Word not communicating with Zotero on Mac Sonoma

sara.marshall

When I try to use the Word Plugin on Mac (OS Sonoma 14.3.1, Word V16.8) I get the error message "Word could not communicate with Zotero. Please ensure that Zotero is open and try again."

Debug ID: 1509376765.

I've tried the instructions here: https://www.zotero.org/support/word_processor_plugin_troubleshooting#word_could_not_communicate_with_zotero_please_ensure_that_zotero_is_open_and_try_again

And I reinstalled both Zotero and Word. I also looked through the forum posts and tried different solutions but haven't found any that worked. Any tips or new solutions?

Thanks!

dstillman

One of the two things there really should work. Can you confirm that you 1) deleted Zotero completely from Word, confirmed it was gone, and then reinstalled and 2) deleted extensions.json in the profile folder and restarted Zotero?

Have you tried restarting your computer?

Do you see the Reinstall Microsoft Word Add-in button in the Cite → Word Processors section of the preferences?

dstillman

If you're sure you did those things, can you provide a Debug ID for Zotero startup, using the "Restart with Logging Enabled…" option?

sara.marshall

When I deleted the .dotm file, Zotero was still in my Word toolbar. Is there a way to actually delete it? I restarted word.

I have also restarted my computer, and I have reinstalled the plugin in the Zotero menu.

dstillman

It's still there after restarting Word? That means that Word is using a different Startup folder and using an older Zotero.dotm that Zotero isn't able to update. That would cause this problem.

This section explains how to locate your active Word Startup folder and reset it to the default location so this doesn't happen again:

https://www.zotero.org/support/word_processor_plugin_manual_installation#word_2016_and_2019_for_mac

sara.marshall

Thank you! Word was using a different startup folder. Once I made sure the .dotm zotero file was in the right one and both applications were using it, everything seems good.

Appreciate the help!

dstillman

OK, great. I've updated the instructions to clarify what to do if the Zotero tab isn't disappearing.