Zotero Integration Error: a.sortkeys is undefined

thomasbking
Hi,

Anyone else getting this? Cannot find it in discussions on the Forum. Restarting Firefox (16.0.2) each time it occurs solves it for a while, but I don't know what causes it. Using Word 2010 plug-in on Windows 7, Zotero 3.0.8.

Error appears as:

<Zotero Integration Error.

Zotero experienced an error updating your document.

TypeError: a.sortkeys [or b.sortkeys] is undefined.>


Any thoughts?
  • dstillman
    Does this happen in Zotero 3.0.9, available now?
  • thomasbking
    Will upgrade and see.
  • nmstuewe
    I am just now having this error message. Restarting has had no effect. I am on a mac OS X 10.6.8 using Firefox 17.01 with Zotero 3.0.11 and Zotero Word for Mac integration 3.5.6. I can no longer add any citations to my document.
  • adamsmith
    are you able to change the citations style (for testing purposes)?
    Does this occur in a new document?
  • nmstuewe
    I have restarted everything including my computer and things seem to be back to normal. Thank you for responding so quickly.
  • goncalogato
    edited March 28, 2013
    I get this error all the time, using 3.0.14 on Mac. I get both a.sortkeys and b.sortkeys errors. Very annoying for a software I've been enjoying. Have to close Zotero and Word and open again. Not sure if it is related to the style I'm using: Harvard Imperial College London.
  • adamsmith
    see if this goes away with the next Zotero version, due out by April 2nd (or install the beta http://www.zotero.org/support/4.0 ).
    If it doesn't, post again and answer my two question above "are you able to change the citations style (for testing purposes)?
    Does this occur in a new document? "
  • goncalogato
    I still get this with the new version 4, beta. By the way, this version of Zotero is not enabling me to add a Style in the preferences dialog.
  • adamsmith
    As I say: "If it doesn't, post again and answer my two question above "are you able to change the citations style (for testing purposes)?
  • goncalogato
    edited March 28, 2013
    Dear Adam,

    Yes, I can change the style inside Word by clicking Zotero set Doc Prefs. When I Zotero Refresh the document I get the error sometimes.
  • goncalogato
    In a new document it isn't happening. But this new document is very simple... just some lines for testing
  • goncalogato
    edited March 28, 2013
    Sorry for the previous comment typo. I CAN change the style inside Word by clicking Zotero set Doc Prefs.
  • adamsmith
    this is a processor problem. fbennett will need to look ath this. Post back here if you haven't heard anything by early next week.
  • fbennett
    @nmstuewe, @goncalogato:

    Sounds like we have a processor bug that needs clearing up. To track down the exact cause, I'll need to reproduce the error at this end. I've tried a few combinations of input that I thought might possibly trigger something, but no errors so far. If you can work out what combination of input or what changes to a document cause the error, I'll take a closer look.
  • goncalogato
    It usually happens when I'm editing a text in the word processor (with Zotero app also open) and add an item to the Zotero app. Then when I need to cite it in Word, I almost always I get citation error in Word and have to quit both apps and restart.

    Sometimes, I'm just editing the document for some time and then when I hit refresh I get the 'a.sortkeys' error. Have to quit again both apps and restart for it to go aways. Possibly this is related to having more than one item from the same author and for the same year. You would get Harvard citations like (xxx, 1999a) and (xxx, 1999b)...

    Do this help?
  • fbennett
    I've tried adding an item by the same author in the same year in a simple document, and it goes in fine. It might be related, but we'll need to pin down the full set of conditions. The key is to reliably trigger the error. If inserting a particular citation into a particular copy of a document always triggers the error, set aside a copy of that document: it will give you a starting point for debugging.

    After you have a copy of the document, make another copy, and split it into two halves, saving each half as a separate file. Check to see if either half still triggers the error. Repeat the process until you find the minimal document content that triggers the error. Then start removing citations until the error goes away.

    It's a troublesome process, but if you have time for it, it will lead us to the exact conditions that trigger the error. We don't have many reports of this, so the information you provide will be very helpful.
  • fbennett
    edited March 30, 2013
    With data supplied by @goncalogato, I think I've tracked this one down. The bug appears to have been triggered by uncited items in the bibliography of affected documents. I have prepared a fix, and it would be a great help if people affected by this could try it out by installing the following plugin:

    http://gsl-nagoya-u.net/http/pub/zotero-processor.xpi

    The plugin swaps the revised processor into Zotero. With the plugin installed, documents that were previously affected by the 'a.sortkeys is undefined' error should work correctly.

    Looking forward to hearing how it goes.
  • goncalogato
    edited March 31, 2013
    I've installed the add-on and it actually makes things worse... I can't add citations whatsoever. I always get a. or b.sortkeys erros. Refreshing after adding an item (I can sometimes add a new citation...) can create the mentioned error...
  • fbennett
    @goncalogato: There is a hidden EndNote citation in the document you sent. You should remove that, and then go through the steps for debugging broken documents here. If those steps don't get the document working, post again here and the Zotero developers may take a look.
  • fbennett
    @goncalogato: I just spotted a silly flaw in the processor revision I put up. Try reinstalling the processor patch plugin, and see if it works better now.
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