Problems : From MS Word to Libreoffice/Windows to Ubuntu

disorderedflame
edited July 10, 2021
Hello,
Since my Windows has some problems, I decided to try move to Ubuntu 18.04. I am trying to get my thesis from MS Word/Zotero Windows to Libre Office 7.1/Zotero Linux, but it is not going well.

1. I am pretty sure that a new Zotero instance would read the library automatically when the default directory is set on Preferences, however, after I restart the computer, my library is gone, I had to reset it to continue.

2. After doing this for a few times, my zotero on ubuntu refuse to start. Uninstall and reinstall didn't help as I had to get my library...it gives me the error message with nothing except telling me to ask in the forum. The error message here:

_initDB<@chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/zotero.js:781:12

3. I am transferring my thesis, a .docx file, from word to Libreoffice. I have tried methods in these threads. And unfortunately, none of them works.

https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/moving_documents_between_word_processors
https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/52529/trying-to-use-a-word-doc-zotero-document-with-libreoffice-odt-zotero

So. Help! Please tell me if there's anything I can do. Thank you so much.

  • dstillman
    The Zotero data directory is entirely platform-agnostic. If you move the folder to another system and put it in the right place with the right permissions, it will absolutely work. If it's not working, you likely need to fix the file permissions. If you're still having trouble, see Reporting Startup Errors. What you provided above is not a full error message, so we can't help you based on that.
    I am transferring my thesis, a .docx file, from word to Libreoffice.
    https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/moving_documents_between_word_processors
  • disorderedflame
    Maybe I am not being clear enough. The problem is every time I reboot the system, zotero told me it couldn't find data in my custom directory. So I had to redo to set the Data directory location every time. After several reboots it can start now, but I have no idea what is going on.
    And I have read the link "moving documents between word processors", no, it is not working. It's telling me before refresh, I had to insert citation.
    And I am always wondering whether I should save it as ODT or DOCX. Because I had to save citations as "BOOKMARKS" first, then do the "SWITCH" operation. Yet zotero itself is telling me the document must be saved as a DOC/DOCX, but the support link is telling me to save as an ODT first.
  • disorderedflame
    edited July 11, 2021
    Update:
    Read this thread. https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/72022/move-database-to-another-drive-device-on-linux

    I tried a few times to uninstall and reinstall to resolve the problem, once I thought it was because by the ubuntu unmount the drive, and it is not mounting automatically after reboot.
    So I put the Zotero program and the Data directory into the same drive/hard disk, then run the zotero as this time if my drive didn't mount, it wouldn't be running. But it is still asking me to relocate the Data directory, and the locate button never worked. Zotero quits when I click the button.
  • dstillman
    First, you need to be running the official Zotero tarball from this site or the zotero-deb package for us to help you. If you're running another third-party package (likely sandboxed), you're on your own.

    For transferring a document between Word and LO, the documentation is correct. If you don't have active citations after moving the file, you're saving in the wrong format or you have your citations stored with the wrong mode in the plugin's document.
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