Error updating document

dmsorger
Hi,

I keep getting the following error when trying to edit and add citations to a document:

Zotero experienced an error updating your document.
The operation couldn't be completed.
(OSStatus error -1728.)
@[setTextRaw:field.m:440]

It doesn't happen consistently, I've had it happen several times on a particular list of citations and when I tried again it magically worked. But of course, I can't work like this, I'm adding several citations into a single field and every time I lose it I have to start over adding them all again. Needless to say, I'm also on a tight deadline with this manuscript...

Please, tell me what I can do - is this caused by word, by a citation or by Zotero?

I'm using Word for Mac v. 16.10 on a Mac book pro 2016 and Zotero 5.0.35.1

Best,
Magdalena

  • adomasven
    Sorry for taking so long to respond. Do you use track changes? Have you been able to at least reproduce this twice? How often do you see this occur (e.g. every 10th insertion)?
  • dmsorger
    I do use track changes (a requirement by the journal during the review process).

    It seemed to happen more frequently when I was trying to add multiple references into a citation, I experimented a bit with that and usually it was the 4th or 5th one that triggered the error (I was able to reproduce that a few times, eventually though it just worked). That said, I also encountered the error when adding a single reference. It didn't seem consistent, more like pure luck of whether it would work or not.

    I also noticed that the entire process of adding refs was extremely slow, it took me probably 3-4x longer than usual to add references (which made it even worse when I encountered the error).

    I have since finished the manuscript and despite it being very slow it worked out. Though moving forward I'm a little wary of relying on Zotero when I work on my next manuscript, especially in the light of tight deadlines.

    So please, let me know if you know what exactly triggers this error and if it has been or will be fixed in the future.
  • adomasven
    I do use track changes (a requirement by the journal during the review process).
    You should deal with tracked changes before using Zotero if you can. Tracked changes are very likely to negatively interfere with the citing functionality.
    I also noticed that the entire process of adding refs was extremely slow, it took me probably 3-4x longer than usual to add references (which made it even worse when I encountered the error).
    We have some changes in the pipeline that should help with speed.
    So please, let me know if you know what exactly triggers this error and if it has been or will be fixed in the future.
    I'm not sure we have any other reports for something like this and since you have not found a stable way to reproduce it, we cannot debug it and thus fix it. If you find a stable way to reproduce this, do tell us.
  • dmsorger
    Like I said, "dealing with track changes" before using Zotero is not an option when a manuscript is in review and the journal requires track changes to be on during the review process. It is also not ideal when being part of a multi-author paper that requires everyone to stay on top of everyone else's changes.

    That said, it did occur to me that track changes was causing the issue so I 1) turned it off and 2) accepted all changes in the document and turned it off - in both cases, the errors kept occurring. I subsequently reverted to keep track changes on and kept trying until it (magically) worked.

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