as there might be remmants of the older program interferring with the newer one (notably as X1 with pre-Vista versions of Windows stored files in the Program Folder). (Note: before uninstalling any program be sure to backup the reference template .xml file if you modified the templates, along with any modified output style, .enl files and .data folders.)
Post-Edit Comment: There also might be a compatibility issue between X3 and Windows 7 64-bit as I think compatibility with 64-bit started with X4 but may be mistaken.
Thanks for the info - it’s sounding more like you may a compatibility issue. I’ve been running EndNote X4.0.2 (this is X4 with the latest patch) with Windows 7 Professional 64-bit without problem so you might consider moving up to X4 - or the latest release which is EndNote X5.
Also, just to ensure that EndNote and MS Word have a harmonious relationship, I’ve forgone installing the 64-bit version of MS Word/Office in favor of the 32-bit version.
I do not think there is any compatibility issue that should be affecting whether or not your groups show.
A couple of points of clarification here – EndNote will make a new .Data folder if the original is not present, so just because you see a .Data folder there does not mean the issue I mentioned earlier is not what happened! How are you opening th library both in X1 and in X3 if you uninstalled X1 previously, as you just mentioned to to CrazyGecko? Do you mean that you are opening it on another computer? If so, how did you transfer that library from the other computer? Did you transfer both the library file AND the .Data folder, a compressed library file, or just the .enl file?If it is on the other computer, try making a compressed library in X1 as we decribe here, transferring it to the machine with X3, and opening it.
http://endnote.com/support/faqs/Database/faq6.asp
Do your groups show now?
If not, there could be another issue. Groups also can not show in X3 if your “Library” font size is set to below 10 point. To fix this, you will need to go to the Edit menu and choose “Preferences”. Here, go to the “Display Fonts” section on the left, and choose the “Library” tab. Click the “Change Font” button and make the size at least 10 point.
This limitation does not exist in X4 and above.
Hi Gillian
I work from different locations but normally on three different computers. The one at my office at the University is running on X1. On my home computer, I use X3. And I spend a lot of times working in various libraries so for that I use my laptop which has X3. I normally use a USB stick and backup at the beginning and end of the day to the laptop, home computer or computer at university depending on where I am. I do copy both .enl and .Data files if I am moving between computers or backing up. I usually sync my files using a windows batch file. All have been working fine until I had to upgrade to X3. I use a 12 point font so that’s not it either.
I have 31 groups and only two are missing. I have just tried doing what you suggested by compressing the library with all 31 groups from X1 and then try opening it on my laptop which has X3. I still have two missing groups.
I will just recreate the two missing groups for the moment until there is a solution. I created those two groups recently after upgrading to X3 and I am pretty sure I created those groups in X3. So it’s strange that I can’t see them in X3 now. But I will keep a better record of any new groups I create (which computer, version and date) and see if I can figure it out somehow.
Thanks for your help.
CrazyGecko- thanks for your help too.
Just updating in case anyone has the same problem.
I installed X4 and it found my ‘missing’ groups and placed them in the ‘lost and found’ folder. So they were there but I just couldn’t see them in X3. If I create the groups again, it was doubling up and in record summary, it was showing as the record belonging two groups with the same name.
I am hoping installing X4 fixes this problem and I will no longer have disappearing groups. I would still like to know why this happened though.
Hm, that’s odd. The Lost & Found group set has special properties. It usually only appears in very specific situations. This is the most common scenario:
You open your library with EndNote X3 or later, create a custom group set, and create a group of references within that set. You then move the library to another location, and open it with an older version of EndNote. The earlier version of EndNote did not include the custom group set feature, and so it ignores your group set information. You save changes to the library. You move the library back to the original machine and open it again with EndNote X3 or later. EndNote remembers that you have a group, but it does not know under which group set it should be located, so it places the group in a Lost & Found set.
I am not sure, however, how something similar would apply to your situation. I am glad you were able to retrieve your data, though!
Thanks, Gillian.