Nothing happens when opening an RIS file

Hi,

I recently had to reinstall Zotero (reformatted the computer), however when I try opening RIS files (citations downloaded of the library website and ncbi) the Zotero standalone software windows comes to the front but nothing happens.

Could anyone please help me with the same? Additionally I have also submitted an error (error report number 1125109941) and a debug report (D224444514).

Best,
J.
  • Any reason you're downloading RIS rather than using the Save to Zotero button in the first place?
  • (You should also upgrade to Zotero 5.0.)
  • @adamsmit- the Cambridge uni library has records of some very old papers and books and the save to Zotero button doesnt really work there. I usually use save to Zotero button for NCBI and similar sites but to test if there was some problem with the library website I decided to also download RIS from other websites.

    @dstillman- I had downloaded Zotero 5 and upon having the same problem there decided to downgrade back to Zotero 4 (just in case it was a problem with the version).
  • We can only debug in Zotero 5, so you'd need to reinstall that to start. How are you trying to open the RIS file? By clicking a link in the website and having the Zotero Connector intercept it, or by saving it to disk and then double-clicking on the saved file?

    If the former, we'd want to see a Debug ID from the connector for that. If the latter, we'd want to see a Debug ID from Zotero for that.
  • I have upgraded back to Zotero 5.

    I save the RIS file onto the drive and then run it by double clicking it. The debug id is D774376818.
  • Would anyone be able to help me with this?
    Even if there is a way by which I can get the Zotero connector to intercept the file download link that I click?
  • Is Zotero closed when you're trying this? That debug output seems to show Zotero startup activity and nothing related to the import attempt. You'll likely have better results by making sure Zotero is open first. We can look at another Debug ID for that if you're still having trouble.
  • As for the interception, that should work, but it depends on the site. (There are also some improvements to that in the next connector version that will fix problems on some sites.)

    But to reiterate, while this should work, this really isn't how you should be using Zotero most of the time. If the save button isn't working properly on a specific site, we'd want to see an example URL.
  • The Zotero is open when I try opening the RIS file. Though on a closer analysis I realized that opening the RIS file makes no difference at all to the debug log. No lines are added to it.

    I use idiscover.lib.cam.ac.uk and on using the save button the citation has missing fields or many a times the page numbers included in the publisher section. As a result of which, I have been using RIS files for the past year and half.
  • Can you give a specific URL for a page who import problems?
  • I actually know what the problem is, no need for a URL -- Cambridge library uses the new Primo interface and the COinS support is limited. I'm not sure we can do a ton about that right now. (Any search will show some of the problems in question and searches have session IDs anyway).
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