Errors when attempting to add citations to a Word doc on Mac
Like another user in a similar thread, I'm getting an error message when I attempt to add a citation to my word doc. The message is: "Zotero experienced an error updating your document. Would you like to view troubleshooting instructions?"
I'm using Word version 16.32 and Zotero version 5.0.80. I updated both today, and reinstalled the Zotero plug-in after updating. (I had the problem both before and after updating.)
I have deleted my entire word document so that it is now down to a single sentence. ("This is a test.") There is no bibliography.
I have taken all trouble-shooting steps, including changing the format for the bibliography. By default, I use IEEE (with URL).
If I create a new file with one sentence, inserting the citation works fine. (Even then the bibliography won't build -- a similar error message.) So apparently there is something corrupt in my original file, but what?
I have used option-F9, so I can see hidden text, but there is nothing but { ADDIN ZOTERO_TEMP } at the spot where I am trying to add the citation.
In an earlier version of my doc, I successfully added citations and built the bibliography.
I'm using Word version 16.32 and Zotero version 5.0.80. I updated both today, and reinstalled the Zotero plug-in after updating. (I had the problem both before and after updating.)
I have deleted my entire word document so that it is now down to a single sentence. ("This is a test.") There is no bibliography.
I have taken all trouble-shooting steps, including changing the format for the bibliography. By default, I use IEEE (with URL).
If I create a new file with one sentence, inserting the citation works fine. (Even then the bibliography won't build -- a similar error message.) So apparently there is something corrupt in my original file, but what?
I have used option-F9, so I can see hidden text, but there is nothing but { ADDIN ZOTERO_TEMP } at the spot where I am trying to add the citation.
In an earlier version of my doc, I successfully added citations and built the bibliography.
"This is a test."
After attempting to add a citation, it becomes:
"This is a test. { ADDIN ZOTERO_TEMP }" (if I show hidden text)
or
"This is a test. [1]" (if I do not show hidden text)
This document was originally >50 pages. But as recommended in the troubleshooting notes, I cut it down to isolate the problem.
One early symptom was that a citation insertion could fail on the first attempt, but a second attempt at the same citation would work fine.
Also, can you insert multiple citations in a new document?
Yes.
Does Zotero properly number them, for, e.g. the IEEE citation style?
Yes. And the bibliography is correctly produced. (My earlier comment about a problem with the bibliography in the new document turned out to be due to an error on my part -- I was showing hidden text, which prevents the bibliography from displaying properly. After hiding the hidden text, the bibliography is fine.)
How about if you use the Chicago author-date style?
Yes, the bibliography looks fine, though this style does not produce numbers.
The only outlier right now is that it works well in new documents, but in the existing document it fails even if you remove everything, indicating perhaps a corruption within the doc file itself. Have you tried step 4 in the troubleshooting instructions? Did that have no effect? What if you copy the "empty" contents (by pressing Command-A to select all and then copying that) of the broken document to a new one?
On the other hand, even though the citation is successfully inserted, I still get an error message from Zotero. The only way to tell whether the insertion was successful is to look at the hidden text, which is awkward, especially since my full document is dense with citations.
Why do I get an error message even though the insertion works? It would be great to get an error message only with a real error.
My tests are not exhaustive, but it may only happen when the hidden text is being displayed.