Custom CSL/Citation Style no longer works after update

AhrenLester
Zotero standalone recently updated on my computer and since then my custom csl style no longer works. It merely offers up this error message:
The style you have selected does not appear to be avlid. If you have created this style yourself, please ensure that it passes validation as a described at... Alternatively, try selecting another style.
What has gone wrong as the style worked perfectly prior to this?

Thanks for the help.
  • fbennett
    Have you validated the style against the CSL schema?

    https://github.com/citation-style-language/styles/wiki/Validation
  • adamsmith
    you can also make that style available for us to look at e.g. as a public gist on gist.github.com
  • AhrenLester
    I had indeed. I validated it before the update and before I started using it. I had been using it without issue for months until earlier today.

    I have now uploaded it here: https://gist.github.com/4254465. Is that right?
  • adamsmith
    you have an empty
    <label/> in line 328 -
    you should have seen that in the validation, too:
    http://validator.nu/?doc=https://gist.github.com/raw/4254465/2d98b06471b9fe68d88603d12c9c905539076b71/mhra-custom-letters&amp;schema=https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/v1.0.1/csl.rnc&amp;parser=xml&amp;laxtype=yes
  • AhrenLester
    Thanks for that!

    That's weird. I don't think I understand this lark.

    What does this 'empty
  • adamsmith
    the csl editor unfortunately still occasionally does things that aren't valid.

    Just look at line 328 in the file you posted on github
    you'll see
    <label/>
    and that shouldn't be there. Delete that line and it will work again.

    Zotero doesn't always fail with invalid styles, so it's possible that that worked at some point, yes. Only valid styles are guaranteed to work, though.
    How did you validate the style? I don't see how this could have slipped by any validation, regardless of the settings, but the most foolproof way would be to use: http://simonster.github.com/csl-validator.js/
  • AhrenLester
    Thank goodness for that! I have deleted the line 328 in Notebook+ and it is working a-ok again! Relief is not the word. I spent ages getting things right at last!

    I see, the CSL Editor is not perfect. I am certainly far from perfect in this area. Guess where the issues may have crept in!

    I believe I used the same Validator you used above (i.e. http://validator.nu/) as I used the one linked from this page from what I remember: http://citationstyles.org/downloads/primer.html.

    In the future I will use the second one you suggested! That look much more my kind of simplicity! I just used it on my new file and it said the validation was successful.

    However, one more question, what did the other error messages mean in the validation result you showed me earlier in this thread. Are they ok?

    Thanks again. I can sleep easy now!
  • adamsmith
    you don't have to worry about those "warnings" - only the red lines that say "error" are actual problems. The validator at simonster won't even give you those warnings.
  • AhrenLester
    I am warming even more to the Simonster validator. Warming a great deal!

    In general, if red error messages like that emerge is it best just to remove them and then revalidate it? Or it is less heavy handed than that usually?
  • adamsmith
    if you get an error message try to look at the line it points to and see if you can figure it out yourself. Else ask us here. They do tell you what's wrong - and deleting something isn't always the solution - but unfortunately they tell you in somewhat technical language. Usually takes us less than a minute to interpret that for you.
  • AhrenLester
    Superb.

    Thanks for that help. I will do if I have an issue in the future.

    Much appreciated.
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