Zotero google docs integration bug: insert citation window

nathan.townsend

Dear Zotero devs,

I think this is a fantastic initiative and please do not give up trying to improve the integration ie: see if you can make it faster somehow :-). It's still a bit slow, but tolerable for the advantages it brings to collaborative works.

The bug I'm reporting is that when adding a citation via the zotero menu, this does not open the citation window IN FRONT of the google document. I found I need to hover over the zotero icon pinned to the taskbar (windows) and then manually select the window.

This bug does not occur when selecting the zotero icon which gets added to the google docs ribbon.

adomasven

When switching away from the Zotero window do you minimize it or simply switch to a different program? If you minimize it, try switching to the other program without minimization and see whether the citation dialog appears.

nathan.townsend

Note that inserting a citation occurs from within google docs via either the icon or the zotero dropdown menu. Therefore, google docs window is "maximised". Normally in word, when you insert a citation, the zotero window (ie: the single line which allows you to enter the author) pops up directly and "in front". With google docs it remains "behind" the window and therefore, it is necessary to manually select the window (either using alt+tab, or via the mouse) before it is possible to enter the citation.

Geez it's still VERY slow though. I might need to figure out a better solution for large documents such as thesis dissertations (I'm editing a student thesis now and its painfully slow to be updating many citations even with auto update disabled)

dstillman

Not sure what you're responding to here. Adomas asked whether you're minimizing the Zotero window when you switch away from it. You didn't answer that.

But if you really mean that your browser window is "maximized" — i.e., the Windows feature where a window can be made full screen — rather than just the front-most application then it's possible the citation dialog won't come to the front. (I haven't tested.)

It's not normal behavior otherwise for the citation dialog not to come to the front, regardless of whether you're using Word or Google Docs. There also shouldn't be any difference between the Zotero menu and toolbar button in Google Docs.