Zotero 5.0 - Error: Edit citation - Classic Citation Dialogue

Mattha
edited December 19, 2016
Hi there,

I just updated to Zotero 5-beta and ran into a problem.

When I try to edit a citation in word for mac (2016), Zotero can't "find" the relevant item in my database. I therefore can't edit the citation at all. I should add that I am using the classic dialogue setting for citing items.

This is only the case with documents that I created with Zotero 4.x. When trying to replicate the problem with a new document (now using Zotero 5-beta), I manage to edit citations. Could this be an upgrade problem?

Report ID: 859465470

Many thanks for helping out with this!
  • dstillman
    When I try to edit a citation in word for mac (2016), Zotero can't "find" the relevant item in my database.
    Meaning what, exactly? What happens?
  • Mattha
    edited December 19, 2016
    Sorry I haven't been as clear as necessary, so let me try again.

    What happens is that when I try to edit a citation in a document originally created with Zotero 4, Zotero displays my entire library without skipping to the item I wish to edit. I can then scroll down to that item, and it is highlighted as per usual, but this is clearly not ideal.

    I have just checked on another computer, where I still use 4.0, and there is no problem at all. I was just wondering whether this is to do with upgrading to 5.0.

    [Thanks for the brilliant work on Zotero!]
  • Mattha
    Sorry - can I ask whether anyone else has had the same issue? I am hesitant to switch to 5.0 if I can't edit citations in previously created documents.

    Any advice as to what I could do would be much appreciated! Thanks.
  • dstillman
    From your description, it sounds like the only issue is that it's not automatically scrolling the selected item into view. Is that right?

    I can reproduce that, and we'll fix it. But I'm not clear why this is a major issue — the correct item is selected, so you can show the editor pane, add locators, etc., and everything will work normally.

    Also, when you say it's not happening for a new document, I assume you're actually just sorting by Date Added or Date Modified, with new items at the top, because this is purely just a question of what's scrolled into view and wouldn't be any different between old and new documents.

    If there's some other issue you're seeing, you'd have to explain further.
  • Mattha
    Hi Dan,

    Yes, that's exactly right - Zotero does not scroll to the correct item. The issue is that Zotero also always switches to the full library view (even if I have switched to a collection) when I try editing a citation, and my library is relatively large, so it takes me a long time to scroll down.

    It is probably no major issue at all, just a hassle if your library is large. I hope my description makes sense.

    Thanks so much for picking this up; I very much appreciate it!
  • dstillman
    We can look at that too, but why do you need to scroll down? Again, the correct item is selected, even if it's not scrolled into view, so the rest of the dialog should work as you expect.
  • dstillman
    (For what it's worth, if you really want to see the selected item, until this is fixed a workaround would be to click on My Library, press Tab to change focus to the middle pane, then press up-arrow and down-arrow, which will scroll the selected item into view and leave it selected.)
  • dstillman
    edited December 26, 2016
    I'm not seeing the switching to the library root. It's staying on the last-selected collection for me.

    But that does create one genuine problem — if you last selected a different collection from the one containing the item you're editing, the item you're editing isn't selected, because it doesn't exist in that collection, and the rest of the dialog doesn't work until you go and reselect it. Maybe that's what you're seeing?

    If you focus My Library first in Zotero, the correct item should then be selected when you go to edit a citation and you shouldn't need to bother scrolling down.

    In any case, we'll fix this soon.
  • Mattha
    edited December 26, 2016
    Dan,

    Thanks for the reply. What happens in my case is precisely as you described; you were right about the collection, too. The reason why I need to scroll down to the selected item, though, is that I can't edit the citation until I find it. [By edit I mean change the page number, for example.] Once I reach the selected item I can indeed edit it.

    I'll wait for the fix and try again then. Thanks!
  • Mattha
    UPDATE - the latest beta version fixed the problem! Many thanks, Dan, for getting this done so quickly!
  • user0917

    Same/similar problem in Word for Mac (latest version) after updating from ZOTERO 4.? to 5.0.20 today:

    If I use the "Classic Citation Dialog/View" and I click on the button "Add/Edit Citation" in the Word-Menu-Bar, the collection is shown but the item is NOT green-highlighted.

    If I use standard/new citation dialog and I click there on "Open in library" it works fine: the item is green-highlighted.

    Any ideas?




  • adamsmith
    See https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/comment/286454/#Comment_286454 and following discussion
This discussion has been closed.