Zotero does not start in Firefox 20

q
[Fixed in Zotero 4.0. -SK]

Installed Firefox (Iceweasel) 20.0, and Zotero does not start: "There was an error starting Zotero."

It's definitely not starting, since I can still run Zotero Standalone and access the database; if Zotero is running (in Firefox), I cannot run Standalone concurrently.

Any leads?
  • adamsmith
    Zotero will always work with the last stable version of Firefox, but frequently won't work with beta releases. The only way to fix this is to downgrade to FF19.
  • q
    Thanks. I haven't had problems with recent beta releases, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered... Back to FF19.
  • dstillman
    edited March 14, 2013
    Firefox 20 breaks more things for us (and many other extensions) than usual. If you're feeling daring, you can use a 4.0 Branch dev XPI. We should have a Firefox 20–compatible beta of 4.0 out within a week or two.
  • quercus1
    This information on incompatibility of FF 20 with Zotero should feature even more prominently. I spent several hours trying to apply many different suggestions found on the WWW to bring Zotero back. Only later did I notice this information. My Firefox has indeed updated automatically to 20.0, thus incapacitating Zotero even though it was still showing as an Add-on in Tools. When I reinstalled the FF 19.0 all was back to normal.
  • dstillman
    I've added a link to this thread to the download page.
  • pelicano
    Thanks for the information, I've had the same problem (Zotero not starting even if it appears in Firefox adds-on). First I thought it was due to an Avira update, but apparently it was linked to the Firefox 20.0 version. Reinstalling Firefox 19.0 was the solution.
  • pathall
    Hi everyone,

    Is this thread the place to track for whenever the updated FF20-compatible version of Zotero emerges?
  • dstillman
    Yes.
  • pathall
    Great, thanks for all your awesome work!
  • ppex
    Thanks for the notice. As far as I can say Zotero 4.0 works without problems on Firefox 20.
  • pathall
    Is version 4.0 downloadable somewhere?
  • aurimas
    http://www.zotero.org/support/dev_builds but remember to download the official 4.0 release when it becomes available
  • Gracile
    You can _test_ it here: http://www.zotero.org/support/dev_builds#zotero_40_branch
  • areteichi
    Can anyone else confirm if version 4.0 now supports Firefox 20? Is the beta release of 4.0 still being expected?
  • dstillman
    Zotero's non-3.0 development branches have supported Firefox 20 since mid-January, so, yes, the 4.0 branch supports it.

    The 4.0 Beta is a bit later than planned, but it should be out within a few days. Assuming developers don't find any major bugs, there will be only minor changes between the current 4.0 dev XPI and the 4.0 beta.
  • fjdf
    When we install a dev_build will it automatically update itself to beta and stable releases once they come out?
  • adamsmith
    no. You should keep track of the stable release and install it over the dev_build once it comes out to go back to the stable release channel.
  • Gracile
    No. You'll need to download the stable release once it's available.
  • dstillman
    Since a decent number of users may end up on the dev track before 4.0 ships, we'll actually probably do what we've done before and push people on 4.0 beta and dev builds to 4.0 Final once it's out. People will be able to get back on the dev builds afterward if they want to.

    4.0 dev builds won't switch to 4.0 beta builds automatically, though.
  • dstillman
    Zotero 4.0 Beta 1 is now available. If you're using a 4.0 dev build for Firefox 20 compatibility, you can now switch to the beta version instead.
  • Simon
    Zotero 4.0.1 is now available. Start a new discussion for any persisting issues.
This discussion has been closed.