Word 2010: Zotero plug-in stopped cooperating with FF

Charles Stewart
System: Word 2010 Home & Business (v 14.0.6114.5002) running on Windows 7 running on Parallels 6 on Mac Snow Leopard. FF 8.0.1 with Zotero 2.1.10.

With a document created using this set-up that has been edited by someone else using Word 2010, when I try to do any action using the Zotero on Winword add-ins, the machine pauses for a while, then Firefox pops up the dialog box "Zotero Integration Error" with contents "Zotero experienced an error updating your document // Could not find a running Word instance". No Ref Id was generated.

Not the least surprising aspect of this error is why would FF not find Word when it was Word that called FF?

I spent a bit of time looking over the forum and found nothing similar in the details.
  • dstillman
    No Ref Id was generated.
    Meaning Report Errors is grayed out?
  • Charles Stewart
    No. The only indication of an error is the pop-up FF dialog, which contains nothing besides what I give above and the trianglular exclamation icon.

    In Word, nothing happens besides a short pause, and, not always [1], the FF error dialog window getting focus.

    [1] If the Zotero action is performed when FF still has the error dialog window open, Word loses focus, but the dialog is not raised to be uppermost window.
  • Charles Stewart
    Ah, not true, the report errors menu item is not greyed out: I tried again and there was an error that could be logged, with ref id 1376315455 - sorry about that.

    The error (from a fresh startup of Firefox with just this fault) is 24 instances of the error:

    -------
    While registering XPCOM module C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\lv48vbeu.default\extensions\zoteroWinWordIntegration@zotero.org\components-8.0\zoteroWinWordIntegration.dll, trying to re-register CID '{d10e90bf-773e-4be4-9592-9c138829b8ca}' already registered by C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\lv48vbeu.default\extensions\zoteroWinWordIntegration@zotero.org\components-9.0\zoteroWinWordIntegration.dll.

    ------
    followed by
    -------
    Could not read chrome manifest file 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\extensions\{972ce4c6-7e08-4474-a285-3208198ce6fd}\chrome.manifest'.

    [JavaScript Error: "Image corrupt or truncated: <unknown>" {file: "<unknown>" line: 0}]

    Zotero WinWord Integration: getDocument() could not find document in ROT

    [JavaScript Error: "[zoteroWinWordIntegration Exception... "Could not find a running Word instance." code: "0" function: "zoteroWinWordDocument::initFromActiveObject" location: ".\zoteroWinWordDocument.cpp"]"]
    -------

    That looks to me like something has messed up the installation of Zotero.
  • Charles Stewart
    edited January 10, 2012
    Figuring it might be a problem with the installation, I tried installing the Zoetro 3 standalone, current beta. I get similar results, without the large number of module resigtration errors. I've filed the error report with report id 1803415361.
  • Simon
    The usual cause of this error is a Click-to-Run installation of Word. Did this previously work on this particular system? Does this work in a new document?
  • Charles Stewart
    It is a click-to-run installation, the document had most of its citations and its reflist inserted using Zotero on this installation, and I can still create both citations and reflists in new documents.
  • Charles Stewart
    The problem indeed goes away when I switch to the MSI-based version of Office, which was a rather more arduous task than the linked to instructions at

    http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/click-to-run-switch-%20to-using-an-msi-based-office-edition-HA101850538.aspx

    suggested, I think because the "alternative fulfilment" link does not resolve to the page it is supposed to. Reinstalling from scratch and then being alert for a small "advanced options" dialog link before downloading the install image works.

    It is confusing that Zotero's Word bridge works with click-to-run on a file for a matter of weeks and then stops working. Out of curiosity, has anyone ideas why this could be?
  • Simon
    I'm puzzled that it ever worked, since Microsoft's documentation suggests that out-of-process add-ins like Zotero don't work at all with Click-to-Run versions of Office.
  • drschumi
    edited March 25, 2012
    Same problem for me. Zotero Word 2010 plugin stopped working after 2 months of good service giving the error code:

    zoteroWinWordIntegration Exception... "Could not find a running Word instance." code: "0" function: "zoteroWinWordDocument::initFromActiveObject" location: ".\zoteroWinWordDocument.cpp

    I am using a preinstalled, single user licensed Student and Home Edition of MS Office 2010 on Win7 Professional, no sign of "Click to Run" in the Program features of the control panel and when I sign in at Microsoft, there is nothing in my account (or in the Download section) that allows me to reinstall the software in another mode.

    I still do not understand why Zotero and MS Word worked fine for 2 months and now, all of a sudden, stopped working together?

    Any ideas or solutions? Thanks!
  • drschumi
    ++UPDATE++
    I tried several options to avoid the switch of MS Word from the Click to run to the MSI mode with all the problems described by previous posters for above problem and noticed that using the "classic" option for the insertion of references solves the problem:
    Go to: Preferences -> Cite -> Set mark at "use classic citation dialog".
    It´s not as good as the new, flashy "insert citation feature", but definitely better than reinstalling MS Word.
  • Simon
    Can you reproduce the error again just by unchecking that preference? I don't really understand how this would make a difference, since the code that threw the error above is executed long before any code that depends on that preference.
  • drschumi
    Hi Simon,

    Thanks for the comment. Interestingly, the new tool works now, too.
    I tried everything the last days on this problem, uninstalled + reinstalled the plug-in, new documents, old documents, .doc format, .docx format..etc., No communication between FF and Zotero, same error message as above.
    Surprisingly, now it seems to be back to normal, and the only thing I did was checking the "classic" dialogue.
  • drschumi
    After several weeks of trouble (sometimes the issue was present, sometimes it was not, sometimes I could bypass it with using above strategy (using old citation dialogue)), I finally decided to reinstall MS Word on my system (Windows 7, 64 bit MS Office Student and Home 2010). I am quite certain that it is NOT the Click to Run version, I found nowhere any reference to it, despite clicking through all the options that were offered during the download and installation process.
    Still I get the same message:

    Zotero experienced an error updating your document.

    [zoteroWinWordIntegration Exception... "Could not find a running Word instance." code: "0" function: "zoteroWinWordDocument::initFromActiveObject" location: ".\zoteroWinWordDocument.cpp"]

    Developers: Are you really sure it has to do with the MS Word installation? The fact that it worked fine before and now still works every now and then (strange, I know) speaks again this theory?!

    Help needed, I am getting desperate here..Thanks!
  • zini_s
    I experience the same problem, after lot of hours of try-to-resolve-the-problem with forums I desperately didn't find any solution.

    I'm finishing my Phd dissertation, everything with Zotero, and It doesn't work anymore : very frustrating !
  • adamsmith
    edited June 19, 2012
    zini - we need more details: Word version, OS, Zotero and plugin version, exact error message, whether using the classic citation dialogue as suggested above fixes it

    edit: also, any troubleshooting steps that you may have already taken
  • zini_s
    Zotero a rencontré une erreur lors de la mise à jour de votre document.

    [zoteroWinWordIntegration Exception... "Could not find a running Word instance." code: "0" function: "zoteroWinWordDocument::initFromActiveObject" location: ".\zoteroWinWordDocument.cpp"]

    is the error message
  • zini_s
    Zotero version 3.0.7
    word pugin 3.1.7

    word 2010

    window 7

    I tried the "classic citation option, with no result
  • zini_s
    I also installed a MSi version (initial version was a click to run version of windows)

    I have this computer and my PC at home from six months and zotero was functionning very well until about 1 month and a half
  • drschumi
    Hi zini_s,
    I understand your frustration, I was in a similar situation, as you can read from my previous posts. After having given up on the topic and having changed the citations in my document by hand (!), I realized some days ago that Zotero is now working again with MS Word. I do not know if anything has been changed in Zotero, but one thing is for sure: I have changed nothing in my system other than applying the normal Microsoft updates.
  • Simon
    Nothing that would affect this has changed in Zotero.

    The only things I am aware of that can potentially cause this are a Click-to-Run version of Word, or running Word or Firefox as administrator or in a compatibility mode. It also seems possible that security software could interfere. Unfortunately, unless you can give us steps that are sufficient to reproduce this issue on a test machine, you're on your own.
  • zini_s
    Everything is correct now, an update seems to have resolved the problem
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