Incompatable field incoding Catch-22

Hello All,
I have a document that started out as a .odt, got converted to a .docx and sent to (and edited by) several collaborators. Somewhere in this process I didn't properly convert or unlink the Zotero fields. Now, when I try add references this file in MS Word I get the message:
"Zotero cannot update this document because it was created by a different word processing application with an incompatible field encoding. In order to make a document compatible with both Word and OpenOffice.org/LibreOffice/NeoOffice, open the document in the word processor with which it was originally created and wth the filed type to Bookmarks in the Zotero Document Preferences."
I'd like to remove the links and re-add the references, but if I try to remove zotero codes, I get the same message. Also if I try to modify or remove codes in same file in LibreOffice I first get the message:
"Your document must be permanently upgraded in order to work with Zotero 2.1 or later. It is recommended that you make a backup before proceeding. Are you sure you want to continue?"
If I click yes, then I get the same "Zotero cannot update this document" message I wrote previously.
Converting the document to a .odt file also does not fix the problem.
My question then, is this: is there a way I can rescue this file so that I can re-add my Zotero references? Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
  • Would saving the file as .rtf be an option? If that's possible it'll get rid of all field codes.

    You're currently trying this in Word? You could also see if saving this as .doc (not .docx) might work.
  • Apparently copy-pasting to a new document seems to work pretty well, though I loose all tracked changes. Any other ideas?
  • Thanks adamsmith. Neither converting to a .doc or a .rtf seemed to make a difference though.
  • if copy paste solves this, it's likely due to a single broken citation.
    you can see if you want to run through step 8 here
    http://www.zotero.org/support/word_processor_plugin_troubleshooting#debugging_broken_documents
    otherwise the copy&paste solution is likely the best bet
    (although it seems odd that Zotero would recognize any fields from an rtf - I don't really see how that possible).
  • It's probably not the field codes, but the custom document properties that are screwed up. If you delete them, you should be able to add citations normally. To get to them in Word 2007+, follow these instructions.
  • adamsmith and Simon,
    Got it to work! Thank you both for your help. Simon's advice solved my problem.
    A few details:
    In MS Word 2010 I clicked File>Info>Properties>Advanced Properties>Custom Tab. Under properties there was a line with Zotero written in it that I was able to delete. After selecting OK, I was able to again insert citations into my article.
  • Similar worked for me in Libreoffice. File->Properties->Custom Properties. I had removed two zotero-related entries. Thanks for your help!
  • Same here! Simon's advice worked for me for Office 2010. Removed two zotero entries and everything worked fine!

    Thanks
  • Used kdliss solution and it worked like a charm with Libreoffice as well and a document that was initially a word document. I was expeting it to be really complicated and it was not in the end. Thank you kdliss.
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