My version switched format

dstillman
This discussion was created from comments split from: Flaws in Zotero?.
  • NiallM
    I have been using Zotero happily for a couple of years, and suddenly my version switched format and is virutually completely unusuable. Did I click on something to toggle to another format? This is terrible.
  • dstillman
    Not sure what you mean here. Can you take a screenshot, upload it somewhere (e.g., Dropbox), and provide a link here?
  • NiallM
    Here is the link to one of my chapters: https://www.zotero.org/niallm/collections/725KASHE/items/2PZA4RK5/collection

    Here is maybe a link to a dropbox item screenshot: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ezgb9xd5o7xoox8/Screenshot_2020-02-12 Zotero Your personal research assistant.png?dl=0

  • dstillman
    OK, so that's the online version of your library on the Zotero website — and specifically the new version, which has much more functionality than the old web library. If you mean to be using the website, you'd have to say what you mean by "completely unusable".

    If you're looking for the actual Zotero interface — what people generally mean when they refer to "Zotero", and what you want to be using if you're doing any significant work — that's a program on your computer that you install and open like any other.
  • NiallM
    Thanks. Now I have another issue. When I follow it the way you advised, I get a log on screen (and only that, nothing else on my screen) and I cannot remember my password, and from that screen there is no option for changing it. I have my computer remembering me so I do not have to write in a password. I am stuck.

    Meanwhile, I have been able to click on something that takes me back to the Old Library which returns the functionality that I had lost. At this point it seems as if I am good to go. I will post back here if it fails. I am going to close down my computer and log back in to make sure it is not just a fluke that allowed me to get to this point.
  • dstillman
    No, there still seems to be a lot of confusion here.
    When I follow it the way you advised, I get a log on screen (and only that, nothing else on my screen) and I cannot remember my password, and from that screen there is no option for changing it.
    I don't know what you're referring to here, so another screenshot would be helpful. What "way" that I advised are you referring to? I said 1) that you were using the online library — which you could only be doing if you were already logged in — and 2) that you would ideally be using the Zotero app, which doesn't have a login screen (other than in the Sync preferences, which includes a "Lost Password?" link). And you're posting here, so clearly you're logged in to the website already on the computer you're posting from.

    But if you want to reset your password on the website, you can do so from the login page, which includes a "Forgot your password?" link.

    As for the old library, that will be going away soon, so if you think there's some functionality that's missing in the new one, you would need to say what it is. The new web library is greatly improved, with lots of functionality that the old version didn't have.
  • NiallM
    I am sure the confusion is on my part.
    As to the functionality that I lost. When I went to the new version I cannot figure out how to select a bibliographic style and download a citation to my document. From the screen that I did the screen shot from, I am completely lost. From the old one, since I have been using it for a long time, it is simple as pie.
  • dstillman
    You can just select one or more citations and click the Create Bibliography button (bookshelf icon) in the toolbar. You can hover over toolbar icon to see what they do.

    But it'd be good if you could acknowledge what I'm saying about the desktop app. Again, while the web library can be useful in some situations, it's not meant as a replacement for the desktop app. If you're doing things like inserting citations into word processor documents, it's really much easier to use the desktop app.
  • dstillman
    (Out of curiosity, how are you even saving items to the online library? Are you using the Zotero Connector in your browser, or are you entering items by hand?)
  • qqbb
    When I follow it the way you advised, I get a log on screen (and only that, nothing else on my screen) and I cannot remember my password, and from that screen there is no option for changing it.
    This sounds like @NiallM is prompted for a password by the operating system when trying to install the desktop program.
  • qqbb
    If you need to change or reset the password for your operating system, see here:

    Windows:
    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4490115/windows-change-or-reset-your-password

    macOS:
    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202860
  • NiallM
    When I try to open the desktop app, I get a log on that I cannot break. It is not the same log on as on my computer.
    When I was using the online version I (to my chagrin) clicked on the Try the New Version, to see if I could follow the instructions to make use of my bibliogrphic library. When I copied it and went to paste it in my document, it was not in a format that usable (used all 3 paste options that were available to me).
    And, now I cannot figure out how to return to the older version that operated very well for me.
  • dstillman
    We're going to need to see screenshots of the things you're describing in order to help you.

    The desktop app itself doesn't show any sort of login other than in the Sync preferences, and it's not clear what you mean by "it was not in a format that was usable".
  • NiallM
    Here are the three versions of what I was hoping to insert into my document (and they came from the very same and accurate source in the Library.
    <?xml version="1.0"?>

    Schattschneider, E.E. The Semi-Sovereign People: A Realist’s View of Democracy in America. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, 1960.


    <?xml version="1.0"?>

    Schattschneider, E.E. The Semi-Sovereign People: A Realist’s View of Democracy in America. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, 1960.


    <?xml version="1.0"?>

    Schattschneider, E.E. The Semi-Sovereign People: A Realist’s View of Democracy in America. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, 1960.


  • NiallM
    Very interesting that they do not look like that in Word. Not at all.
  • NiallM
    So, I tried it again and the format likes okay.
    All I ask now is to be able to go back to the old version.
  • dstillman
    You can temporarily get back to the old version by clicking on your username at the top of the page and selecting "Use Old Web Library", but again, if there's a problem with the new version, you need to explain what it is so that we can fix it. Even if you switch back to the old version now, that version will be removed in the near future.

    As far as I can gather, you're not actually experiencing a problem in the new version. If you are, we need more details.

    And once more, if you're using Zotero, you should primarily be using the desktop version, not the website. I still have no idea what login problem you're referring to in the desktop app, and you haven't provided a screenshot like I asked, so I'm not able to help you there.
  • NiallM
    The desktop eventually takes me to My Library (or a version of it), but here is a screenshot of what I get first when I open the desktop version: https://www.dropbox.com/s/jl6eewvsw8zuhky/Zotero-5.0.82_setup(2).exe?dl=0
  • dstillman
    edited February 14, 2020
    That's not a screenshot — that's just a link to a copy of the installer that you download from this site. You have to actually install Zotero, like any other program, and then run it.
  • juergenfenn
    For the record: I've also been surprised by the new web library today when I logged in after a long while I was absent from the web version. I just would like to say that I was indeed pleasantly surprised by the new interface and I wish you well for the final release.

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