No "Z" toolbar icon. No library web interface. (Zotero 5.0 + Firefox 55.0 for mac)

jkhardin
edited August 11, 2017
I'm having problems with Zotero+Firefox. Very frustrating. The old "Z" symbol on the Firefox toolbar has been replaced with a document icon that "screen shots" when I click on it. Before Zotero and Firefox were updated, it worked easily because when I clicked on the "Z," the library show up at the bottom of my web browser in split screen mode. I can't get it to do that anymore. Please help!
  • adamsmith
    You need to install & open Zotero Standalone:
    https://www.zotero.org/blog/a-unified-zotero-experience/
  • jkhardin
    I already do have Zotero Standalone, but this does not help me. I have to have Zotero in the web browser so that when I do research using web database, I can drop the bibliographic details in my Zotero library by clicking the "Z" icon.
  • dstillman
    You're misunderstanding. The Z just opened the Zotero pane. You now need to view your Zotero data in the standalone app, for the reasons explained in the blog post. The save button is separate, and that works the same as before.
  • jkhardin
    And I've read the "unified zotero experience" page already. It did not help me either. I would appreciate an explanation and detailed instructions how I can use zotero with my web interface to get bibliographical details into my library from searches without having to type it in.
  • dstillman
    You click the save button, just as you've always done.
  • jkhardin
    Thanks dstillman, but this still doesn't help me. I do research using databases on the web. I click on "Z" and then it prompts me to select which articles/essays that are on the screen to save to my library. I click on them, and they automatically download to my zotero library. I can see it right there in the web interface and then edit it if zotero messes up a field. You are asking me to use the standalone, but it cannot search and save new books/articles from web databases. I need help please on how to do what I have always done--drop new bibliographical items in my zotero library straight from the web without having to type them in. #frustrated
  • adamsmith
    I click on "Z" and then it prompts me to select which articles/essays that are on the screen to save to my library.
    Clicking the Z icon has never done this. Import from databases works exactly the same in the new Zotero version: on supported pages, the Zotero connector shows an icon (a folder for search results, a blue book icon for a single books, etc.) and on clicking it the item imports into Zotero; with folders you can select which ones import. That icon was displayed _next_ to the red Z. Now it is displayed by itself.

    If you don't get a folder icon on a database where that used to be the case, we'd need a URL. To test if this is working in general, do you see one here?
    http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=bn:9780838989180&qt=notfound_page&search=Search
  • dstillman
    edited August 11, 2017
    I click on "Z" and then it prompts me to select which articles/essays that are on the screen to save to my library.
    You're misremembering this — Zotero has never worked this way. Again, the Z in Zotero for Firefox simply opened your Zotero pane. That's the equivalent of opening the standalone Zotero app. There was a save button next to it — showing a book, newspaper, webpage — that you clicked to actually save. That still exists in the Zotero Connector for Firefox, so make sure you have that installed from the download page. If you're seeing a "document icon" somewhere where you expect to see a recognized page (book, newspaper, etc.), that's a separate issue and you should provide an example URL.

    For the best results, make sure Zotero is open when you try to save (though it can save some pages to your online account without Zotero open). The connector will save to the selected collection in Zotero, the same as before.
  • jkhardin
    edited August 11, 2017
    Yes, that is correct. Now it only shows me a "save to zotero (embedded metadata)" icon. It doesn't have a Z so that I can see my library in the web interface. Has this gone, or am I missing something on how to get it back?
  • adamsmith
    You can see your library by opening Zotero Standalone. It is no longer embedded in your browser, but as we say above, that shouldn't change anything about how you save to the library.
  • jkhardin
    Thank you for your help. Looks like I'll just have to deal with it. :)

    Do I need to know anything about how Zotero integrates with MS Word? I noticed on the Firefox add ons that it had Zotero integration was "legacy" mode. That makes me think it's also obsolete.
  • adamsmith
    Word integration will run through Standalone and work exactly the same way. You can uninstall the Zotero Word-addon in Firefox.
  • jkhardin
    Thank you.
  • RintzeRintze
    edited August 11, 2017
    Again, the Z in Zotero for Firefox simply opened your Zotero pane. That's the equivalent of opening the standalone Zotero app. There was a save button next to it — showing a book, newspaper, webpage — that you clicked to actually save.
    @dstillman, I understand the rationale for removing the "Z" from the connector UI, but I'm wondering if there isn't a way to make the remaining save button more stable and recognizable as belonging to Zotero. Have you considered using a "Z" with a smaller overlay of an item type icon? It took me a while after upgrading to recognize e.g. the blue "Embedded Metadata" icon as the Zotero save button.
  • RintzeRintze
    E.g. instead of this (Chrome):

    https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/77951/29226840-8d8549ae-7ea1-11e7-8ca8-8819e7c0063d.png

    something like:

    https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/77951/29227139-ada847c6-7ea2-11e7-92d8-9de03d095609.png
  • DWL-SDCA
    edited August 11, 2017
    I agree that something similar would be very good. The journal article icon is particularly "hidden" among the other things up there.

    Edit: I had to move the Zotero icon to position it next to the URL field so that I could find it quickly.
  • dstillman
    I understand the rationale for removing the "Z" from the connector UI
    (We didn't remove it, to be clear — current browser extensions can't create multiple buttons.)
    Have you considered using a "Z" with a smaller overlay of an item type icon?
    Yeah, we're considering something like that.
  • McVoudou
    I agree with jkhardin, the new interface with zotero is much less practical than it use to be. The fact that one now has to open zotero as standalone is not user friendly and very frustrating.
    Please consider returning to the former arrangement where in one clic the zotero library would appear and one could check if the new item were stored correctly.
    Thanks again for all your hard work!
  • adamsmith
    This is not a choice: https://www.zotero.org/blog/zotero-5-and-firefox-faq/
  • libphy
    edited November 28, 2017
    Yes, I hate the new version. I agree that the previous Z icon to open the pane on the browser directly was super useful when it comes to a quick searching on a browser. Having to open a separate zotero app is a kinda pain. Also when I click an article on the list (though I appreciate its bigger fonts) it's painful to scroll down along a long list of authors first, then it shows a link to the article or the file- if it's a conference proceedings article, the scroll is loooong...
  • dstillman
    Again, this wasn't a choice. Read the FAQ, which explains why the change was necessary and also includes info on working efficiently with the separate app.
    Also when I click an article on the list (though I appreciate its bigger fonts) it's painful to scroll down along a long list of authors first
    I don't know what you're referring to here.
  • luch888
    I do not like the 5.0 version. The previous integration with the browser was much more practical, and my main reason (in the past) for choosing Zotero. Hope somehow it can be brought back.
  • DWL-SDCA
    edited January 15, 2018
    Unless you must use a very-small-screen monitor, setting Zotero up with the program open in stacked mode and your browser open in a way that allows you to quickly go between the Zotero and browser windows works well for me on a Mac. I've learned to like the new program even better than when it was integrated into Firefox. Even with the limited screen size of a MacBook, this works well switching back and forth.

    This may also be a good excuse to buy a second monitor. Even a small and very cheap monitor will be extraordinarily useful when working with multiple programs at the same time. You can have a satisfactory second monitor for US$100. Work becomes more pleasant when I can have each program open in a separate monitor.
  • Mahitab1217
    Is there anyway we ca have the 'Z' icon it enables me to select which folder I want to save my reference in. Now I'm a bit confused, I don't know how to select the folder, will the reference be saved in the library and I have to search for it again to organize my references ?
  • dstillman
    @Mahitab1217: See the FAQ entry on this. You just need to select the target collection in Zotero before saving from the browser. It's really quite similar to how it always was, except you make the selection in the Zotero app instead of the Zotero pane.

    As noted there, we're working on a connector update that will let you choose a target collection from the browser without switching to Zotero each time.
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