Zotero word plug in does not work, no citation or bibliography can be inserted

Zanita

Dear Zotero team,

I am working with the great Zotero application for 2 years now. Unfortunately since the last automatic update from Zotero yesterday the Zotero word plug-in does not work anymore meaning I cannot insert any citations or bibliography or refresh. I tried all the valuable advices in the forum, restarted the computer several times, downloaded again the newest Zotero 5.0 version with word-plug in version 5.08.SA.5.0.44. I have Zotero Standalone with Chrome connector. I really need to work with Zotero as I have to submit my thesis. Debug number D1652106261.

Thank you very much in advance for your support.

adomasven

Could you produce a startup Debug ID? https://www.zotero.org/support/reporting_problems#reporting_startup_errors

Most likely this is due to corrupt database. The Zotero database can get corrupted if you store your data directory in a Dropbox or similar file syncing service, or if it is on a network drive. You can try the Zotero DBFix tool.

dstillman

[JavaScript Error: "Component returned failure code: 0x80004005 (NS_ERROR_FAILURE) [nsILocalFile.create]" {file: "chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/file.js" line: 940}]

@Zanita: I suspect it's not a corrupt database, so I wouldn't bother trying the DB Repair Tool yet, but you're getting a strange error when Zotero tries to access the disk. Could be something like security software interfering, but we should be able to tell you more with a Debug ID for Zotero startup.

Zanita

Dear Both, thank you so much for your prompt reply.

the Debug ID for Zotero startup is D1919695268. I performed the Zotero DBFix tool and the reference Upload ID is 5ad0ad4d32da6. After performing all the steps of the instructions for Zotero DBFix I tried it again after restarting with citing in word and installed again the word plug ins but still does not work.

dstillman

Yeah, your database is fine. That debug output doesn't include Zotero startup, though. See Reporting Startup Errors again.

Zanita

Thank you again for the link. The Zotero startup ID is D1717073494.

dstillman

\\[…]\[…]$\data\Zotero Cache

Right, so you have your data directory on a network share (and a somewhat unsettling location on the network share — generally speaking, you don't want to use the word "cache" to refer to important data, since in computing terms that refers to things that can be deleted without too much concern).

There's a good chance this will go away if you move your data directory to the local hard drive and point Zotero there from the Advanced → Files and Folders pane of the Zotero preferences.

Zanita

I moved the data directory to the local hard drive and referred it to Zotero. I then restarted the computer again, installed again the zotero word plug in but unfortunately it still does not work.

dstillman

OK, can we see another Debug ID from startup through attempting to cite? Temporarily disable auto-sync in the Sync pane of the preferences to cut down on extra lines in the logs (you can re-enable after), and make sure you wait a few seconds after startup before you try to cite.

Zanita

Dear dstillman, I disabled the auto-sync, then tried again to cite in Word and it works finally. The citation procedure is a bit slow but I can continue completing my thesis now for submission. You really helped me a lot and I really appreciate your great support. It is so valuable that there is a great team supporting all of us when there are issues. Thank you very much again and have a nice weekend.

dstillman

To be clear, that was just to get a cleaner error report. Auto-sync shouldn't interfere with citing in any way, and if you're using syncing at all it's much better to leave that enabled. So if that's not working we'd want to debug that.

I'd guess, though, that what actually fixed it was moving the data directory, and when you tried with auto-sync enabled you just tried too quickly after starting Zotero, before everything had initialized. You're also at your file sync quota, and that causes Zotero to perform extra work during each sync attempt, so if you're not interested in adding a storage subscription I would recommend 1) disabling file sync from the Sync pane of the preferences and then 2) re-enabling auto-sync.

Zanita

As recommended I disabled the file sync from the sync pane for the moment and re-enabled auto-sync. The debug ID from startup just after the disabling the auto-sync was D411785990. Thanks again for the valuable recommendations.

dstillman

Did the problem occur when you did that? We don't need a Debug ID unless you're still experiencing a problem. And if you are, you still have your data directory on the network share.