Unable to Download Articles to Zotero

DeeLovely79 · May 3, 2014

I use Zotero in Firefox and for some reason I am unable to download any articles to Zotero. I'm logged and can see my library. When I click on the article I want to download, the dialogue box comes up and I click on the "Download to Zotero option" and I get an error saying "an error occured while saving this link". This has happened with several article from different journals. My error ID is 701288358.

adamsmith · May 3, 2014

1. You seem to be using Zotero in an odd and likely inefficient way. For almost all journals, you should be clicking the URL bar icon on the article's abstract/landing page and in most cases you'll get the PDF automatically attached:
https://www.zotero.org/support/getting_stuff_into_your_library?&#web_translators

2. Still that error shouldn't occur, of course. Do you have a sample URL for an article you're trying to save?

DeeLovely79 · May 3, 2014

Hi, prefer to save my articles as PDFs. I find it easier to download the metadata that way as I often accessing article through various library servers. Here is the link to the article : http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3322/caac.21203/full

I clicked on "Get

DeeLovely79 · May 3, 2014

Sorry about that I am responding from my phone.

I clicked on "Get PDF" and the dialogue box opened up and I selected download to Zotero and get Metdata. This usually works.

adamsmith · May 3, 2014

Hi, prefer to save my articles as PDFs. I find it easier to download the metadata that way as I often accessing article through various library servers.

sorry, not sure I understand that. And you're incurring significant costs by doing this - you get much worse data (including errors in bibliographic data), including missing important fields like (frequently) DOI and (always) abstract. The former in particular is required by more and more journals.

is the above URL exactly what you're seeing? Also, you get the download dialog directly after clicking Get PDF? I'm not surprised that doesn't work and you shouldn't get the download dialog (which would be a Firefox error, nothing Zotero can do about that). The PDF is embedded in a webpage with html around it.

edit: (btw. with default Firefox settings you should see the PDF embedded in the page after clicking on "Get PDF", so this is likely something you have changed, purposefully or not).

DeeLovely79 · May 3, 2014

This must be an issue with the webpage/journal, I tried accessing the article using the translator and that worked.

I went to another site with reports that I often refer to (that does not have a web translator available) and I was able to download the pdf, so that method is working as well.

http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/content/@epidemiologysurveilance/documents/document/acspc-037535.pdf

I have not changed any of the Firefox settings with the exception of installing plugins.

If you could point me to instructions so that PDFs will be viewable as described, I would appreciate it.

adamsmith · May 3, 2014

could well be a PDF plugin you installed or the file handling in the Applications tab of the Firefox preferences. Sorry, I don't think there are any instructions - as I said, a default Firefox install handles this correctly.

manbri12 · May 14, 2014

I'm having the same issue, and when I attempt to add an article to Zotero by clicking "Save to Zotero" in the address bar, a little status box pops up in the lower right corner of my screen, and at the bottom of that box, a little .pdf icon pops up along with "Ebsco Full Text", but then the .pdf icon changes to a red "X", and the .pdf does not get saved to Zotero. My workaround is that I download the .pdf to my system and then 'store a copy' of it into Zotero. This is a bit tedious, and it would be great if a simpler method worked, 'cause Zotero is pretty much the coolest thing ever, and having that bit dialed in would put it over the top.

adamsmith · May 14, 2014

post a URL exactly as you see it for an EBSCO article. Also, are you using Zotero in Firefox or Standalone with another browser?

manbri12 · May 14, 2014

This page displays the .pdf within the page:

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.bay.evergreen.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&sid=16e3b4bf-2c93-4595-b2f9-900741e317bf%40sessionmgr112&hid=122

Here's the link to the pdf:
http://content.ebscohost.com.bay.evergreen.edu/pdf27_28/pdf/2012/O5H/01Jul12/76172618.pdf?T=P&P=AN&K=76172618&S=R&D=eih&EbscoContent=dGJyMNXb4kSep7I4y9f3OLCmr0yepq5Ssaq4S7GWxWXS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMOPd8H3j5LmF39%2FsU%2BPe7Yvy

When I open the .pdf in a browser, the "Save to Zotero" button in the address bar is not present.

I'm using Firefox 28.0 with the Zotero 4.0.20.2 plugin.

adamsmith · May 14, 2014

and you don't have Zotero Standalone, correct? That should work, I believe. We'll try to take a look.

manbri12 · May 14, 2014

Correct - I do not have Zotero Standalone.

Zotero Rocks - thanks for working to make it rock even harder.

adamsmith · May 14, 2014

works for me (though a different proxy, but same article).
Check out the two steps under 10. here:
https://www.zotero.org/support/troubleshooting_translator_issues
(ignore the rest), see if that works.

manbri12 · May 14, 2014

AhHa! I had my browser set to reject third party cookies. When I changed settings to allow them, it worked as expected.

Thanks for your help, adamsmith!

kddagley · May 20, 2014

I've been having the same problem with Zotero stand alone. I get the red x in front of the EBSCO Full Text. I have my Firefox browser set to allow cookies. It was working yesterday and now isn't. Help!

adamsmith · May 20, 2014

works in general. Do you have Zotero Standalone installed and open when you're trying this? If not, provide both a permalink (available on the right of the item display in EBSCO) and the link exactly as you see it.

kddagley · May 30, 2014

I think this is one:

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLA0000864486&site=ehost-live

adamsmith · May 30, 2014

In general this works, but you're missing two of my questions:
1. Do you have Zotero Standalone open when you're trying this?
2. Provide the link exactly as you see it (in addition to the permalink)

syngesis · May 15, 2015

I have this same problem. I do not have Zotero stand-alone. I use Zotero with Firefox. I have been able to download metadata and the PDF for a long time. And now suddenly I can't anymore. I have 3rd party cookies allowed. When I click on a PDF and then choose <save to Zotero> I get is "an error occured while saving this link" When i use the yellow folder in the address line, the metadata is stored by the PDF is not. I'm wondering if I can reinstall Zotero without losing my library?

aurimas · May 15, 2015

Re-installing Zotero is probably not going to help. It would help, however, if you could describe your issues in more detail.

When I click on a PDF and then choose I get is "an error occured while saving this link"

Is that with any PDF? If it's with a specific PDF, please provide a link to the PDF. Also provide an error log https://www.zotero.org/support/reporting_problems#provide_a_report_id

When i use the yellow folder in the address line, the metadata is stored by the PDF is not

That's probably expected, but we would need to see the exact URL you are importing from. Also, See steps 7 and 11 here: https://www.zotero.org/support/troubleshooting_translator_issues

psorenson90 · September 9, 2016

I have Zotero standalone and Zotero extension installed into Chrome. I am unable to get most articles into my library. I can download and drag them in but then they only open into Microsoft Edge (which is a piece of crap browser that I can't write notes or do any marking/annotating in). Suggestions?