Can't drag and drop references into word

rkbeare
I was able to do it earlier today. I've read many threads here, and restarted computer, zotero, and word many times. I have reset the default output format several times (apa).
I (or attempted to) install the ms word plugin, but I don't see anything related to that on my screen. I

t appears to drag to the word doc, but when drag released, nothing appears.
Please help
  • adamsmith
    Make sure you have the most recent version of Zotero (4.0.24.1 on Firefox, without the 1 as Standalone).

    Check if you can manually generate bibliographies using right-click --> Create Bibliography

    Check if you can drag somewhere else (e.g. here) and have it work.

    Check if you can use the keyboard shortcuts (ctrl+shift+c on Windows/Linux) to copy item bib entries to your clipboard.
  • aurimas
    And then provide a debug ID for an attempt to drag a reference that fails
  • rkbeare
    edited December 4, 2014
    No, I can't drag anywhere else.
    I have most recent version of Zotero.

    The Debug ID is D235278305
    Not sure what this means to me. Thanks for help.
  • aurimas
    So what happened when you tried to do what adamsmith asked? Did all of those work? Did they not work?
  • rkbeare
    No, I can't drag anywhere else.
    I have most recent version of Zotero.
    I'm trying to figure out what the other stuff means (bibliography etc.)
  • rkbeare
    I'm not trying to create a bibliography, I just want to drag and drop my apa references and citations into this document. It's been working for a year. I must have selected something wrong.
  • adamsmith
    I'm asking you to perform these other steps for troubleshooting. Right-clicking on an item and selecting "Create Bibliography for selected item" should be quick to figure out.
    And which version of Zotero do you have exactly?
  • rkbeare
    ok, yes it does export to a bibliography when i do it that way. but can't drag and drop into an existing doc. i just installed whatever the current standalone version of zotero is from the download website. 4.0 for chrome.
    thanks,
  • adamsmith
    edited December 4, 2014
    OK, next step is to test the keyboard shortcuts. Select a reference, hit ctrl+shift+c, then see if that got copied to your clipboard.
    (this assumes you're not on a Mac, I think it's cmd+shift+c there, but check in your preferences.)
  • rkbeare
    yes it does copy to clipboard
  • adamsmith
    edited December 4, 2014
    @Dan can you get anything from the debug
    @rkbeare - do you have any add-ons installed in Zotero?
  • rkbeare
    i don't know if i have add-ons installed. i don't even know what that means, or where to look to see if they exist.
  • dstillman
    No, debug output looks fine. Standalone 4.0.23.

    rkbeare: Can you confirm that you tried dragging into a text box here?

    Can you try with a different citation style selected in the Export pane of the preferences, and also an export format (e.g., RIS)?
  • rkbeare
    i changed "export format" to ris (i use apa always, and have already tried changing that to chigago and other formats), and tried it, and did not work.
    i don't know what you mean by "a different citation style"
  • rkbeare
    And yes I tried dragging into a text box here, into word, outlook, notepad
  • adamsmith
    hmmm.
    Could you provide an error report ID (different from a debug)https://www.zotero.org/support/reporting_bugs#provide_a_report_id
    after a failed drag&drop from Zotero?

    Have you tried dragging&dropping other text? I.e. you can select some text (say from my post here), the click and hold, then drag and drop that to the text box, does that work?

    Do you have any tool installed that interacts with your clipboard?
  • rkbeare
    I don't know what you mean by "do you have any tools installed that interacts with your clipboard"
    I can't select, drag and drop your text into this box (i don't think that's possible anyway)
    I can still do it within word
    And I can select drag and drop from word to this box

    It said "no error since zotero started" but provided this number 614201430

    Wow, 8 hrs on this today
  • adamsmith
    edited December 4, 2014
    I can't select, drag and drop your text into this box (i don't think that's possible anyway)
    That might at least be a clue. Definitely works on a regular Windows system in both Chrome and Firefox.
    I don't know what you mean by "do you have any tools installed that interacts with your clipboard"
    There is all types of software that modifies your clipboard's behavior, clipboard managers would be an example.

    But unless Dan finds something in the error report I'm out of ideas. I'd just use the keyboard shortcuts instead, it's not like that would take any longer.
  • rkbeare
    no add ons that I know of.
    I'm having dropbox problems too.
    They tell me something is up with permissions related to Acrobat ... ay yi yi
  • dstillman
    Yup, if you can't select and then drag text on this webpage into the text box below, there's likely something broken on your system completely unrelated to Zotero. That's about all we can tell you.
  • aurimas
    If this is isolated to Firefox (seems to be) https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/962482 suggests resetting your Firefox profile. Note that in the fresh profile, all of your addons will be gone along with your Zotero library. The library will still be on your computer (generally on the Desktop in the "Old Firefox Profile" folder), but I would suggest making a backup first and restoring it afterwards following the steps outlined here before you begin fixing the issue.
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