Getting started

huttoj01
I'm a brand new Zotero user. Downloaded latest standalone Zotero 4.0 for my mac OS snow leopard 10.6.8. Noting much is working as described in the quick start guide, i.e. dragging files to trash doesn't open trash, files not bringing metadata with them into my library.... first question, are there compatibility issues with my OS and this latest version of Zotero? I'm spending a frustrating 2 days trying to figure this out. Thanks for any advice.
  • adamsmith
    As for version compatibility -- I haven't heard any reports of problems with Snow Leopard and given how common it is, we probably would have, but Zotero doesn't test on systems no longer supported by the manufacturer (as you're probably aware, Apple stopped Snow Leopard support almost two years ago), so no guarantees.

    That said, the problems you mention don't sound like compatibility issues.

    I'm actually trying to figure out what you're referring to with those two issues. Assuming we're talking about the same quick start documentation, i.e. https://www.zotero.org/support/quick_start_guide , I don't see any mention of the trash there at all (and dragging items to the trash does, in fact, not do anything and never has).

    Files don't bring metadata into Zotero. You can try retrieving Metadata for PDFs in Zotero https://www.zotero.org/support/retrieve_pdf_metadata which will work reasonably well, in particular for newer journal articles, but otherwise your main way of getting items into Zotero would be the Save to Zotero icon as explained here: https://www.zotero.org/support/getting_stuff_into_your_library#web_translators
    Note that you'll need, in addition to Zotero, to install a connector for your browser of choice for this to work. Available for Safari, Chrome, and Firefox from zotero.org/download
  • DWL-SDCA
    Apple _does_ continue to support and sell OS 10.6.8 (http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MC573Z/A/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard) for machines with post-Power PC but less-than-modern microprocessors. That said, Apple has several times announced that support was ending.

    Zotero is very Mac friendly.

    Older versions of the Zotero FireFox plugin worked fine with OS 10.6. My memory seems to recall that the Z standalone worked with Safari in 10.6 but that was a long time ago -- we may have stopped using that machine about the time Zotero standalone was released in 2011.

    I'm guessing that your browser is Safari. What version of Safari? Did you download Zotero standalone from the Zotero website or did you get it from one of the other places on the web?

    I believe that you should start your approach to Zotero again and follow adamsmith's advice above. View the short how-to videos on the Zotero website.

    If you downloaded Zotero from the Zotero website, also download the appropriate browser connector.

    By "dragging files to the trash" do you mean that you attempted to drag the Zotero application files to the trash so that you could begin again? If you meant something else, ignore the following: I seem to recall that these older versions of OS 10.6 and Safari sometimes had file permissions issues that prevented some non-Apple software from working properly. Being unable to move program files to the trash was an indication of restricted permissions.

    By quick start guide, do you mean that you opened Zotero, clicked on the quick start record and, after reading it, tried to delete it by dragging it to the Zotero trash collection (folder)?
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