Having problems with "Zotero selects"

max1836

Note sure if Zotero selects" is an "official" tool or not, but I having trouble with it.

I just downloaded “Item URI.js” and “Zotero Select Item.js” from:

http://zoteromusings.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/zotero-item-uris-from-client/

I installed both it in my "Zotero\translators" directory.

Stopped started Zotero

Stopped and restarted firefox

Fiddled with options to specify that "Zotero Select Item" was the default for export.

I can do Cntrl-Alt-C to get zotero select text such as:

zotero://select/items/0_VCTTKQ7K

When I cut and paste that into Firefox, Zotero is made the active window. However the highlighted item is whatever I was last looking at. Zotero does no switch to highlight the chosen item

Firefox is 21.0
Zotero standalone is 4.0.8

adamsmith

when you create a report for that item (right-click --> generate report) - what's in the URL bar?
What happens when you do this with Zotero already open?

max1836

adamsmith

What happens when you do this with Zotero already open?

Ok, this seems to be getting weirder...

In my first post, I did already have Zotero open when I pasted/executed link in Firefox. Firefox was in one window. Zotero was in a second window.

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With Zotero closed, I now tried pasting:

zotero://select/items/0_VCTTKQ7K

into the Firefox address bar. Zotero opens within the Firefox window. It is about 1/2 of the pane. Top half is what I was viewing before I did paste into address bar.

It does open Zotero with correct item selected.

I tried selecting another item an using Cntrl-Alt-C to get a second web address. Firefox now hangs the system. CPU utilization goes to 100% and memory use just keeps climbing. I finally kill it with Window's task manager.

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I have noticed a "problem" with Zotero on my machine. The Zotero file starts using about 100k with my database. as I use it it goes. If it gets too big, the Zotero hangs system. At that point Zotero starts to use 100% of CPU and memory keeps growing.

I think this has to do with JavaScript garbage collection. My work around until I get my new computer installed is to monitor memory and when Zotero gets to about 175k, I stop it, and start it again.

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So is Zotero select supposed to work inside the Firefox window?

max1836

Link with more detail about Standalone hanging on another thread.

https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/29951/system-requirements-for-standalone-408-with-windows-xp/#Item_1

max1836

adamsmith

when you create a report for that item (right-click --> generate report) - what's in the URL bar?

Sorry didn't answer this part...

Not quite sure what you mean.

The report window that pops open doesn't have a title> If you try to save it (via File\Save), the default is "Zotero Report.htm"

The URL that is listed as a line item in the report is the URL for the Zotero item itself (as listed in the "Journal Article" specifications...).

max1836

So is Zotero select only supposed to work inside the Firefox window?

adamsmith

In general this is supposed to work in Standalone as well, but how well exactly depends on the specifics of the set-up. Is there anything in particular you're trying to do?

max1836

Yes, I'd like Zotero Selects to work with Zotero running in its own window. It "almost" does so there must be some setup aspect which I've missed.

I can do Cntrl-Alt-C to get zotero select text such as:

zotero://select/items/0_VCTTKQ7K

When I cut and paste that into Firefox, and Zotero is made the active window. However the highlighted item is whatever I was last looking at. Zotero does not change to highlight the chosen item.

max1836

Still struggling with this. I have figured out a bit more of this....

I created an html file including markup:


<a href="zotero://select/items/0_PAH6766N">
Gridgeman. Nov., 1960.
Geometric Probability and the Number Pi
</a>

Firefox will open file with HTML markup and markup has the right Zotero select command. However when the html link is used, nothing happens.

I can copy link ( zotero://select/items/0_PAH6766N ) and paste into Firefox toolbar to get Zotero to open within Firefox.

There seem to be two different paths...

(1) Somehow register Zotero within Firefox.

This isn't an attractive option. Zotero doesn't work well as a pane within Firefox. I can't open my attached pdf files. Using the Cntrl-Alt-C quickcopy hangs FireFox.

(2) Somehow registering Zotero itself with Windows so that Zotero could be open in its own window.

Not especially fond of playing with the windows registry, but I'm looking into this method of fixing the problem.