Translator not working -- help!

ask53
Hello Zotero forum,

--- tl;dr ---

1. Page URLS: http://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/alldoc/articles/vol11/v11issue3/448-a11-3-1/file

2. Debug ID: 1053874708

3. When I save a webpage, the popup window says, "Saving to [Folder]" where [Folder] is whichever folder I happen to have selected in my Zotero desktop app ("My library," etc.). I cannot seem to get other types of files to save.

4. I have tried a variety of different types of sites and I cannot get the translator type tooltip to read anything besides "Zotero is Online."

--- Full issue description ---

I am having some issues with downloading metadata and attached files with the Zotero Connector in Firefox. I have the Zotero application open in Windows 10.

I cannot get any articles to download. As an example, I was trying to use the following test sites:

- A Google Scholar search: https://scholar.google.com.mx/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0,3&q=molle+groundwater+water+alternatives&btnG=

- A PDF of an article on a journal website that I know contains metadata: http://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/alldoc/articles/vol11/v11issue3/448-a11-3-1/file

The Zotero Connector icon appears as one of the following, seemingly regardless of which page I'm on. It will appear one way on page A, then I'll navigate to page B and it will change. Upon return to page A, the Connector icon will remain the same as it was on page B.

1. Greyed out 'Z'
2. Red 'Z' (Tooltip: "Zotero is Online")
3. Grey box (Tooltip: "Zotero is Online")

When I attempt to save a source, I consistently get the following error (ID: 1053874708)

[JavaScript Error: "Zotero.Proxies.proxies is undefined
Zotero.Connector_Browser</this._updateExtensionUI@moz-extension://703ad6da-a52a-49c6-a575-f833673b06ee/background.js:504:1
Zotero.Connector_Browser</this.onTabActivated@moz-extension://703ad6da-a52a-49c6-a575-f833673b06ee/background.js:156:28
Zotero.Connector_Browser</<@moz-extension://703ad6da-a52a-49c6-a575-f833673b06ee/background.js:877:28
"]

When I save a webpage, the popup window says, "Saving to [Folder]" where [Folder] is whichever folder I happen to have selected in my Zotero desktop app ("My library," etc.).

I have tried a variety of different types of sites and I cannot get the translator type tooltip to read anything besides "Zotero is Online."

Thank you for your support!!!
ask53
  • dstillman
    Does it work 1) if you disable all other extensions or 2) in a new Firefox profile?
  • ask53
    Hi @dstillman

    1) Nope.

    2) A new Firefox profile worked perfectly. Zotero connector working like a charm. Translator works on Google Scholar, PDFs with metadata, web pages, and journal landing pages. Ugh. Any thoughts as to what's going wrong and how to fix my default Firefox profile without erasing all saved profile data?

    I really appreciate the quick response!
    ask53
  • adomasven
    In the old Firefox profile go to about:devtools-toolbox?type=extension&id=zotero%40chnm.gmu.edu and paste
    Zotero.Prefs.get('translatorMetadata') into it.

    You will either get output that starts with either something like Array(545) (the number might be lesser or greater by a few) or Array(0). Post here which one you got.

    You can fix your profile by Refreshing Firefox in your old profile, which creates a new one while preserving bookmarks and the like. The old one will be placed on the desktop.

    It would be great if you could keep the old profile and help us troubleshoot this issue further. We will have a beta connector soon with a potential fix.
  • ask53
    edited April 27, 2020
    Hi @adomasven. Thanks for the detailed steps. Refreshing Firefox worked like a charm.

    Fetching translatorMetadata returned an empty array.

    Additionally, if it is helpful to know, when I navigated to about:devtools-toolbox?type=extension&id=zotero%40chnm.gmu.edu a bunch of errors immediately popped up in the console before i had a chance to run the get operation. I assume that's not normal?

    I'd be happy to hang onto the old profile...what's the best way to share the data with yall?

    Thanks @adomasven and @dstillman for your help!
    ask53
  • adomasven
    I'd be happy to hang onto the old profile...what's the best way to share the data with yall?
    It's best if you hold onto it yourself. Firefox profiles contains sensitive personal data. Could you create a new firefox profile and point it to your old data directory? Then install the Zotero Beta Connector in the profile, restart Firefox and see whether Zotero fixes itself. If not, could you submit a Report ID from it?
  • ask53
    @adomasven sounds good.

    As i was trying to do this, I made the inexcusable and irreprable mistake of deleting my old firefox profile files without having saved a copy. I'm really sorry! I've spent the last 20 minutes trying to see if there's any way to recover them and its not looking good. Again, apologies!

    Thanks for your support, if I encounter this bug again, I'll make sure to save the profile and try out the the Beta Connector.

    Thanks again for all of your prompt support and for working on such an excellent platform.
    ask53

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