Upgrade StorageZotero Standalone + Sandboxie - translators not working
OK, I know it's technically a Sandboxie problem, but I've already combed through Sandboxie forums and could not find anything relevant.
I'm using Zotero Standalone, Firefox and Sandboxie. All programs and extensions are the latest updated versions. The problem is, Zotero translators do not work, if I run Firefox sandboxed. That is, I can save items using Zotero plugin for Firefox, but only as web pages - most of the time even "embedded metadata" option does not work. No other options for saving are available, even on such websites as Wikipedia or Youtube - it is as if translators simply don't exist.
I've already tweaked Sandboxie settings multiple times: Sandboxie has a specialized template for Zotero, but I also allowed direct access to Zotero database folder, and direct access to the whole Firefox profile folder. I also relaxed Sandboxie permissions as far as possible, but it doesn't make any difference.
Here's what happens:
- If I run both Zotero and Firefox unsandboxed, translators are working normally.
- If I run Firefox sandboxed, but Zotero is unsandboxed, than translators are not working at all. I can save items in Firefox, but only as webpages - which means that Zotero Firefox extension does have access to Zotero database, but doesn't use translators for some reason.
- If I run Firefox and Zotero sandboxed in the same sandbox, translators are working properly, but then I have other problems using Zotero. Most importantly, Zotero Word plugin stops working, so I cannot insert citations in Word documents, but I also can't simply drag citations in other programs (such as OneNote) and sometimes can't import files in Zotero.
Previously, I've been using Zotero with sandboxed Firefox for a couple of years, and though I used to have some problems with translators, they were never so extreme. That is, some translators would not work, but others worked properly, and generally I could live with this. Sadly, I don't know, when this problem became worse.
I hope somebody here would help me with some ideas - maybe, Zotero developers could advice, what other files/folders I should allow direct access to in Sandboxie, or maybe there are other users running Zotero with Sandboxie...
P.S. Forgot to say - I did read the whole page on troubleshooting translators problems. I have history and cookies enabled in Firefox. I also went through all Firefox extensions one by one, disabling them and checking one by one. It didn't make any difference.
I'm using Zotero Standalone, Firefox and Sandboxie. All programs and extensions are the latest updated versions. The problem is, Zotero translators do not work, if I run Firefox sandboxed. That is, I can save items using Zotero plugin for Firefox, but only as web pages - most of the time even "embedded metadata" option does not work. No other options for saving are available, even on such websites as Wikipedia or Youtube - it is as if translators simply don't exist.
I've already tweaked Sandboxie settings multiple times: Sandboxie has a specialized template for Zotero, but I also allowed direct access to Zotero database folder, and direct access to the whole Firefox profile folder. I also relaxed Sandboxie permissions as far as possible, but it doesn't make any difference.
Here's what happens:
- If I run both Zotero and Firefox unsandboxed, translators are working normally.
- If I run Firefox sandboxed, but Zotero is unsandboxed, than translators are not working at all. I can save items in Firefox, but only as webpages - which means that Zotero Firefox extension does have access to Zotero database, but doesn't use translators for some reason.
- If I run Firefox and Zotero sandboxed in the same sandbox, translators are working properly, but then I have other problems using Zotero. Most importantly, Zotero Word plugin stops working, so I cannot insert citations in Word documents, but I also can't simply drag citations in other programs (such as OneNote) and sometimes can't import files in Zotero.
Previously, I've been using Zotero with sandboxed Firefox for a couple of years, and though I used to have some problems with translators, they were never so extreme. That is, some translators would not work, but others worked properly, and generally I could live with this. Sadly, I don't know, when this problem became worse.
I hope somebody here would help me with some ideas - maybe, Zotero developers could advice, what other files/folders I should allow direct access to in Sandboxie, or maybe there are other users running Zotero with Sandboxie...
P.S. Forgot to say - I did read the whole page on troubleshooting translators problems. I have history and cookies enabled in Firefox. I also went through all Firefox extensions one by one, disabling them and checking one by one. It didn't make any difference.
I don't know Sandboxie at all, so can't give any advice there beyond the fact that Zotero communicates with browsers on port 23119, so that might be a place to look into.
Apart from this, it's also a matter of personal taste - I just like using Zotero as a standalone program. I have a large database, constantly use notes, tags, related links etc. - much more convenient to do this in a standalone program imo. I could get used to Zotero in Firefox, but it's a moot point, since it gives me the same problem as standalone when sandboxed.
Thank you for your information on port communication, I'll look into it!
So: I wasn't able to solve this problem through settings manipulation. However, shortly after publishing this thread I noticed that sandboxed Chrome didn't have the same problem - all translators were working perfectly. I reasoned that probably Firefox connector was to blame. Since Zotero team promised to get rid of the old connector soon, I simply decided to wait.
Sure enough, now that the new lightweight connector for Firefox is out, I installed it, and the problem went away. I can run Firefox sandboxed, Zotero Standalone unsandboxed, and all translators are working properly, as well as the Word plugin.
So, it seems this problem is obsolete now. I'm very happy with the new Firefox connector!