refreshing in word after switching word processors from google doc

stephhunter

Hello,

I am moving a google doc to a word doc, and followed the steps on a previous forum in order to keep the zotero citations (https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/moving_documents_between_word_processors). However, once I save as a word doc and hit 'refresh' in the zotero add on, I get a notification that "I must insert a citation before performing this operation". I've tried all of the troubleshooting suggestions and I still can't get the zotero references to re-link in Word. Any insight?

dstillman

Did the document convert properly in Google Docs? That is, did it convert all the fields to code and add ZOTERO_TRANSFER_DOCUMENT and an explanatory note to the top of the document?

Can you take a screenshot of the Word window, showing the document and the error message, upload it somewhere (e.g., Dropbox or Google Drive), and provide a link here, or email it to support@zotero.org with a link to this thread?

stephhunter

After reading some more discussion posts, I think it might be an issue with not all of the collaborators who edit the docs having the zotero connector installed (confirm likely?). Once I switch word processors, the citations go red (zotero transfer document isn't added). When I try this in a document where I am the only editor, it works as expected.

dstillman

Yes, all collaborators need to have the Zotero Connector installed.

The transfer part isn't really relevant. If you just do a Refresh in the document, previously unlinked citations would turn red and you'd get a warning (if you hadn't already).

stephhunter

Upon further inspection, everyone who made changes to the document had the zotero connector installed, and it still didn't convert properly in google docs. Do you have any other ideas what might be wrong? Does everyone that has access as an editor need to have the zotero connector installed, or only those who make changes in the document?

dstillman

Technically only the people who make changes. But note that dragging citations will also break them, even with the connector installed.

Again, don't focus on the conversion here. The thing to focus on would be whether the citations are unlinked, meaning that they show in red after a Refresh. If they're unlinked, you'll need to revert to a previous version of the document where they're still active. The Google Docs version history can help with that, and can generally help you figure out what caused them to become unlinked. (But understand that you see that they were unlinked by a previous action only after you do a Refresh.)

I'm still not quite understanding this, though. If you have any active citations in the document, the "Switch to a Different Word Processor…" button should convert your document to a transfer document, with the header at the top. I'm not clear on what you're saying is happening when you do that.