Edit: Now it keeps flashing for about 15 sec when processing a new citation. After that, the flashing stops and another 15 sec later the citation is edited correctly.
Hi I'm having the same trouble: and working on the final draft of my PhD ... help would be nice ;-)
I'm running Word 16.9 (180116) and Zotero 5.0.34.2 standalone.
Zotero isn't working with footnotes anymore. If I want too add a citation in a footnote, the little citation window is popping up and closing immediately. If I want to edit an existing footnote, there occurs an error:
Thanks to the Zotero team for fixing these issues so quickly! I just wonder whether it's Microsoft's fault or yours? What did change in the new Word that makes the Zotero plug-in crash?
@NicolasG: Word 16 is a major new version of Word for Mac, unifying the codebase across all platforms (Mac, Windows, iOS, Android), and it broke the citation code that Zotero (and every other similar tool) has used for many years.
The changes were present in the "Insider" builds of Office, but as far as we know Microsoft never communicated when those would turn into a stable release and released version 16 without advance warning.
Now that we know this is something Microsoft might do, we're going to try to track the Insider builds more closely going forward.
I updated to 5.0.34.4 to fix this problem, but it is still taking a much longer time to update the citations than it previously did (and flashing while doing it). From this thread it looks like that should have been resolved in the update I downloaded?
@danserval what do you mean by flashing? Zotero and Word switching focus rapidly? That should be fixed with 5.0.34.4 and update speed should be not be much slower than before. Could you reinstall Zotero completely and try again?
I updated Zotero to 5.0.34.4 and restarted my computer several times, but still experience the following issue: when I want to change a footnote, the screen switches from word to Zotero. I can make the change to the footnote, yet only against the Zotero background (which is quite unpractical)
Apple store does request another update, this time to High Sierra 10.13.3. Is this maybe the issue? Or should I not do this new update?
@HannaKUL I did update to High Sierra. But beware, if you have non licensed software, they may become impossible to use. In my case, I had a licensed Adobe CS4, which does not run in High Sierra. If none of this is your situation, then I would update.
About your query: I always edit the footnote on Zotero. I don't even know how to do it on Word. It always switches, at least for me. So, maybe you used the program differently.
@LeonorVeiga I do have licensed software so that should not be an issue.
That being said, I restarted my computer once again and I am now able to insert or change footnotes in word and keep the word screen in front of me instead of being switched to Zotero. So, issue is solved!
Yet, I am still wondering whether I should accept another update to High Sierra 10.13.3 (I now have High Sierra 10.13.2) or not. Will this new update be compatible with Zotero or is it possible that we will again experience issues?
I just migrated from Mendeley (endless bugs and little to no support) to Zotero. I just read this thread out of curiosity and I must say, to everyone involved in fixing this issue and everyone working on the Zotero project: you're awesome!!
@HannaKUL: Minor OS releases (e.g., 10.13.2 -> 10.13.3) are basically never a problem for Zotero, and as a general rule you should update quickly. (macOS 10.13.3 happens to include an extremely important security update.)
The issue here was a major upgrade to Word (15.41 -> 16.9), and that's the sort of thing where you might check in on compatibility here first (though as I say above, now that we better know how Microsoft will handle these upgrades we'll try to avoid breakage like this in the future).
I have updated today to macOS 10.13.3, Word 16.9 and Zotero 5.0.34.4. I'm using the latter standalone, storing citations as fields. But Zotero is not working properly - I can't edit citations I had already made, only new ones (which are highlighted in grey). The old ones seem to have lost their fields (and highlighting). I've lost a day of writing today and would be so grateful if someone has an answer. I've tried restarting the machine manually, but only once.
For the record: while Zotero has worked through most of the issues with the new Word; the sudden appearance of the new Mac Word version continues to create havoc for users of EndNote, Mandeley, and Papers.
edit: There is a calm atmosphere on this forum concerning the MS Word problems. The environment of forums for users of some other products borders on hysteria-- even to the point of threats of violence. Last minute problems at thesis deadline can make even calm people subject to emotional breakdown.
Sarah: If the fields aren't highlighted in gray then I'm afraid there's probably nothing you can do other than reinsert them or restore/copy from a backup of the document.
There's a good chance this wasn't related to 16.9, though — usually when this happens it's because the file was saved in another format (e.g., Google Docs, LibreOffice). It's also possible that, if you were using the plugin with 16.9 before we added compatibility in 5.0.34.2, you might have ended up with some invalid citations, but that doesn't particularly sound like the case here.
Dstillman, thank you for the advice. Anyone know how to make sure the Zotero version keeps up to date? Or do the alerts come through automatically, and yesterday I just didn't wait long enough for the alert to come through on its own after upgrading Word for mac (and panicked!)?
Zotero keeps up-to-date automatically, but you might not get notified of an update immediately. You can check for updates any time via Help -> "Check for Updates…".
@dstillman Thanks for all the effort. All is working again, even in the Insider Fast builds... Out of interest though, what tooling do you use to create this plugin and subsequently debug it? Must not be trivial... particularly if MS doesn't really share info in it's plans and intentions...
Upgrade Storage
T
I'm having the same trouble: and working on the final draft of my PhD ... help would be nice ;-)
I'm running Word 16.9 (180116) and Zotero 5.0.34.2 standalone.
Zotero isn't working with footnotes anymore. If I want too add a citation in a footnote, the little citation window is popping up and closing immediately. If I want to edit an existing footnote, there occurs an error:
The operation couldn't be completed. (OSStatus error -1728.) @[prepareReadFieldCode:document.m:205]
The Error occurs with existing documents and new ones.
I updated Word and Zotero this weekend.
... just to add ... I know you are working on that!!!
Forgive my ignorance: haven't red the hole story.
5.0.34.4 is working wonderfully and you are my personal hero of the day
Thx
I just wonder whether it's Microsoft's fault or yours? What did change in the new Word that makes the Zotero plug-in crash?
The changes were present in the "Insider" builds of Office, but as far as we know Microsoft never communicated when those would turn into a stable release and released version 16 without advance warning.
Now that we know this is something Microsoft might do, we're going to try to track the Insider builds more closely going forward.
Apple store does request another update, this time to High Sierra 10.13.3. Is this maybe the issue? Or should I not do this new update?
About your query: I always edit the footnote on Zotero. I don't even know how to do it on Word. It always switches, at least for me. So, maybe you used the program differently.
Hope I helped.
That being said, I restarted my computer once again and I am now able to insert or change footnotes in word and keep the word screen in front of me instead of being switched to Zotero. So, issue is solved!
Yet, I am still wondering whether I should accept another update to High Sierra 10.13.3 (I now have High Sierra 10.13.2) or not. Will this new update be compatible with Zotero or is it possible that we will again experience issues?
I also have High Sierra 10.13.2
Maybe read what the update is about? I was not yet asked to do it.
In any case, @dstillman should be able to assist you in this matter. He knows everything.
The issue here was a major upgrade to Word (15.41 -> 16.9), and that's the sort of thing where you might check in on compatibility here first (though as I say above, now that we better know how Microsoft will handle these upgrades we'll try to avoid breakage like this in the future).
edit:
There is a calm atmosphere on this forum concerning the MS Word problems. The environment of forums for users of some other products borders on hysteria-- even to the point of threats of violence. Last minute problems at thesis deadline can make even calm people subject to emotional breakdown.
There's a good chance this wasn't related to 16.9, though — usually when this happens it's because the file was saved in another format (e.g., Google Docs, LibreOffice). It's also possible that, if you were using the plugin with 16.9 before we added compatibility in 5.0.34.2, you might have ended up with some invalid citations, but that doesn't particularly sound like the case here.
Anyone know how to make sure the Zotero version keeps up to date? Or do the alerts come through automatically, and yesterday I just didn't wait long enough for the alert to come through on its own after upgrading Word for mac (and panicked!)?