Upgraded Standalone and now Zotero won't work in Firefox

2
  • newswatcher
    So when I click in my library the data opens in a Firefox window, still no way to save in Firefox...
  • dstillman
    After you upgraded to Zotero 5.0, did you see an empty library that you then synced to pull down your data? This doesn't look like the database transferred to the new location at all, but it also shouldn't have been pointing to the new location if that failed.
  • newswatcher
    Can't remember, didn't try to open a Library item at that time.
  • newswatcher
    Is there any way to save a page from Firefox directly to the standalone?
  • dstillman
    No, I just mean the items list. Did you see all your items immediately, or was it empty, and then you synced to pull down all your items?
  • dstillman
    Is there any way to save a page from Firefox directly to the standalone?
    Yes, use the Zotero Connector and a supported version of Firefox. As long as you're using Firefox 42, we can't help you.
  • newswatcher
    Well, I found a work-around by install the Zotero Connector in Chrome and I can save pages from Chrome to the standalone. That will be such a hassle but it's all I can do now. Upgrade to newest Firefox (42 to 43.0.1) will make me lose Coolviews, DownLoadThemAll and several other addons I regularly use, including Alldebrid for downloading. It's not an option due to Mozilla's stance on those addons.
  • newswatcher
    If I coud successfully go back to v.4 of Zotero, which it appears I can't, then I'm stuck with Chrome for what I did with Firefox. Bummer, severe bummer.
  • dstillman
    No, you're mistaken here. Legacy Firefox extensions — like Zotero for Firefox, and all of those — still work with Firefox 52 ESR, and will be supported until Firefox 57. And if you run Firefox 52 ESR, which, again, is supported by Mozilla through mid-2018, you can also run WebExtensions like the Zotero Connector for Firefox.

    You can downgrade to Zotero Standalone 4.0 and Zotero 4.0 for Firefox, of course, but we can't provide support for those anymore, and using an outdated, insecure browser version is a very bad idea, particularly when there's no need to.
  • newswatcher
    Also, how do I migrate the Mozilla path to the Documents path for Zotero?
  • newswatcher
    I can only upgrade to 43.0.1 per my browser...how would I get v.52 ESR you speak of ...
  • dstillman
    edited July 24, 2017
    Also, how do I migrate the Mozilla path to the Documents path for Zotero?
    You can just close Zotero, move the C:\Users\John\Zotero that was created during the migration attempt out of the way, and then rename the 'zotero' directory from the profile directory to C:\Users\John\Zotero. Zotero 5.0 will then pick it up automatically when it starts. You can then delete the other "Zotero" directory that you moved out of the way.

    We'll try to figure out what happened during the upgrade, since obviously this should work smoothly.
  • dstillman
    edited July 24, 2017
    I can only upgrade to 43.0.1 per my browser...how would I get v.52 ESR you speak of ...
    The Firefox 52 ESR is available here:

    https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/

    Again, there's also a difference between legacy add-ons and unsigned add-ons. The former will all still work in 52 (barring some other random incompatibility). If any of your extensions aren't signed, you'd have to use the unbranded build of Firefox. But if they're on addons.mozilla.org (and generally even if they aren't, unless they're abandoned by their developers) they'd be signed.
  • newswatcher
    Also, Coolviews is kaput for any version above 42.0. https://www.cooliris.com/

    Should I now delete the Zotero folder from my Mozilla Profile?
  • dstillman
    edited July 24, 2017
    Also, Coolviews is kaput for any version above 42.0.
    I don't know anything specific about that. All I can tell you is that legacy/XUL extensions are supported by Mozilla through Firefox 57. If an extension wasn't updated for an earlier Firefox version, that has nothing to do with Mozilla's extension changes.
    Should I now delete the Zotero folder from my Mozilla Profile?
    The 'zotero' directory? No, that's your data directory. As I said above, you should move that to your home directory as "Zotero", with Zotero closed.
  • newswatcher

    Who is it for?

    Firefox ESR is intended for groups who deploy and maintain the desktop environment in large organizations such as universities and other schools, county or city governments and businesses.
    Who is it not for?

    Individual users who always want the latest features, performance enhancements and technologies in their browser without waiting for them to become available in ESR several development cycles later.
    Step 1.

    Before proceeding, we strongly encourage Firefox ESR users to sign up for the Enterprise Working Group (EWG) mailing list. The EWG list is a great place to discuss deploying Firefox with other community members and will be the only way to receive regular communications regarding product updates and support.
    Step 2.

    Review our handy FAQ for your organization and download Firefox ESR.
  • dstillman
    Not sure what your point is. Honestly, this is waste of time — please take the time to read my messages and, if you have a concern or don't understand something, take the time to write it out.
    Who is it not for?

    Individual users who always want the latest features, performance enhancements and technologies in their browser
    This clearly isn't you, since you're running a version of Firefox from 2015.

    Again, you can run either the ESR — which is perfectly fine for individual users to run — or the current Firefox version, currently 54. Most people should run the current version. If you still want to keep running legacy extensions past Firefox 57, which will be released later this year, you can run the ESR until mid-2018.

    It's entirely your choice, but I've provided all the information you need to continue, and I can't help you further.
  • newswatcher
    Thanks.
  • newswatcher
    Updated to 52.2.1 and still don't see zotero save page at the top nor a way to save a page to zotero. So much for that.
  • newswatcher
    http://i.imgur.com/g0PbA0A.jpg

    Could this be a problem if I don't even see the Zotero Connector in my menu taskbar?
  • dstillman
    No, the icon should just be added to the toolbar by Firefox after the install. If you don't see it in the toolbar, you can also check the three-bars menu and the Customize palette.

    If you're running some legacy extension that modifies the toolbar, that could be interfering, so you could try with other extensions temporarily disabled.
  • newswatcher
    Well, I disabled "NoScript" just to not block scripts and the "Z" does appear in the menu bar, but clicking it does nothing. I saw in another thread and I asked this before just how do you save a page from Firefox 52 to the standalone like Chrome does. Thanks,

    http://i.imgur.com/PQtUvAg.jpg
  • newswatcher
    The "Z" appears on some pages but disappears from most in the menu bar. Perplexing.
  • newswatcher
    Aha! It's a right-click function to save metadate screenshot directly to the standalone app, which means the app has to be open to grab the metadata but the standalone only uses 107MB of memory so no big deal. Going to try it without the standalone being open.
  • newswatcher

    No go on that "Zotero is Offline

    The Zotero Connector was unable to communicate with the Zotero desktop application. The Connector can save some pages directly to your zotero.org account, but for best results you should make sure Zotero is open before attempting to save.

    You can download Zotero or troubleshoot the connection if necessary."
  • dstillman
    edited July 24, 2017
    It sounds like you're still a bit confused about how this works. With the Zotero Connector installed, there's a save button in the Zotero toolbar. It's the same as the middle part of the three-part toolbar button you had previously in Zotero for Firefox — the icon will change based on what you're viewing. The button itself doesn't appear or disappear based on what page you're on. This is what it looks like:

    https://www.zotero.org/support/getting_stuff_into_your_library#web_translators
    https://www.zotero.org/support/getting_stuff_into_your_library#saving_webpages

    There's no more Z button. When you first install the Connector, the save button will show a Z until you first click on it and get a welcome message. If it's a Z any other time, something isn't working right, likely because of other extensions you have installed that are interfering or a known issue with strict privacy settings (which we hope to have a fix for soon).

    Zotero is now a separate application, so yes, you should keep it open while you save to it for best results. Otherwise this works almost exactly the same as it did before.
  • newswatcher
    OK. I get it now. Thanks for your patience. I see the icon. Easy peasy so far.
  • dstillman
    OK, tracked down a couple issues with data directory migration based on your screenshots. When there was an error migrating the database, the error message was incomplete, and, more problematically, Zotero could end up pointing at the new empty data directory instead of the old one. Both fixed in the latest version. Thanks.
  • newswatcher
    Well, I now have two directories for Zotero: one in the Mozilla app directory and one in the User director, about 2.59GB on disk and 589MB in Mozilla Profile, taking-up valuable space on my computer. What can be done about this? Thanks for staying on top of this...

    http://i.imgur.com/VJLk81z.jpg

    http://i.imgur.com/HEtXBFU.jpg

    Jake
  • dstillman
    You can delete whichever one you're not using. Check which one is your active Zotero data directory and whether it has all of your data and files.

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