Error message when trying to footnote sources

I've been recently receiving the following error message when trying to create footnotes in the most recent version of Word from my Zotero library.

Zotero could not load the component required to communicate with your word processor. Please ensure that the appropriate extension is installed and try again.

Here are some relevant factors:
1. I'm using a university computer. Is it possible they have settings that are blocking me?
2. I've tried obtaining a few extensions from Zotero's list of plug-ins and extensions, but I'm probably missing something. If there is something to solve the problem, can you take me right to it (a webapage with the extension/plug-in)?
3. I'm also transitioning from Zotero Standalone to cloud-based. My standalone library has been imported.
4. At home I have Word 2013 and it uses "add-ins," while the more recent version of Word that I have at school is from Word 2016, and the tab on Word says "Zotero," not "add-ins." Could that be an issue?
5. I've tried using Firefox and Chrome. Does it matter if they are both open at the same time?
  • Do you have Zotero Standalone open when you're trying this?
    (on 4 and 5 the answer is no, that's fine)
  • I made the effort again, being sure that the standalone version was closed and I still received the error message:

    Zotero could not load the component required to communicate with your word processor. Please ensure that the appropriate extension is installed and try again.
  • no, I'd want you to have Standalone _open_
  • With standalone open, I seem to have full interactivity with the standalone, but items don't seem to import into the cloud-based version. Then, I closed the standalone and tried to insert a footnote and I received the aforementioned error message.
  • Then you want to sync Standalone:
    https://www.zotero.org/support/sync

    I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "the cloud-based version". There is no cloud-based version of Zotero with Word integration. There is a Firefox add-on, but that's no more cloud based than Standalone: data are stored locally and sync to the Zotero servers. Especially as you work on different computers, that's important to keep in mind: data will not be available on different computers unless you sync successfully.

    If you prefer using the Firefox version, make sure you have the word integration installed: https://www.zotero.org/support/word_processor_plugin_installation
  • I solved the syncing issue, but when I use Chrome, I get an error msg that says that I need to use firefox (my computer would not let me cut and paste the msg), and when I use firefox, I end up with the same msg that I started this thread with. Then, when I try to install the extension, I receive I receive an error msg in a language I do not understand that supposedly explains why the extension won't install.
  • right, if you want to use Chrome, the Standalone program is your only option.
    If that works for you, I'd honestly leave it at that. If you do want to get the Firefox version to work, I can run you through more troubleshooting steps.
  • The bottom line is that I want my students to be able to access their work from anywhere, even when they run into an admin problem on a university computer. If they can use Zotero on any computer with Chrome, that works. But, if the fact that they are using multiple machines prevents access to files, then I would need the firefox solution. Can you comment on that? Thanks.
  • There are two full-fletched versions of Zotero
    1) Zotero Standalone
    2) Zotero for Firefox

    Both do almost exactly the same thing and work the same way. The Standalone version also comes with connectors for other browsers, but those connectors alone only allow saving things, they don't provide any other functionality.

    You do need either 1) or 2) to work with a word processor, and either of them would need to sync in order for libraries to be available on multiple machines.
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