UWaterloo Library - Primo

jcrow
According to this video I should be able to use Zotero with Primo, my library's new database user interface.

But when I look up a book, Don Quixote, for instance, I don't get the "book" icon in the location bar, but a blank page. And when I click it, I get a "Could not save item" error.

I've gone through all the items on the Troubleshooting Translator Issues List but still no luck.

Can someone tell me if they experience the same problem or if it's just my computer that's acting funny?

Thanks.
  • ajlyon
    The Primo translator did not support all Primo installations. I have written a new version that uses Primo's Endnote export to get data, and it works on that page. To try it, go to
    http://github.com/ajlyon/zotero-bits/raw/master/Primo.js and save the file to the translators directory of your Zotero data directory (http://www.zotero.org/support/zotero_data).

    The saga of Primo support is chronicled at: https://www.zotero.org/trac/ticket/1202
  • ajlyon
    Neither of the approaches that we have taken to fetching data from Primo installations seems to be reliable enough to work well across all libraries. I have worked some on improving the original PNX-based approach, but it doesn't provide enough information to give clean imported data. The RIS approach turned out to sometimes provide outright corrupt data, so it won't work either.

    Input from Primo users, translator developers, and library database staff is welcome -- I don't know how to proceed.
  • joschne
    Unfortunately the Primo translator does still not work at the new catalog of the libraries in Zürich:
    http://www.recherche-portal.ch/

    And it occurs an error using the catalog of the University of Mannheim:
    http://primo.bib.uni-mannheim.de/

    Is there any chance to fix this?
  • adamsmith
    uni Mannheim works for me - please provide exact steps to reproduce the error.

    the Zürich catalog changed its URL (it used to be nebis) so it's not recognized anymore, we'll fix that
  • aborel
    > the Zürich catalog changed its URL (it used to be nebis) so it's not recognized anymore, we'll fix that

    Please note that previous URL still exists, so don't throw it away! http://www.recherche-portal.ch/ is a special Primo instance for the university of Zurich. The NEBIS one is used by almost everybody else in Switzerland ;-)
  • adamsmith
    thanks, will make sure to keep NEBIS.
  • adamsmith
    A translator fix is now up.
    The recherche-portal primo is now recognized (and NEBIS still works).

    Your version of Zotero will automatically update within 24hs, or you can update manually using the "Update Now" button in the "General" tab of the Zotero preferences.

    Any further problems let us know & thanks for reporting

    If you're still having problems with Mannheim's Primo we'll need a search query to reproduce those errors as per my post above.
  • joschne
    Thank you very much for fixing the translator! I can see that the it recognizes the recherche-portal.ch now.

    Unfortunately I get the same error problem I'm having with Mannheim's Primo. I'm using Zotero 3.0.14.1 standalone on mac os x 10.8.2 with the Safari plugin. When I try to save any item from http://www.recherche-portal.ch and http://primo.bib.uni-mannheim.de out of Safari 6.0.2 I get this error message:

    ---
    Saving Item...
    An error occurred while saving this item. Check Known Translator Issues for more information.
    ---

    Other catalogs are working fine (as https://biblio.uzh.ch/).

    Any ideas what's going wrong?
  • adamsmith
    let's start with making sure this works generally.
    Start at this url http://primo.bib.uni-mannheim.de/
    What exactly do you do - provide a step-by step including search terms.
  • joschne
    Ok, step by step:
    1. I start Zotero Standalone and I click on the target collection/folder in the left side bar.
    2. in Safari I enter: http://primo.bib.uni-mannheim.de/
    3. I enter "schmidt epigraphik" in the search field -> click on "Suche"
    4. Click on title of the only search result (Einführung in die lateinische Epigraphik)
    5. click on zotero button in Safari "Save to Zotero (Primo)"
    6. I get the error message:

    Saving Item...
    An error occurred while saving this item. Check Known Translator Issues for more information.

    and nothing is saved to zotero.


    same happens with any item in recherche-portal and uni-mannheim.
  • joschne
    probably I should reinstall Zotero as the translator works on another Mac I tested also with zotero standalone. But if you want to be able to reproduce the error I keep the installation...
  • adamsmith
    no need to conserve that error, no - this is likely something quite specific. Instead of re-installing Zotero - which doesn't have a great chance of fixing this - run through these:
    http://www.zotero.org/support/troubleshooting_translator_issues
    I'd be particularly concerned with other Safari extensions if you have any.
  • joschne
    Reinstalling the safari connector solved the problem!

    thx adamsmith for your hints!
  • naftalan
    I have a similar problem with primo at my university. I’m able to save books, but no papers.
    I’m using the Firefox Add-on (3.0.14), everything's up to date and I ran through the troubleshooting. Other savings, eg. Google Scholar, work.

    Steps for books:
    1. I’m going to http://disco.uni-muenster.de/
    2. I enter a book, eg: "Ströbele Inflation"
    3. Click in the first hit
    4. Saving works, but without the pdf.

    Steps for papers:
    1. I’m going to http://disco.uni-muenster.de/
    2. I enter a paper, eg: "An economist's guide to US v Microsoft"
    3. Click at the first hit
    4. zotero wants to save a book. When I click on it I get an error message.

    It’s the same behavior for http://primo.bib.uni-mannheim.de/ with me.

    I sent a report, Report-ID: 230155378
    Could that be a translator problem?
    Thanks.
  • adamsmith
    that's known. Most Primo translators don't provide data for Articles, so Zotero fails for articles. I've added that to the known error page.

    IIRC you can export to Endnote from Münster's primo, which should do as a workaround for articles. We may try to work around this somehow, but since the PNX data we're using is currently the only thing that Primo catalogs have in common that's tricky.
  • naftalan
    That will work, thank you.
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