A complicated and interesting error message

gconyers

I've been having a bit of trouble getting OpenOffice and Zotero to work together. I suspect the problem lies within OpenOffice itself, but I'm not sure.

I use Windows XP, the newest version of Zotero, and Firefox 3.0.14.

The error message I get is when I try to insert a citation in the body of the text. It is also rather long, so bear with me if I make any typing mistakes while copying it over. It is:
An unexpected error has occurred while performing this action:
File "C:\Documents and Settings\Grace Conyers\Application Data\OpenOffice.org\3\user\uno_packages\cache\uno_packages\53.temp_\Zotero.oxt\Zotero.py" line 396 in _getFields
self.docFields = self.doc.getFields(self.data.prefs['fieldType'])
File "C:\Documents and Settings\Grace Conyers\Application Data\OpenOffice.org\3\user\uno_packages\cache\uno_packages\53.temp_\Zotero.oxt\Zotero.py" line 1095 in _getFields
fields.sort()
File "C:\Documents and Settings\Grace Conyers\Application Data\OpenOffice.org\3\user\uno_packages\cache\uno_packages\53.temp_\Zotero.oxt\Zotero.py" line 1140 in _cmp_
return x.wpDoc.text.compare(RegionStarts(yRange, xRange)
com.sun.star.lang.illegalArgumentException

I have not tried to fix this in any way because I don't even know where to begin. Any help and advice would be great! Thanks!

adamsmith

For completeness:
Which open office?
Does this also happen when you insert a citation into a blank document?
Is the "newest" Zotero the 2.0b7 or the 1.0.10?
If it's 2.0b7 - make sure you also have the newest plugin - the one installed directly through firefox.

gconyers

Zotero 2.0b7, which I did use the extension through this site. Yesterday I got a notification through the Firefox pop-ups that Zotero was updating, and I gave it permission to update the "add-on". It was shortly after that that I experienced this problem.

The OpenOffice version I'm using is 3.1.1.

The document was far from blank, actually. I have about 1/4 of my proposal written on it, and plenty of citations that I already inserted with Zotero earlier in the day (everything worked fine then). I could try to insert a citation on blank document, if you wish.

adamsmith

please do try a blank, yes.

mark

gconyers, from your description it is not clear whether you only updated the Zotero addon (which would indeed have come to you by way of an automatic prompt) or also the Word plugin, which you have to install manually from this location.

gconyers

Mark:

I did both. When I first installed Zotero on this computer (about a month ago) I used the link you referenced. The add-on automatically updated through the prompt. The prompt came yesterday. Normally it is innocuous and everything works fine afterward, but this time it hasn't.

adamsmith:

Good call. The new error message says: This version of Zotero word processor plugin 2.0a2 is not compatible with the currently installed version of the Zotero Firefox extension (2.0b7). Please ensure that you are using the lastest version of both components.

I now know that my next step would be to upgrade the word processor plugin. I assume is it the word processor plugin under the link that Mark gave me. So, I'll report back with the results!

Many thanks for directing me in the right direction, guys!

gconyers

After installing the word processor extension listed above and restarting both Firefox and OpenOffice, all works as it should.

I'll definitely remember to update both next time! Thanks so much.

adamsmith

gconyers - this is new: the plugin has changed - it used to have to be installed separately into open office. Now it's a convenient firefox plugin, which updates automatically, so it's unsurprising you missed this - and you won't in the future.