Upgrade StorageFailed import on .ris file that's been created with "Save As ..."
I am using EndNote X1, Zotero 2.0b6.2, Firefox 3.0.11, and Windows Vista (same problem on XP).
When I try to import my full EndNote ris file, Zotero's import fails: the "Importing items..." runs continuously and generates an error. So I've been breaking down my .ris exports into smaller parts in an effort to identify what's causing the problem. I'm now down to an .ris file with only one reference and I’ve discovered that - depending on how I created the .ris file determines whether the import will succeed or fail. This is true even though the contents of two versions of the .ris file (when viewed in a text editor) are identical.
Here's how to replicate the problem:
1. To export my EndNote library as an .ris file I followed the steps at http://www.zotero.org/support/kb/importing_records_from_endnote. However, I made a slight change to this step: "In the Export window that pops up, choose “Text Only”, select the RIS output style immediately below “Text Only” in the dialog, and hit “Save.”"
In my Export window there is no "Text Only" option. Instead, my options are:
Save as type: Text File (.*txt)
Output style: RefMan (RIS) Export
Screenshot here:
[URL=http://img194.imageshack.us/i/savedialog.png/][IMG]http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/7046/savedialog.th.png[/IMG][/URL]
Using these options produces a .txt file which Zotero will not import (produces an error). But if I rename the file with an .ris extension (as suggested in another post), Zotero imports it fine. So far, so good (I think).
Now here's the weird thing:
2. If I make a copy of the .ris file (in Windows Explorer: right click on file > copy > paste), Zotero will import this copy.
BUT ...
3. If I open the .ris file in a text editor (like PSPad), and make a copy by choosing the "Save As ..." option, Zotero *cannot* import this copy. It produces an error. In Firefox, the "Importing items ..." dialog runs continuously and I am prompted to open the .ris file. The last time I did this I submitted the error report (ID: 196190209), which showed the following errors (which I think are always generated, even before doing an import, so they may not even be relevant):
[JavaScript Error: "this.docShell is null" {file: "chrome://global/content/bindings/browser.xml" line: 0}]
... the above line is repeated 4 more times
[JavaScript Error: "no element found" {file: "moz-nullprincipal:{a6dd2832-17ea-4267-8da1-ea602bf58b0c}" line: 1}]
... the above line is repeated 25 more times
I need to close Firefox, hit CTRL+ALT+DEL, and end the firefox.exe process; otherwise, the "Importing items..." dialogue continues to run.
When I open the two ris files (the one that works and the one that doesn't) in PSPad (or convert them back to .txt files and open them in Notepad), they are *identical*. But something is obviously causing one of the versions (the one created by Save As ...) to fail in Zotero. Identifying what's getting screwed up may help me isolate the problem.
By the way, here's the reference I'm trying to import:
TY - JOUR
AU - Ash, Joan
PY - 1997
TI - Organizational factors that influence information technology diffusion in academic health sciences centers
SP - 102-111
JF - Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association
VL - 4
N1 - Organizational factors that influence information technology diffusion in academic health sciences centers
L1 - file://C:/ReferenceFiles/Ash - Organizational factors that influence IT.pdf
ID - 1243
ER -
In summary:
- If the .ris file is created by renaming the exported .txt file to .ris, it will import.
- If a copy of the .ris file is created by making a copy of the .ris file (in Windows Exporer), it will import.
- If a copy of the .ris file is created by opening the .ris file in PSPad and choosing "Save As ..." and giving it a new name, it will *not* import (even though the file contents are identical.)
Thanks for any help.
When I try to import my full EndNote ris file, Zotero's import fails: the "Importing items..." runs continuously and generates an error. So I've been breaking down my .ris exports into smaller parts in an effort to identify what's causing the problem. I'm now down to an .ris file with only one reference and I’ve discovered that - depending on how I created the .ris file determines whether the import will succeed or fail. This is true even though the contents of two versions of the .ris file (when viewed in a text editor) are identical.
Here's how to replicate the problem:
1. To export my EndNote library as an .ris file I followed the steps at http://www.zotero.org/support/kb/importing_records_from_endnote. However, I made a slight change to this step: "In the Export window that pops up, choose “Text Only”, select the RIS output style immediately below “Text Only” in the dialog, and hit “Save.”"
In my Export window there is no "Text Only" option. Instead, my options are:
Save as type: Text File (.*txt)
Output style: RefMan (RIS) Export
Screenshot here:
[URL=http://img194.imageshack.us/i/savedialog.png/][IMG]http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/7046/savedialog.th.png[/IMG][/URL]
Using these options produces a .txt file which Zotero will not import (produces an error). But if I rename the file with an .ris extension (as suggested in another post), Zotero imports it fine. So far, so good (I think).
Now here's the weird thing:
2. If I make a copy of the .ris file (in Windows Explorer: right click on file > copy > paste), Zotero will import this copy.
BUT ...
3. If I open the .ris file in a text editor (like PSPad), and make a copy by choosing the "Save As ..." option, Zotero *cannot* import this copy. It produces an error. In Firefox, the "Importing items ..." dialog runs continuously and I am prompted to open the .ris file. The last time I did this I submitted the error report (ID: 196190209), which showed the following errors (which I think are always generated, even before doing an import, so they may not even be relevant):
[JavaScript Error: "this.docShell is null" {file: "chrome://global/content/bindings/browser.xml" line: 0}]
... the above line is repeated 4 more times
[JavaScript Error: "no element found" {file: "moz-nullprincipal:{a6dd2832-17ea-4267-8da1-ea602bf58b0c}" line: 1}]
... the above line is repeated 25 more times
I need to close Firefox, hit CTRL+ALT+DEL, and end the firefox.exe process; otherwise, the "Importing items..." dialogue continues to run.
When I open the two ris files (the one that works and the one that doesn't) in PSPad (or convert them back to .txt files and open them in Notepad), they are *identical*. But something is obviously causing one of the versions (the one created by Save As ...) to fail in Zotero. Identifying what's getting screwed up may help me isolate the problem.
By the way, here's the reference I'm trying to import:
TY - JOUR
AU - Ash, Joan
PY - 1997
TI - Organizational factors that influence information technology diffusion in academic health sciences centers
SP - 102-111
JF - Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association
VL - 4
N1 - Organizational factors that influence information technology diffusion in academic health sciences centers
L1 - file://C:/ReferenceFiles/Ash - Organizational factors that influence IT.pdf
ID - 1243
ER -
In summary:
- If the .ris file is created by renaming the exported .txt file to .ris, it will import.
- If a copy of the .ris file is created by making a copy of the .ris file (in Windows Exporer), it will import.
- If a copy of the .ris file is created by opening the .ris file in PSPad and choosing "Save As ..." and giving it a new name, it will *not* import (even though the file contents are identical.)
Thanks for any help.
It's unclear to me if the files you're saving with PSPad have .txt extensions. Depending on your Windows settings, they might have hidden ones.
If you go to the Advanced pane of the Zotero preferences and set the Import Character Encoding to "Unicode (UTF-8)" rather than "(auto detect)", does it work? Does it work with "(auto detect)" if you disable other Firefox extensions?
Odd. PSPad shows the both at UTF-8 BOM.
> If you go to the Advanced pane of the Zotero preferences and set the Import Character Encoding to "Unicode (UTF-8)" rather than "(auto detect)", does it work?
Yes! That did the trick. Thank you.
> Does it work with "(auto detect)" if you disable other Firefox extensions?
No. I disabled every Firefox add-on except for Zotero's, set the encoding to (auto detect), and the DoesntWork.ris won't import; same error as before. This is on a Vista machine with Firefox 3.0.11 and latest beta of Zotero. Hmm ...