Word could not communicate with Zotero

hamsinibijlani
I have just installed Zotero on my Mac (OS Catalina version 10.15.2) and whenever I try to use it on Microsoft Word (version 16.16.18) it says "Word could not communicate with Zotero". I have checked that the word plugin is enabled in the add-ons tab in Zotero. Please do let me know what needs to be done in order to fix this.

Report ID: 1774606762
  • damnation
    Please have a look here and follow the necessary steps:
    https://www.zotero.org/support/word_processor_plugin_troubleshooting
  • hamsinibijlani
    Thanks! I already went through the guide before posting on the forum. The first three did not help and I dont know how to go about the fourth one (removing the no-remote command-line option). I have just been using the app from the applications folder rather than creating a shortcut on my desktop.
  • dstillman
    There actually aren't troubleshooting steps on that page for this error on a Mac, since this error doesn't generally occur on Macs. (The steps you're referring to were for Windows.) There've been a few recent reports of this on Macs, though, so something may have changed that's causing this.

    Have you tried restarting your computer?

    @adomasven may have other suggestions for what to try.
  • dstillman
    @hamsinibijlani: But to clarify, this was the first installation of Zotero on this computer? It wasn't ever installed previously?
  • hamsinibijlani
    It said "Word could not communicate with Zotero" the first time I installed it. Since then, i have deleted it and reinstalled it once again and it still says the same thing.
  • hamsinibijlani
    I tried restarting my computer and that hasn't worked either, still says the same thing
  • nheisl1035
    I am experiencing the same thing as @hamsinibijlani. same version of os on mac.
  • adomasven
    Could you produce a startup Debug ID from Zotero?
  • hamsinibijlani
    This is the Debug ID: D87493506
  • olesol
    We have seen several users with the same problem with Zotero and Macs at our institution. I am looking into at least 5 different cases. One of our users is running MacOS 10.15.1, Word 16.16.18 and Zotero 5.0.82.

    I have tried reinstalling Word, Zotero, the plugin, checked the path of the plugin but I haven't been able to solve this problem. I hope someone will find a solution.
  • dstillman
    We can't reproduce this, but we think we know what's going on and should have a fix soon.
  • hamsinibijlani
    Great thanks it would be great if you could let me know how to fix this as soon as possible. How long do you think it would take?
  • adomasven
    @hamsinibijlani @olesol The fix is now available in the Zotero Beta.
  • olesol
    @hamsinibijlani Great! I have tested the beta on a Mac user and it has solved the problem. Thanks for fixing it so quickly.
  • hamsinibijlani
    @adomasven Thanks for that! I downloaded the beta and deleted the old version however it is still saying "word could not communicate with Zotero" when i try using it. I'm not sure if this is because the older version has not been deleted properly? When i check the add-ins in word the Zotero one seems to be the same as before.
  • dstillman
    Could you provide another Debug ID for Zotero startup from the beta version?
  • hamsinibijlani
    This is the debug ID: D1043523657
  • adomasven
    If you go into Tools -> Add-ons do you see Word and LibreOffice extensions listed? Are they enabled? If you go into Zotero Preferences -> Cite -> Word Processors do you see entries for those extensions? What happens if you try to reinstall the Word extension?
  • hamsinibijlani
    The extensions for Word and Libre office are enabled under Add-ons however when i go to Preferences -> Cite -> Word Processors the only thing i can see is the option to enable "use classic Add Citation dialog"
  • adomasven
    Did you move the Zotero.app file from the downloaded disk image to your Applications folder?
  • hamsinibijlani
    Yes i have
  • adomasven
    These are rather vague for troubleshooting steps, but could you restart Zotero a few times and check if sections for Word and LibreOffice plugins appear under Preferences -> Cite -> Word Processors? If not, could you create a new user account on the computer and test to see if it works correctly there?
  • dstillman
    @hamsinibijlani: The fix for some causes of "Word could not communicate with Zotero" on macOS is available now in Zotero 5.0.83. If you switched to the beta, you can switch back to the main version, and then let us know if you're still having trouble.

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