Cannot download pdfinfo or pdftotext

MarthaE

I've looked through many forum questions on this, but none of the fixes are working for me. When I try to install from the preferences bar I get this message: "An error occurred while attempting to download the Xpdf utilities from zotero.org. Please try again later, or view the documentation for manual installation instructions."

I went to the manual instructions and downloaded the apps from Xpdf.com. I still get the same message when I try to index. I tried renaming and all sorts of other things based on forum threads. I probably am not doing something right with the manual installation, but I don't know what. Thanks!

dstillman

Can you provide a Debug ID for your attempt to install from the preferences?

MarthaE

Here's the ID: D537035113

dstillman

We need a Debug ID from Standalone, where you're actually performing this action.

MarthaE

I did provide the Debug ID, but I performed the steps again, and the new Debug ID is D165061176. Maybe I wasn't fast enough the first time!

dstillman

You're providing Debug IDs from the Chrome connector, which has no bearing on this. We need a Debug ID from Zotero Standalone, which is where this is actually happening. See the linked page for instructions.

MarthaE

Ah, so sorry. I thought I needed to do both. When I go step-by-step through the standalone instructions, the option to submit to the server is grayed out.

dstillman

That's not possible if you're following the instructions exactly.

adamsmith

(in other words--enable debug, then try installing/downloading pdf tools, then submit debug)

MarthaE

I've tried it a dozen times including after reboot, and all three options, view, clear, and submit are greyed out. All I do after enabling is to switch to the Search menu and click "check for installer." I get the error message, click ok, then go back to Advanced menu, but the three choices are grey. I must be doing something wrong, but it's pretty simple!

adamsmith

If, in addition to trying the install the pdftools, you select a different item in Zotero (any item; doesn't matter which; this is just to trigger something we know will be logged in debug), are you able to submit then?

MarthaE

Nope. I tried selecting (assume you don't mean open, just select), including a PDF file, and it still didn't work.

adamsmith

OK, so either you're doing something wrong or something isn't working at a very basic level.
After you click on "Enable" you should see:
- The text of that button change to Disable
- 0 lines logged next to the button
- The View Output button enabled (the two others will remain grey until you have logged lines).

What are you seeing?

MarthaE

Yes. Exactly what you describe.

adamsmith

OK, could you then just perform a couple of actions in Zotero? Maybe manually create a new item? Changing between different collections.
You can keep the preference window open. Do you see any change in the lines logged?

MarthaE

Ok. I created a new item. No change in the lines logged next to Enable (still 0)

dstillman

If it says "Enable", then you didn't turn on logging. It should say "Disable".

MarthaE

Sorry. I didn't realize that you wanted me to disable for this particular test. So, yes, I disabled, added a new item, and now I have 1276 lines logged. Is this what you need?

adamsmith

Yes. (FWIW, what you're doing is to enable debug, not to disable it, but whatever. As long as it's logging, that's what we want.)

MarthaE

Ok. This is interesting. I went through the process of trying to get a debug ID (by checking for installer in preferences), but I disabled first, then checked the installer, then went back to submit to the server and the choice wasn't grayed out. Then I flipped to enable and repeated and when I went back, it wasn't grayed out this time. However, I got a message of "invalid response from server."

adamsmith

OK, do that again, but this time click on "View Output", then select all, copy, paste it to a text Editor (Notepad on Windows, TextEdit on Mac), save that file and e-mail it to support@zo..ro.org (with the dots replace by letters, obviously).
Very likely the same thing that interrupts the download for the pdftools also causes the problem in sending the debug.
Anything particular about your connection? Is this at work? Would you know if you're using a proxy server?

MarthaE

I just emailed the text file from my work email, which overlaps my user name here. Yes, I'm at work, and I don't know about the proxy server issue, but I can check with IS, if helpful.

Btw, I don't know how much money you guys make, but it isn't enough :)

dstillman

(Just to clarify for the future, you're misunderstanding the debug output interface. It's a button, not the current state. When it says "Enable", logging is disabled, and you have to click it to enable it. When it says "Disable", logging is enabled. So you just weren't turning it on before.)

[JavaScript Error: "www.zotero.org:443 uses an invalid security certificate.

The certificate is not trusted because the issuer certificate is unknown.
The server might not be sending the appropriate intermediate certificates.
An additional root certificate may need to be imported.

(Error code: sec_error_unknown_issuer)

Your work computer or network is intercepting (and therefore breaking) your secure connections.

See https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/ssl_certificate_error

That page is about syncing specifically, but it explains the problem, which all applies in this case too. You're getting the above error for all Zotero domains.

MarthaE

We use Kaspersky (and I can't override the settings) and a proxy server. It looks like I need to get my IS people involved (sigh). Is this the best way forward?

Also, in following the directions under the cert error page, I see no padlock icon on any Zotero page in Chrome. Perhaps it's moot.

dstillman

I think Chrome changed its behavior — it's actually doing you a favor and not showing you a padlock, since your connection is insecure. You can probably still click on the page icon to the left of address bar and click on Connection for the same info described there.

Let us know what it says, but yes, you'll probably need to get your IS involved, since they (or the Kaspersky software) are intercepting your secure connections (in effect, spying on you), and Zotero is doing the right thing by blocking the connection. It may be possible to override it, but we'll want to see exactly what's doing the interception first.

MarthaE

Here's what it says:

This site uses a weak security configuration (SHA-1 signatures), so your connection may not be private.

The identity of this website has been verified by A1WSAA1.us.msh.org. No Certificate Transparency information was supplied by the server.

The certificate chain for this website contains at least one certificate that was signed using a deprecated signature algorithm based on SHA-1.

dstillman

OK, yes, your institution is intercepting your connection, and they've installed a "custom root certificate" into your browser as explained on the linked page, which is why you don't see an error there.

MarthaE

Thanks very much for your assistance. I have reached out to my IS department for help with bypassing the custom root certificate. I hope I can get it taken care of.

MarthaE

FYI. The easy fix ended up being unplugging my laptop from the LAN and switching to a WiFi connection. I was able to install the indexer components without trouble!