Zotero no longer compatible with firefox

m.butcher
Hi Zotero,

my firefox just updated on my Desktop but now it's no longer compatible with Zotero it seems. I've downloaded Zotero 5 for windows which unpacks but when i click on it it says my profile 'cannot be loaded. it may be missing or inaccessible'. I've added the Zotero connector to Firefox but it is saying that the functionality is 'currently unavailable'. How much do i hate it when tech companies change things! any suggestions how to get things back working?
  • adamsmith
    For background: https://www.zotero.org/blog/zotero-5-and-firefox-faq/
    I've downloaded Zotero 5 for windows which unpacks but when i click on it it says my profile 'cannot be loaded.
    That's the key bit here. Are you running this as admin or regular user?
  • m.butcher
    ahhh not sure what you mean adam, sorry. It's a networked computer at work - does that make a difference?
  • adamsmith
    It's possible you'll need IT to install Zotero with the requisite permissions -- shouldn't be the case, ideally, but might be.
  • m.butcher
    I have the permissions ... i've installed it with the permissions ... but it still wont open. Is zotero working on other platforms eg chrome?
  • bwiernik
    edited November 20, 2017
    One option you can try would be to go to the Zotero Profile Directory, make a backup copy of it, then delete the profile directory and try to restart Zotero.

    (The Zotero program is a separate program from your browser. Your issue has nothing to do with either Firefox or Chrome.)
  • dstillman
    (Though if m.butcher hasn't used Zotero Standalone previously and has only used Zotero for Firefox, there wouldn't be a Zotero profile directory, and this might just be some security setting on the computer. There's no real reason a user account shouldn't be able to write to AppData\Roaming, though, as far as I know.)
  • m.butcher
    edited November 20, 2017
    I seem to have a profile directory: C:\Users\<User Name>\AppData\Roaming\Zotero\Zotero\Profiles\<randomstring>

    But it goes: C:\Users\<User Name>\AppData\Roaming\Zotero\Zotero\profiles.ini

    Does that look right?
  • dstillman
    edited November 20, 2017
    Yes, that's right. So if you're getting that message at Zotero startup, something is preventing Zotero from accessing that directory. You can try closing Zotero and renaming AppData\Roaming\Zotero to Zotero-Old (which should allow a new profile to be created), though if it looks like those directories were just created a few minutes ago that's unlikely to help.

    If that doesn't work, there's a good chance this is due to security software on the system preventing Zotero from properly accessing the directory, even after it creates it.
  • m.butcher
    Thanks dstillman. I'll give it a go. Our security software has never blocked zotero before so not sure why it would start now.

    However, Zotero is working fine on my mac with safari so i think i'll just stick with that rather than waste too much time with Firefox. Shame though as I prefer to use firefox. Perhaps someone could pass on the message to Mozilla/Firefox that their upgrade is pants.

  • dstillman
    Our security software has never blocked zotero before so not sure why it would start now.
    You were using it in Firefox before. You would've had the same problem if you had ever tried to use Zotero Standalone.

    But:
    However, Zotero is working fine on my mac with safari so i think i'll just stick with that rather than waste too much time with Firefox.
    I'm a bit confused what you mean here. The problem we were discussing above was in Zotero, not in the connector. So Firefox vs. Safari is irrelevant here.
  • dstillman
    (Oh, I guess you mean on a different computer.)
  • m.butcher
    yes, different computer. On my desktop i used to just click on the Z and zotero would open and i'd save stuff. Then it changed so that i had to click on an icon on my desktop (is that what you mean by standalone?) but it still worked okay. It's only since yesterday when the new firefox booted up that it's not worked.

    But as long as i can use it on my mac with safari (and i've just added the connector os it's also working with firefox) it's okay.

    thanks for your help.
  • aobyrne
    I've been having this problem too. I'll try reloading it, but I'm glad to know it will work as a standalone.
Sign In or Register to comment.