Problem saving PDFs to Zotero in Chrome / Vivaldi

wqmul
For some time now, if I open a PDF in Chrome / Vivaldi, often I can't save it to Zotero - I have to reload it several times before the Zotero icon changes to a PDF icon and I can save it.

These last few weeks, the problem has gotten worse. When I open a PDF by clicking a link on a webpage, even reloading the PDF several times won't enable me to save it to Zotero.

I have to open a new tab and copy/paste the URL of the PDF directly there, before I can save it to Zotero (sometimes having to reload it in the new tab too).

Worst case scenario I've ended up saving the PDF to my Downloads folder then attaching it to a manually created item in Zotero, but that's quite time consuming.

Is there a solution to this issue please?

Thank you.
  • dstillman
    (We can only provide support for Chrome, not Vivaldi.)

    Can you provide a Debug ID from the connector for clicking on a PDF link and having the icon not appear?

    Have you tried disabling other extensions?
  • nhilger
    edited April 19, 2020
    I'm having this exactly same problem in Chrome, for at least many months now.

    Debug ID showing fail: D1908797848
    Here's a better one, showing fail, then multiple reloads, then success: D1320807813

    Disabling all other extensions is not a viable option unfortunately, too many critical things.

    Thanks would be so great to fix this!
  • dstillman
    Disabling other extensions is for troubleshooting. The point is to determine if there's another extension that's conflicting somehow.
  • nhilger
    Got it thanks for clarifying. If you can't diagnose from the Debug IDs I can try that, it's just a hassle so hoping the report shows the problem.
  • dstillman
    This debug output appears to be for just switching to a PDF that's already open in a tab. It needs to be for actually loading the PDF — either clicking on a PDF link or reloading one that's already open.

    But it's unlikely there'll be anything relevant in here, so you should try disabling other extensions and see if that helps.
  • nhilger
    Ok I disabled all other extensions, restarted Chrome, and enabled logging.

    Clicked on PDF link. Zotero icon looks like a PDF icon right away, which is an improvement. But clicking icon doesn't work. Reload doc. Click icon again, now it works.

    ID for this entire process: D1500033439

    (Also by the way, it's not possible to copy the Debug ID at least on my mac, so I have to manually type it out and copy it here every time.)
  • dstillman
    Ah, so this is saving a PDF that was opened in a new tab by the website. We're aware of intermittent failures with that. We'll try to fix it soon. In the meantime, just press Ctrl-R/Cmd-R and click the save button again.
  • nhilger
    Ok thanks. Just so you know, for me this is not intermittent, and it's not just one reload. Most of the time I have to reload at least three times (only removing all other extensions reduced that to one reload). It's been like this for maybe a year or so.

    This is probably the only consistent bug I notice in Zotero lately.
  • wqmul
    Thanks dstillman, like nhilger I've been having this for many months and reloading 3x is necessary for me too.

    I'll try disabling extensions and report back, and also try to get the ID.

    I get the problem not just with saving a pdf opened in a new tab by the website, but also saving a pdf opened in the SAME tab.
  • wqmul
    Typical, sod's law, it's all working properly now - for the first time in months! And I didn't even disable any extensions yet. First time I open a PDF and the PDF icon shows, for several docs now.

    I bet it will stop working again soon so I'll check the ID next time.
  • wqmul
    OK, so I get the issue again when the webpage opens a PDF in a new tab, but you're aware of intermittent problems with that so I'll just wait for your fix and get the ID when the PDF opens in the same tab.

    Just to reiterate that I have to reload 3x, not just once, to save to Zotero even when it's opened in a new tab.
  • wqmul
    Sorry for the delay, waiting for the issue happen again.

    Submitted under Debug ID D1476435880

    Pasted URL into new tab. Didn't show the PDF icon so I enabled logging. Reloaded twice, nothing. Tried changing the URL to delete the bit after the ? and reloading, nothing. Then opened new tab, pasted the shortened URL, and finally it worked.

    Hope this helps to fix the issue when opening in a new tab by pasting the URL.

    Any ETA on fixing the issue when opening a PDF link from an existing tab in a new tab by rightclicking it please?

    Thanks.
  • wqmul
    Happened again. PDF icon showing but it wouldn't save to Zotero. Reloaded several times but it still didn't work. Finally I opened a new tab and copy/pasted the PDF's URL and then it worked. Debug ID D157971611
  • dstillman
    Zotero Connector 5.0.65, now available, should fix the flakiness saving PDFs in new tabs.
This discussion has been closed.