Error while saving as ODT after "Switch to a Different Word Processor" in Word

ajschadler12

I am attempting to convert Zotero citations in a docx file using the "Switch to a Different Word Processor" dialogue in Word. I am able to initially save the file as an ODT file (per the documentation) and run the "Switch to a Different Word Processor" Dialogue, however Word throws an error (with no error code) when I attempt to save the document again (i.e. as an ODT).

The conversion problem I am having is on Windows 10 (64-bit), using Office 365 version of Word. I normally edit my documents using LibreOffice in Linux (hence, why I am trying to convert the file).

For now I will be using Bookmarks instead, however I am also running into problems with corrupted fields at the moment (topic for another discussion).

dstillman

however Word throws an error (with no error code) when I attempt to save the document again (i.e. as an ODT)

What's the exact error? If Word is throwing an error while saving, that would be a Word problem, not a Zotero problem.

ajschadler12

What's the exact error? If Word is throwing an error while saving, that would be a Word problem, not a Zotero problem.

Specifically, Word returns an error when trying to save a "Zotero Transfer Document" as an ODT file. The error box says "File error" and also displays the path to the file (e.g. "%USER%\Documents". It does not return the same error when saving a "Transfer Document" as a .docx file. (Perhaps it is a Word issue, as you suggested. Albeit a frustrating one)

I was able to work around this issue by saving the "Transfer Document" as a docx file in word first, then converting it in LibreOffice (i.e. by clicking "refresh" in the Zotero toolbar) and saving the file as ODT.

dstillman

Do you get this error if you just create a new, normal document and then try to save that as ODT?

Regardless, this would almost certainly be a Word issue, since Zotero just inserts normal Word fields and Word should obviously be able to save a document in the file formats it gives you as options.

ajschadler12

Do you get this error if you just create a new, normal document and then try to save that as ODT?

No. I can save any document as an ODT in Word like normal, even those with Zotero citations (the embedded fields will, of course, be lost if opened in LO) The problem only shows when the document being saved is a "Zotero Transfer Document".

adomasven

You can walk around this by saving the transfer document as .docx, opening it in LibreOffice and resaving as .odt before reimporting citations. This might not work as well in terms of maintaining formatting.

Another thing you can do is to convert the document to use bookmarks in Word, then open it in LibreOffice, convert it to use ReferenceMarks and then save as .odt, which will essentially achieve the same thing as using the transfer route.