Input box blank with Zotero 5 and Firefox v57 in Linux Mint

mrjohnlucas
Recently my Linux distribution (64-bit Mint v18.2 with all updates) updated Firefox to v57.0 and since that time I have experienced a problem with the Zotero Firefox Connector (v5.0.27) with Zotero stand-alone v5.0.27. When using Google Scholar with many references on a single page, the "folder" icon for Zotero appears (so far so good), but when I click on that icon the "input box" where I would normally select the references I want Zotero to collect, the box is blank. When I use Firefox-ESR (v52.5.0) everything works normally but with Firefox 57 not so.

I have also checked the Zotero Chrome Connector with both Chrome v62.0.3202.94 and Vivaldi v1.12.955.48 and both work fine, the only problem seems to be with Firefox v57. Any ideas?
  • adomasven
    Could you provide a link where this occurs?
  • mrjohnlucas
    | Re: Could you provide a link where this occurs?
    |

    Any search results at https://scholar.google.com
    Try searching for Marilyn Brandt (author) then press the (Zotero) folder icon.

    I don't know if this only affects Firefox v57 on Linux or if it is a *feature* of the new Firefox on other platforms too.
  • dstillman
    This works fine in general, so see Troubleshooting Translator Errors.
  • adamsmith
    but it might be helpful to have the exact link for the search still -- they do vary
  • mrjohnlucas
    | Re: but it might be helpful to have the exact link for the search still -- they do vary

    Ok here it is:

    https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0,5&q=marilyn+brandt&btnG=
  • dstillman
    Yeah, that works fine for me, so see the linked page.
  • mrjohnlucas
    | Re: This works fine in general, so see Troubleshooting Translator Errors.

    Went through the troubleshooting instructions with no joy. I even tried resetting the translators (the proper "Google Scholar" translator was in use). I submitted a debug report even though I received no error messages.

    The Debug ID is D1484477379.

    Has anyone else used Zotero5/Firefox v57 on Linux?

    I guess until this can be figured out, I'll have to use Zotero with one of my working browsers (Firefox-ESR, Chrome or Vivaldi).
  • adomasven
    Oh right, I'm actually seeing this. The box is completely blank, but if you resize it the content appears. Seems like a Firefox bug.
  • mrjohnlucas
    | Re: Oh right, I'm actually seeing this. The box is completely blank, but if you |resize it the content appears. Seems like a Firefox bug.

    Bingo!

    I suspected it had something to do with the new Firefox, rather than Zotero per se since it works fine with ESR on the same machine, but figured Zotero users would be more responsive.

    Thanks for the help and leading me to the work-around.
  • matt_price
    Oh man, @adomasven , thank you for describing the workaround, this is a big timesaver for me as well!
  • matt_price
    Also, in the various threads in Github repos for other plugins, there's a (perhaps unsustainable!) workaround described for FF 57+:


    document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", (event) => {
    // Fix for Fx57 bug where bundled page loaded using
    // browser.windows.create won't show contents unless resized.
    // See https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1402110
    browser.windows.getCurrent((win) => {
    browser.windows.update(win.id, {width:win.width+1})
    })
    });

    it just resizes the box by one pixel (obviously). Might be worth implementing even if it's actually Firefox's fault, not Zotero's.
  • dstillman
    We've added the workaround in version 5.0.28 of the connector, available now.
  • symac
    Thanks @dstillman that now works fine
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