How do I share a document in Word without losing citations?

HSL900
I am working with my supervisor on some drafts of my papers. I have shared the drafts in Word and she has edited them, saved them with a new name, and sent them back. The problem is that the links then become deactivated. I know there is a feature to "unlink" the citations, but I think that's what I want to use at the very end when I submit my final version. How can I keep my citations active so I don't have to re-enter them for every draft?

I'd like to keep working in Word, I think, because it seems easier to move around sections than in Google Docs, but I think my supervisor would be open to sharing the document in Google Docs if Word doesn't work. I'm on a Mac, if that makes a difference.

Thanks for any help anyone can be,
Hilary
  • mark
    What's the software the supervisor uses to edit the draft? In most of my collaborations, even with folks who don't use Zotero, I don't run into this problem. They have to do something special (like work in a different Word processor or mess with the citation fields themselves) to deactivate/break the Zotero fiels.
  • HSL900
    I assume Word. What do I need to do to ensure that if I submit a Word document to someone else and they save it with a new name that the links still work? Did you unlink them before you sent it? Not unlink it? I'm really confused and this is pretty essential to have my links continue to work and not have to re-enter them after every submission.
  • damnation
    When the document is sent back, what format is it in? It's gotta be .docx to start with.
  • mark
    I don't unlink (and you're right: that is usually only done at the very last moment, in the to be submitted version of the file).

    I don't think the "saving under a new name" is the only thing that happens here — they must be using a different format than .docx, otherwise the fields would not disappear/become unlinked. Hence @damnation's question.
  • HSL900
    edited June 7, 2020
    It is in a .docx when I submit it and .docx when I get it back.
  • dstillman
    Saving with a new name wouldn't do anything. The only way fields would be lost, short of manual unlinking, would be by saving either with a different file format or with a different program. The fact that it's .docx isn't a guarantee that they're using Word.

    Basically, as long as you're both using Word and saving as .docx, the fields will definitely not be removed. It just can't happen. Zotero citations are standard Word fields.

    https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/existing_citations_not_detected
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