Cannot save PDF/author information (complete data) from sciencedirect

Jaimepc98 · 2026-03-23T19:43:29+00:00

Report ID: 513668118

Attached is an image where the error appears. Basically it doesn't save the author's name or the pdf from sciencedirect websites.

I already did everything suggested in (without success): https://www.zotero.org/support/troubleshooting_translator_issues
https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u10949297/8jpanufnkch1niul4n4p.png
https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u10949297/1nzh8goxdihey0vhhhxu.png

Below is the report error displayed by Zotero Connector:

Info: Service worker starts: 2026-03-23 13:13:37 2026-03-23 13:32:02

[JavaScript Error: "Error: Could not scrape metadata via known methods
at scrape (ScienceDirect:539:8)
at doWeb (ScienceDirect:455:9)
at Zotero.Translate.Web.rest (chrome-extension://ekhagklcjbdpajgpjgmbionohlpdbjgc/translate/translation/translate.js:1371:49)
at chrome-extension://ekhagklcjbdpajgpjgmbionohlpdbjgc/translate/translation/translate.js:1355:39"]

[JavaScript Error: "Error: Could not scrape metadata via known methods
at scrape (ScienceDirect:539:8)
at doWeb (ScienceDirect:455:9)
at Zotero.Translate.Web.rest (chrome-extension://ekhagklcjbdpajgpjgmbionohlpdbjgc/translate/translation/translate.js:1371:49)
at chrome-extension://ekhagklcjbdpajgpjgmbionohlpdbjgc/translate/translation/translate.js:1355:39"]

[JavaScript Error: "Error: HTTP request to https://www.sciencedirect.com/sdfe/arp/cite?pii=S1359645416310138&format=application/x-research-info-systems&withabstract=true rejected with status 403
at MessagingGeneric.sendMessage (chrome-extension://ekhagklcjbdpajgpjgmbionohlpdbjgc/messagingGeneric.js:203:12)
at async MessagingGeneric.fn. [as request] (chrome-extension://ekhagklcjbdpajgpjgmbionohlpdbjgc/messagingGeneric.js:97:21)
at async Zotero.Utilities.Translate.request (chrome-extension://ekhagklcjbdpajgpjgmbionohlpdbjgc/translate/utilities_translate.js:320:12)
at async Zotero.Utilities.Translate.requestText (chrome-extension://ekhagklcjbdpajgpjgmbionohlpdbjgc/translate/utilities_translate.js:347:10)
at async scrape (ScienceDirect:520:15)
at async doWeb (ScienceDirect:455:3)"]

[JavaScript Error: "Error: HTTP request to https://www.sciencedirect.com/sdfe/arp/cite?pii=S1359645423001891&format=application/x-research-info-systems&withabstract=true rejected with status 403
at MessagingGeneric.sendMessage (chrome-extension://ekhagklcjbdpajgpjgmbionohlpdbjgc/messagingGeneric.js:203:12)
at async MessagingGeneric.fn. [as request] (chrome-extension://ekhagklcjbdpajgpjgmbionohlpdbjgc/messagingGeneric.js:97:21)
at async Zotero.Utilities.Translate.request (chrome-extension://ekhagklcjbdpajgpjgmbionohlpdbjgc/translate/utilities_translate.js:320:12)
at async Zotero.Utilities.Translate.requestText (chrome-extension://ekhagklcjbdpajgpjgmbionohlpdbjgc/translate/utilities_translate.js:347:10)
at async scrape (ScienceDirect:520:15)
at async doWeb (ScienceDirect:455:3)"]

[JavaScript Error: "Error: HTTP request to https://www.sciencedirect.com/sdfe/arp/cite?pii=S1359645423001891&format=application/x-research-info-systems&withabstract=true rejected with status 403
at MessagingGeneric.sendMessage (chrome-extension://ekhagklcjbdpajgpjgmbionohlpdbjgc/messagingGeneric.js:203:12)
at async MessagingGeneric.fn. [as request] (chrome-extension://ekhagklcjbdpajgpjgmbionohlpdbjgc/messagingGeneric.js:97:21)
at async Zotero.Utilities.Translate.request (chrome-extension://ekhagklcjbdpajgpjgmbionohlpdbjgc/translate/utilities_translate.js:320:12)
at async Zotero.Utilities.Translate.requestText (chrome-extension://ekhagklcjbdpajgpjgmbionohlpdbjgc/translate/utilities_translate.js:347:10)
at async scrape (ScienceDirect:520:15)
at async doWeb (ScienceDirect:455:3)" {file: "[object Object]"}]

[JavaScript Error: "Error: HTTP request to https://www.sciencedirect.com/sdfe/arp/cite?pii=S1359645423001891&format=application/x-research-info-systems&withabstract=true rejected with status 403
at MessagingGeneric.sendMessage (chrome-extension://ekhagklcjbdpajgpjgmbionohlpdbjgc/messagingGeneric.js:203:12)
at async MessagingGeneric.fn. [as request] (chrome-extension://ekhagklcjbdpajgpjgmbionohlpdbjgc/messagingGeneric.js:97:21)
at async Zotero.Utilities.Translate.request (chrome-extension://ekhagklcjbdpajgpjgmbionohlpdbjgc/translate/utilities_translate.js:320:12)
at async Zotero.Utilities.Translate.requestText (chrome-extension://ekhagklcjbdpajgpjgmbionohlpdbjgc/translate/utilities_translate.js:347:10)
at async scrape (ScienceDirect:520:15)
at async doWeb (ScienceDirect:455:3)"]

[JavaScript Error: "Error: Could not scrape metadata via known methods
at scrape (ScienceDirect:539:8)
at doWeb (ScienceDirect:455:9)
at Zotero.Translate.Web.rest (chrome-extension://ekhagklcjbdpajgpjgmbionohlpdbjgc/translate/translation/translate.js:1371:49)
at chrome-extension://ekhagklcjbdpajgpjgmbionohlpdbjgc/translate/translation/translate.js:1355:39"]

adamsmith · 2026-03-23T19:46:15+00:00

Did you down download a lot of articles from Sciencedirect? You're being blocked (status 403 means "not authorized")

Import from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359645423001891 works fine for me

Jaimepc98 · 2026-03-31T23:50:50+00:00

After your comment, it worked for a week, now I have the same issue...

adamsmith · 2026-03-31T23:58:08+00:00

It will start happening any time you download a bunch of articles from SD at a time.

Jaimepc98 · 2026-04-01T00:10:03+00:00

I downloaded plenty of them last week (around 60 like 7 days ago), and until yesterday it was working fine (after that time I downloaded 60, I barely downloaded more, at most 5). Today all of a sudden is not working anymore...

Is there a way I can overcome this issue or reset the count? Also, it's interesting that it doesn't block it while I download a bunch of them in a short period of time (3 hours), but starts the blocking after a week or so...