Zotero 5.0 Beta

Gurdas_Sandhu · November 4, 2016

What is the current ETA for 5.0 full public release?

adamsmith · November 4, 2016

(Dan has indicated that they won't push out any more Standalone point releases but rather wait for the 5.0 release, so I'd guess very soon, though obviously they won't release until they're satisfied there aren't any known bugs).

Gurdas_Sandhu · November 4, 2016

That's great. Just wanted to get a sense of the timing, and agree that it's better to hold and fix major bugs than push a buggy version on users. I guess some bugs will remain - never heard of software without any known bugs :)

ROSeidl · November 19, 2016

Upgrade problem of the database:
Localized string not available for upgrade.status
Any solution?

Sorry, after a reboot everything worked.

ben_a · November 23, 2016

Hi @"Dan Stillman" I know you probably don't want to give too much away but can you give us some idea of the major new features that are planned for Zotero? I would love some sort of roadmap for what you have in mind.

itman · November 25, 2016

Some information on ETA on release, etc would be great.

smith_jn · November 27, 2016

Is there a Firefox connector for the Beta 5.0 standalone?

adamsmith · November 27, 2016

You can use the Firefox 5beta with the Standalone 5beta the same way the current Standalone/Firefox combination works.

smith_jn · November 27, 2016

Thank you

jsethlee · December 6, 2016

Good afternoon. I was wondering if there was an update on the final version's release date?

leoteo · December 8, 2016

Once the new release is out, is there anything one needs to watch out for when one is part of a large group library (>1k items, >10G of data)? I.e. are there recommended protocols for the upgrade that one should make people aware of before the upgrade or can one simply "let it happen"?

Graffis · December 14, 2016

Is there any way to use simultaneously Zotero 4.0 ane the beta for 5.0? The issue iis obviously the profile folder. What I want to do is copy my 4.0 into beta folder and then be able to work with both versions running. Currently the beta uses the same folder the 4.0 did.
Or maybe it's already known that we will be able to smoothly go from a beta to release version of 5.0 without loosing the data?

dstillman · December 14, 2016

5.0 will be out very soon, so at this point I'd recommend just installing the beta if you're considering it. Switching back to the release version won't be an issue.

hamigos · December 17, 2016

Has anyone had difficulties with 'retrieve metadata for pdf' with 5.0 Beta - Stand Alone? It appears to be stuck retrieving info, no progression of bar and can't cancel except through red close button.

ben_a · December 17, 2016

Yes:

https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/63575/zotero-5-beta-stuck-when-try-to-retrieve-pdf-metadata#latest

areteichi · December 20, 2016

Will the "Separate Tab" and "App Tab" modes be removed in Zotero 5.0? I just saw this milestone on GitHub:

https://github.com/zotero/zotero/issues/1135

I thought I would ask before I report an issue with the App Tab mode (Zotero doesn't start up in App Tab even with this mode turned on).

smith_jn · December 20, 2016

Will 5.0 Beta update into 5.0 gold or will we need to reinstall?

bwiernik · December 20, 2016

The beta will stay on the beta release schedule (typically slightly ahead of the stable release schedule). If you want to switch back to only the full stable releases, you can just install 5.0 release over the beta when it's out.

Gracile · December 20, 2016

@areteichi:
@Dan%20Stillman wrote in october:

We will, however, be discontinuing the full-featured Zotero for Firefox
sooner — as early as January 2017 — due to the Firefox e10s
(multiprocess) migration.

I don't know if the ETA (January 2017) is still the good one, but you've the general idea: separate tab/ app tab mode is going to be removed as it makes sense only with Firefox. Zotero will be standalone-only, with connectors to make it work with the different browsers.

dominicv · December 30, 2016

Problem updating a citation using Word for mac.
When I try to update a citation already existing that has a page number, the update dialog does not have the page number information, unless it is rewritten, it is loss.

Steps to repro:
1) Using word for mac 2011 and 2016, insert a citation with author and page number.
2) Click the citation in Word and select option to edit citation
3) in the Zotero dialog (using the view that show the library) notice the missing page number in the text box and check the checkbox to remove author and click ok

Result: the author and page number are removed

Expected behaviour
The page number is show in the dialog and kept in the citation when Ok is clicked

dstillman · December 30, 2016

@dominicv: Thanks — this is already fixed for the next beta, which will be out next week.

Gurdas_Sandhu · January 4, 2017

Dan, What's the current tentative ETA for full public release of Zotero 5.0?

Also, I am unable to do a "@yourname" for "Dan Stillman". All the combinations I have tried lead to broken or wrong reference.

dstillman · January 11, 2017

The first new beta version in a few weeks is now available, and it includes some big changes I wanted to highlight here.

As we previously promised for January 2017, the two separate versions of Zotero, Zotero for Firefox and Zotero Standalone, have been replaced by a single standalone application ("Zotero"). Zotero for Firefox has been replaced by the Zotero Connector for Firefox, a lightweight extension, similar to those available for Chrome and Safari, that lets you save to Zotero or zotero.org in a single click. The Zotero Connector for Firefox uses Mozilla's new WebExtension architecture, so unlike Zotero for Firefox it's compatible with Multiprocess Firefox (a.k.a. e10s/Electrolysis) and will continue to work as Mozilla discontinues legacy extensions, planned for later this year.

Along with this change, all of the Zotero Connectors have been greatly improved to offer most of the browsing-related functionality previously available only in Zotero for Firefox: proxy support, CSL style installation, RIS/BibTeX interception, improved attachment saving. (These changes, and others, are available now in the new Zotero Connector for Firefox, and we'll be rolling out new versions for Chrome and Safari in the next few days.)

Other changes in the latest 5.0 beta include an updated note editor (TinyMCE 4, including search/replace support), direct style installation from the preferences, immediate push-based sync triggering on remote changes, and lots of other smaller stuff.

The current Standalone beta will auto-update to the new version, and Zotero for Firefox will auto-update to the Zotero Connector for Firefox. If you're using Firefox and don't yet have Standalone, you should install the standalone 5.0 Beta to access your local library after the upgrade.

Zotero 5.0 Beta builds:

Zotero Connector builds:

Firefox
Chrome, Safari: will auto-update soon

In the next few days, we'll be putting up a blog post for non-beta users with more details on the transition to a single version.

Thanks to everyone who's been helping to test 5.0!

bwiernik · January 11, 2017

@Dan%20Stillman Exciting updates! What's the status of a connector extension for the Microsoft Edge browser?

dstillman · January 11, 2017

@bwiernik:

What's the status of a connector extension for the Microsoft Edge browser?

“Help Welcome”. I haven't look into it myself, but my understanding from @adomasven is that it's nowhere near where we need it to be in terms of 1) not being broken and 2) developer tooling. If people want to work on it or discuss further, they're welcome to post to that issue.

Gurdas_Sandhu · January 11, 2017

Zotero Developers: This is great. Thank you for all the hard work!

@"Dan Stillman"

1. What is your advise for trying the beta while still using 4.0.29? Can the new Standalone beta co-exist with the stable version? Can they (and should they) point to the same dbase? Maybe create a temp login at zotero.org and use the beta with that (but on the same computer and login)?

2. Can you give an ETA for the full public release of 5.0?

adamsmith · January 11, 2017

They certainly can't point to the same database, no, and I don't think you can easily install them in parallel, I'm afraid, though there may be ways to do that.

DWL-SDCA · January 11, 2017

While I haven't had time to thoroughly vet last night's beta and the new note editor, I have used the 5 beta from the time it was first released. For the past two months, I've only used the 5b standalone. I find that the recent betas are unbreakable. Each minor problem I've reported has been fixed immediately. (There have been no major problems for months.) Even before this recent update, I stopped thinking of this as beta software. My work, my job, depends on Zotero functioning properly. Z5 beta does everything 4.0.x does and faster. I've never before been more consistently pleased with any other (released) software as I am with the Zotero recent betas. As far as I'm concerned, it is ready and should please everyone.

Gurdas_Sandhu · January 11, 2017

@DWL-SDCA If I were the CEO of a major corporation, you'd be getting a press secretary job offer from me :)

I use Zotero every day at home and at work, and love it. I have not participated in beta testing to avoid any serious disruption to what I do with Zotero daily. It's great to know your experience with 5.0 betas has been so positive. Kudos to the Zotero team!

@adamsmith So, how are folks testing? On a second computer? Or, same computer but separate login? I am on Windows 10.

Oby · January 12, 2017

One question: to what extent will the upgrade to 5.0 be forced on the user (i.e. happen automatically)?

I am not afraid of change, and am very much looking forward to 5.0 but, as I am finishing my PhD in February/March, my inner "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality suggests that I should wait to upgrade until after submission. Just so as to not expose myself to the 1 in a million chance that something goes terribly wrong.