can't add bibliography - 'you must insert a citation' message

I very much hope you can help.

I have written a 16,000 word document in Word, inserting multiple citations using the Word Zotero plugin. When I try to add a bibliography at the end, I get the message 'you must insert a citation before performing this operation'.

I haven't saved the document in a different format at any stage...
I am using Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 version 15.0.5145.1001. Zotero regularly updates itself on my machine, so I believe it is up to date...

thank you for your help in advance!
  • edited September 9, 2019
    It might be helpful to report exactly what Zotero version you are using. Zotero menu -- About Zotero.

    edit: Try a test. Start a new word document. Type anything and insert a citation. Insert a line or two. Click to place the cursor. Click the add bibliography button. Does a bibliography appear at the insertion point?

    You can test to see if Zotero cite-fields are in your document by looking under Word Options -> Advanced -> Show document content by selecting the "Always" option. This should shade your citation fields. Do not alter the shaded fields.
  • edited September 10, 2019
    I am using version 5.0.74.

    I had tried this test, and, yes, in a new word document, I can enter citations and generate a bibliography at my selected insertion point. Also, in my long document, if I add new citations, these (and only these) will appear if I click the add bibliography button.

    When I use the Word Options -> Advanced as suggested, only these newly added citations are shaded i.e. these are the only recognised Zotero cite-fields.

    I have made some changes since I last entered citations:
    -converted from .odt to .docx
    -made sure the Microsoft Word Add-In is installed (I shamefacedly realise that previously it was not - I had thought it was because I could add citations without a problem)

    Does this now mean I have to re-add all my citations? [groan!]
  • edited September 10, 2019
    made sure the Microsoft Word Add-In is installed (I shamefacedly realise that previously it was not - I had thought it was because I could add citations without a problem)
    It's installed automatically, and if you had the buttons in Word, it was installed. Sometimes the status in the Cite pane of the preferences is just wrong about that.
    converted from .odt to .docx
    If you're using Word, you need to save as .docx — it says so in the plugin's document preferences. So if you saved as .odt (which isn't a native Word format, and Word itself warns you when you first try to save a file as .odt), you lost all citations and you'll need to reinsert them.
  • I feel very silly... Thank you so much for setting me straight...
Sign In or Register to comment.