Z not working in safari

aggerlouise
I've been encouraged to use zotero, but I just can't get it to work and it's becoming really frustrating!

I'm running OSX 10.9.2 and safari 7.0.3.

I've installed zotero and I've tried countless times to install the standalone (rebooting browser and mac), but it's not working. When I do install it the Z appears in the top menu but it's either offline or it'll say "online" but it won't be clickable.

I've googled the issue, but I can't seem to find a solution to the problem, please help!
  • mark_3w
    Same here - I have Safari 7.0.3, OSX 10.9.2. The Z button is greyed out in the tool bar. I can right click on an html page in Safari and it allows me to add, but will not with a PDF. Greyed out button says "Zotero is Online" but won't do anything. No little book in address bar either.

    Standalone is OK

    Please help too!
  • adamsmith
    I'm not sure if this is the same problem for the two of you, but mark - this seems to be working as expected. You'd only get a clickable icon on supported pages such as
    http://www.worldcat.org/title/wealth-of-nations-books-i-iii/oclc/8424650&referer=brief_results
    You should be able to get PDFs into Zotero by dragging the URL to Zotero Standalone (or, of course, by saving the file and then dragging it to Zotero). Note that adding PDFs like this should be relatively rare. The idea is that in most cases PDFs auto-attach when you use the URL bar icon.

    @aggerlouise - do you get a clickable icon on the worldcat page?
  • aggerlouise
    @mark_3w I didn't know you could right click to save the html page, that's very helpful, thank you!

    @adamsmith I did! How come it only works for worldcat? Does this work in other databases like jstor or ebsco too?

    I tried dragging the url, but I couldn't switch between programmes so I couldn't actually drag it into zotero. This is the url I tried to drag: http://search.proquest.com.zorac.aub.aau.dk/pqrl/docview/199960858/fulltextPDF/E22291A8B96445BAPQ/2?accountid=8144
  • adamsmith
    it should work for all major databases, including JSTOR, Ebsco, and Proquest - you're not getting a URL bar icon on that Proquest page?
    I didn't know you could right click to save the html page, that's very helpful, thank you!
    note that only imports the most bare-bone data. You shouldn't need to use that on most scholarly sites.
  • aggerlouise
    Oh! Oh dear, I think I must be tired today I didn't even notice the icon was active! Well, that's super, thank you very much!

    Thanks, I'll keep that in mind!

    You've been a great help, thank you so much!
  • adamsmith
    (you won't get the PDF attached from EBSCO and Proquest when you're using Safari and going through a university proxy - PDFs will attach for most other databases, JSTOR included. It'd work for EBSCO and Proquest on campus without the proxy).
  • aggerlouise
    Okay, I'm not entirely sure I get this pdf thing. Are you saying that if I'm not using the proxy zotero would be able to download the pdf?
  • adamsmith
    well - only if you were on a connection with access to the PDF. Proquest determines that by your IP address, i.e. where you're connected to the internet from. If you're connecting directly through the university - on campus or, in many cases, through university housing - you don't need the proxy and in those cases you'd indeed get the PDF attached automatically.
    If you're connecting from home or somewhere else off-campus, though, you need the proxy to even be allowed access to proquest.
  • aggerlouise
    Ah okay! Unfortunately, I have to go through a proxy as I do most of my work at home and my wifi is broken on my computer anyway, so I can't connect to the network at uni. But thanks for letting me know, I appreciate it!
  • adamsmith
    If you're able to use a VPN connection instead of the proxy that might work, too, depending on how it's set up. see http://www.vpn.aau.dk/
  • aggerlouise
    Oh wow, you are awesome! Thank you so so much for all your help! :)
  • aggerlouise
    I know this is probably out of your scope, but when I try to run that instruction I get this message (in both firefox and safari). I've installed the client using the link, then I rebooted, but still no luck.

    http://imgur.com/QkYaVjG
  • adamsmith
    yeah, you need to talk to your university's IT about that. Likely a Java issue with your Mac, but that's indeed beyond the scope of what we can do here.
  • aggerlouise
    Alright! Again, thank you so much for all your help, I really appreciate it! I wish I could send you a big batch of cookies or something!
    Have a lovely day!

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