Unable to download sources from database

r.voit
Report ID: 200350009

I want to extract sources from the database Social Service Abstracts as well as Digital Dissertations.

I have already updated ALL my internet browsers (Chrome, Firefox, and Safari) and I have updated Zotero as well as all the necessary extensions necessary for Zotero and these browsers to communicate properly. I have followed the process outlined below using each of the browsers to not avail.

I have also purchased more storage in Zotero.

Still, the problem is the same - I cannot extract sources from these two databases. I have not yet been able identify what is the cause of this issue.

*DESIRED OUTCOME: To save sources from the Social Service Abstracts and the Digital Dissertations databases using Google Chrome or Firefox or Safari and standalone Zotero.

*TO REPLICATE THIS ISSUE:
1. Open standalone Zotero on a Mac with OS Sierra 10.12.1
2. Open Google Chrome Version 55.0.2883.95.
3. Open a scientific database and complete a search (like Social Service Abstracts).
4. On the results page of your search, click the folder icon on the toolbar at the top of your Chrome window.
5. In the Zotero pop-up window, using the checkboxes, select which articles you'd like to save.
6. Hit "save".
7. A small box in the lower right hand corner of the Chrome window will pop up to say, "An error has occurred. Check for Known Translator Issues."
  • adamsmith
    We'd need URLs for the two databases as well as for the specific searches that you're trying to import from, exactly as you see them.
  • r.voit
    I'm not sure if I can get direct links to the databases. The host website requires log-in information to access the databases, so I can't get to the database itself without logging in.
  • adamsmith
    we don't necessarily need direct links that work, but we do need URLs as _you_ see them.
  • r.voit
    Oh, okay.

    Link to search results for Digital Dissertations:

    http://search.proquest.com.ezp1.lib.umn.edu/dissertations/results/6BD98FD2B1AF4F80PQ/1?accountid=14586

    Link to search results for Social Service Abstracts:

    http://search.proquest.com.ezp1.lib.umn.edu/socialservices/results/12652C0955E14B8APQ/1?accountid=14586
  • adamsmith
    Both of these databases work fine with me on Chrome&Standalone.

    @Dan%20Stillman -- could you check if there's anything in the error report above?

    @r.voit -- is that error report from the Chrome connector not Zotero Standalone. Is that where you produced the one above?
  • bwiernik
    How many items are you trying to save at once with the Folder icon? ProQuest very aggressively blocks automated downloads, so I suspect that is the problem. After a short delay, can you download a single item or download an item from its abstract page (rather than the search results page)?

    For using ProQuest, what I've found to work better is to export the items I want as a .RIS file and import that into Zotero.
  • r.voit
    @adamsmith - I'm not sure which version of Zotero the error report is from (standalone or the connector). I followed the directions I found on this website in order to get the error report through standalone, but the error window itself pops up within Chrome.

    @bwiernik - I try to save anywhere from 1 - 20 articles at a time. I have tried saving one at a time and it may work at first, then the next page of results I'll get the same error.

    I will try downloading the item from the abstract page. That may help! Although, it will be quite tedious and time-consuming for downloading the amount of articles I'd like.

    I'm also happy to try exporting the items to a .RIS file and importing it into Zotero, but I don't know how to do that. Do you have a tutorial available?
  • bwiernik
    (I'm currently away from a computer, so I'm doing this from memory. Might have some labels incorrect.)

    On the search results page, check the boxes next to each item you want to download (you can do this across several pages of search results, but the website gets slow after about 100 results exporting). In the upper right corner of the page, there is an Save button. Export the items as “RIS” and save the .RIS file it generates. Open this file in a text editor like Notepad or TextEdit, copy the results to to clipboard. In Zotero, in the Gears menu, click Import from Clipboard.
  • r.voit
    Thanks, @bwiernik. The RIS process seems to be working.

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