trouble with subsequent citations, and refresh.

emily michelson
Hi. I have combined my separate book chapters into one large document (yay!). This means that previous first citations in later chapters are now subsequent citations. Zotero has refreshed some of the citations some of the time, but not all of them consistently, and I can't figure out why. For example, even after refreshing, the same work appears with complete citation on pages 32, 138, and 205 of my document, but as a short citation on pages 71, 202, and 212. Also, when I click either 'refresh' or 'document preferences' in the Microsoft Word plugin (apple), it sends me to my Zotero library, but with no indication of why. I have quit and restarted both Word and Zotero with no change. Thanks for your help.
  • emily michelson
    For reference - it has now done a refresh and the problem is still there.
  • dstillman
    Also, when I click either 'refresh' or 'document preferences' in the Microsoft Word plugin (apple), it sends me to my Zotero library, but with no indication of why.
    It's likely opening the document preferences window behind your other windows. Cycle through the Zotero windows to check.
  • emily michelson
    Thanks dstillman, but it isn't; I checked. And the first-citation problem hasn't updated even though it later started to cycle through all of my footnotes checking individual modifications with me.
  • dstillman
    If you're not seeing the Document Preferences window appear when you click on the Doc Prefs button, something is broken and you should restart Zotero. If you're still having trouble with that, provide a Debug ID for the first time clicking that button in a session where nothing happens.

    For the rest, if you've modified citations, they won't be updated — that's the point of the warning, and why you should always avoid making modifications in the text if at all possible and customize citations instead. If you've modified a citation, you can click on it and click Add/Edit Citation, and it will prompt you whether you want to revert it. (If it hasn't been modified, you'll just get the citation dialog.)
  • dstillman
    Beyond that, see Troubleshooting Errors in Word Processor Documents for steps to follow if you're having a problem in a specific document. That explains how to cut down the document quickly to a problematic citation, both to fix the problem and to share an excerpt with us if you think there's a bug.
  • emily michelson
    Thanks again, dstillman. I generally don't modify citations, but when you've spent 8 years on a book it does end up happening sometimes, and I know I have to reckon with it at 'refresh' moments. The bigger issue is why, when I refresh, some citations don't update, and remain as if cited for the first time, with no discernable pattern. The troubleshooting document you posted above is very helpful.
  • dstillman
    The bigger issue is why, when I refresh, some citations don't update
    Well, again, that's the point of the dialog that appears when you refresh. If you modify a citation and choose not to revert your changes when asked, the citation won't be updated going forward (nor will you be asked again, so it's about what you've done during past refreshes). See above for reverting them manually.

    If something else happened to the citations and you're not prompted to revert them when you use Add/Edit Citations, you'd want to follow the troubleshooting steps.
  • defox
    This problem have too. I have more then 1000 footnotes and citations are now in non subsequent format. Still working on big monography and this is a very bad problem... I have not modified any citation.
  • adamsmith
    @defox -- better to post only once and, in this case, keep this in your own thread: https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/89863/subsequent-citation-problem#latest
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