Can't drag and drop items between collections 5.0.22

andymeek
I'm running Zotero 5.0.222 on a Mac, OS Sierra 10.2.6.
Yesterday I could easily drag and drop an item from the central panel to a different collection. Today it does not work - the highlighted item is simply not 'attached' to the mouse pointer.
I have checked the database integrity - no problems.
There is no error message to report.

Any ideas to fix peeps? Thanks.
  • andymeek
    Dang! Now, 5 minutes later, it is working as normal. What has changed? - some background indexing or sync process has finished maybe? It would be good to know to be able to control it in future. Again, no error message or system report to indicate that the feature is now available.
  • adamsmith
    Have you tried creating a new item and dragging that?
    There are some limits on drag&drop, e.g. you can't drag an item to the same collection twice.
  • andymeek
    I was able to drag and drop the first test item I created, but once only, not a second time.
    The second test item I tried, would not drag and drop initially, but then would after I added a tag to it. But again - only once.

  • andymeek
    It seems as though an item can be dragged and dropped if it has just been changed and the change registered or flushed into the system by clicking off the item then back onto it. Then you can move it once, but not again, because then it hasn't been changed in its new location.
  • bwiernik
    You can’t drag an item to a collection it’s already part of (it’s already part of that collection). You seem like you might be meaning dragging items to a different Group library. You can’t drag an item to a library that you’ve already dragged it to (even if you make changes to it).
  • Hammond
    I'm using Zotero 5.0.22 standalone on macOS Sierra 10.12.6. Since updating Zotero yesterday I am unable to drag and drop across collections or groups, whether or not the item is new or recently edited. Nor can I drag and drop into footnotes or text documents (Text Edit, Pages or MS Word).

    Normally I hold the mouse button down while over the item, it changes colour slightly indicating its been 'picked up' and then I can put it where I want it. Currently it doesn't matter how long or on what I hold the mouse button down for–it is never 'picked up'.

    ctrl-shift-c/v works to get items into my text documents, but not to move them into Zotero collections.

    I'm not tech savvy, and I'm baffled. Any help would be much appreciated.
  • bwiernik
    @Hammond Does dragging work generally on your computer in other programs? This sounds like a more general issue.

    @dstillman Could we split this to a new thread?
  • Hammond
    @bwiernik . Thanks for your speedy reply. Dragging works just fine on the rest of the computer.
  • chappy72
    I have the same problem, also in version 5.0.23. The strange thing is, that some folders (collections) as target are working, but with some collections it does not work. While hover over the target collection an icon with a red icon appears to say that moving is not allowed.

    Strange.
  • andymeek
    I don't have any group libraries, only 'My Library'. My purpose is to organise unfiled items into collections and also to re-organise items into new collections that better map onto my current areas of study. This is basic Zotero functionality and there also does not seem to be any alternative way of doing it e.g. using a shortcut key or menu item. It's not Zotero preventing me from 'moving' an item into its current location, because the mouse pointer when clicked on the item in the central pane does not 'grab' it, so no dragging can be done, regardless of potential destination.
  • andymeek
    Trying to eliminate possible causes, I just updated my Java installation and also had to explicitly allow it within the Safari websites preferences. It made no difference. If I close and open Zotero, I can usually move just ONE item by drag and drop the first time I select it - after that it is not possible to 'grab' the item for moving.

    I even changed the batteries in my mouse! But drag and drop is working generally OK on the machine, so the problem seems to be application-specific to Zotero.
  • adamsmith
    (Zotero doesn't use Java except inside LibreOffice for the LibreOffice integration; most security experts recommend uninstalling any Java browser plugins. Note that Java is distinct from and unrelated to javascript, but that wouldn't be something you could update. It's an integral part of your browser)
  • elenipa
    I have the same problem with drag and drop between collections, since I upgraded to Zotero 5.0.22: sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I haven't detected a pattern behind it: it seems to be erratic. I tried it both with MacOS Sierra and MacOS Sierra High.
    Perhaps this is a Mac problem?
  • b.n.lawrence
    Also the same problem. Zotero 5.0.22. I am trying to drag and drop out of my unfiled collection on a mac. Seems to work once, then not again. Restart Zotero. Works again. Once. Can't get hold of the next one.

    I did generate a debug ID, for what it's worth: D1342009018
  • dstillman
    We're working on fixing this.
  • Hammond
    I tried re-installing zotero standalone 5, but the problem persists.

    I tried to "downdate" my zotero standalone to version 4, but it says that the database has already been updated and now requires version 5, and won't open. So I've updated again and returned to Zotero standalone 5, and the problem persists.

    I've also updated my Firefox and Firefox embedded version, which work fine. I use this feature a lot to create stored bibliographies for my students, so for the time being I'll be using Firefox embedded version until a fix is found.

    I really prefer the standalone version and look forward to a better solution.

    Thanks very much.
  • dstillman
    This should be fixed in the latest 5.0 Beta, and the fix will be included in 5.0.23 later this week.
  • Hammond
    I downloaded the 5.0 Beta and its fixed!

    Thank you very much. I don't think I've ever seen such a complete solution to a problem being offered so quickly before. You guys deserved to be showered in your weight in gold, rewarded with riches beyond the dreams of avarice – or at least win an award!

    Thanks very much.
  • dstillman
    This is fixed in Zotero 5.0.23, available now, so if you installed the beta, you can switch back to that.
This discussion has been closed.