Can't "Retrieve metadata for PDFs." Help please.

mark80west

Hi,
Try as I might I can't get Zotero to mine my PDFs for metadata. The PDF indexing is working fine. (Zotero searches text within PDFs with no problems). However, whenever I ask Zotero to "Retrieve metadata for a PDF" it just gets stuck (i.e. the progress bar pops up but never moves). I've tried many different PDFs, including PDFs that have worked for other people, but no luck. Any ideas what is going on? This feature would be amazing if I could get it to work. Thanks!

This is an example of a "naked" PDF Zotero can't (at least on my system) retrieve metadata from is:
http://eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/29/de/68.pdf

adamsmith

see if you can create an error report from the Gears menu.
If not, enable the debug output for a retrieval.
Also, it might matter which OS you're on.

mark80west

Thanks.

Here's what I saw in the error report (I'm not sure this is relevant to my "Retrieve metadata for PDFs" problem though):

[JavaScript Error: "FFAmazonHot.Extension.get_globalExtension().onTabDomContentLoaded is not a function" {file: "chrome://ffamazonhot/content/Main.js" line: 59}]

Your suggestion about "enable the debug output for a retrieval" option sounds great. How do I do this? Where is this option located?

My OS is Windows 7. I'm using the latest versions of both Firefox and Zotero.

mark80west

I sent the error report. The ID number is 85506737.

mark80west

Also, I found the enable debug output for a retrieval function. It created this log: D399395941.

adamsmith

the error you posted is not actually a Zotero error - it's just picked up by the error report.
Try disabling all extensions to make sure there are no incompatibilities.

mark80west

Sweet! I think I repaired my issue. Here's the fix, in case it is causing other users headaches:

In Firefox, I had added an Amazon Button extension and for some reason (I have no idea why) this prevented Zotero from retrieving metadata for PDFs. Simply disable the Amazon Button add-on, restart Firefox, and things should work just fine.

Thanks again for your help adamsmith. Had I not studied the Zotero error report, I never would have figured this out. In summary, if you use Zotero steer clear of the Amazon Button extension.

adamsmith

ok thanks -
I've added it to the known incompatible extensions:
http://www.zotero.org/support/known_issues#incompatible_extensions_and_applications

mark80west

Great! Again, I appreciate your help.

dstillman

To be sure, does re-enabling that extension break it again?

mark80west

Yes, Dan.
The extension seems to break the "retrieve metadata for PDF function." I'll test it one additional time, but it definitely seems to be the issue. Especially considering the error message Zotero was giving me (which specifically named Amazon).

dstillman

The error message isn't really relevant. All that matters is whether the conflict can be reliably reproduced.

mark80west

Hi Dan.

I guess the conflict cannot be reliably reproduced. I added the Amazon Button extension to Firefox again today and it did not prevent Zotero from retrieving PDF metadata (as I think it was doing previously). I glanced at the error report and it is still contains error messages mentioning amazon (below):

[JavaScript Error: "FFAmazonHot.Extension.get_globalExtension().onTabDomContentLoaded is not a function" {file: "chrome://ffamazonhot/content/Main.js" line: 59}]

However, to answer your question directly: No, the error cannot be reliably reproduced.

adamsmith

oh well, too bad - but as long as it works for you that's the main thing.
There is a high probability that the error is not Zotero related - it just uses a protocol (chrome://) also used by Zotero, so Zotero's error log picks up errors for the amazon button - you'll see this with a number of extensions and it really is nothing to be concerned about for the most part.

mark80west

Thanks Adam. Again, somehow removing the extension repaired my issue. Also, thanks for the clarification about the protocol.

Now if only I could get the syncing to actually upload all my PDFs.... see: http://forums.zotero.org/discussion/12793/zotero-file-storage-sync-issue/#Item_5

loren.abraham

I have the same problem - Zotero cannot retrieve metadata. It was able to do so very briefly after installation but the second time I ran the program it started to do this: the Progress dialog box appears and says "retrieving Metadata" and the PDF file appears in the que but the little wheel just spins and spins and no progress is made. I checked and there are no error messages, I do not have an "Amazon Button" so I am perplexed about how to resolve it.

vbali

ID # 600346210. Zotero retrieves metadata for some but not all of the PDFs. Please help !

dstillman

vbali: Start a new thread (this one is several years old) and provide a link to an example PDF that doesn't work.