report ID 223945753: can't create bibliography Word (Office 365) Mac

skrueger111
I was working in a document that I have been writing for more than a month. Everything worked fine until today when I tried to add a new citation. The citation seemed to be added fine but then I got an error. I tried the following:
1) restart zotero and word
2) reinstall zotero
3) change preference in zotero and try again
3) start a new document and add a single citation: when I did this, the citation seemed to be added but the bibliography wasn't created.
I had added a new citation to my library but that wasn't the one that I tried to cite. I am not sure if the problem is with zotero or the Word plugin.
4) I tried replacing the zotero.dotm file with the one from the new installation. But I couldn't even add a citation when I did that.
I apologize if I have not provided enough information. This is my first time posting. I will also email the file with the codes in it.
  • dstillman
    edited April 25, 2022
    There's a bibliography that didn't get fully created in the document you sent — you can see it if you toggle field codes — but I'm able to click Refresh (which deletes the broken bibliography) and then Add/Edit Bibliography to insert a new one.

    Restart Zotero and Word and try that with debug output logging running, and provide the Debug ID if it still fails.
  • skrueger111
    Thank you. I clicked on refresh and it deleted the bibliography. But I got the same error when I tried to add the bibliography again. I just get a '.' The problem seems to be in creating the bibliography. I tried it twice. I submitted the debug log D664459058
  • dstillman
    edited April 25, 2022
    (4)(+0000123): ZoteroMacWordIntegration: setText rtf:true {\rtf […], \uc0\u8230{} […] (2017). 2017 […] {\i{}73}, 710\uc0\u8211{}728.\
    }

    (3)(+0000226): [Exception... "The operation couldn't be completed. (OSStatus error -1708.) @[setTextRaw:field.m:469]" nsresult: "0x80004005 (NS_ERROR_FAILURE)" location: "JS frame :: file:///Applications/Zotero.app/Contents/Resources/extensions/zoteroMacWordIntegration@zotero.org/components/zoteroMacWordIntegration.js :: checkStatus :: line 264" data: no]
    checkStatus@file:///Applications/Zotero.app/Contents/Resources/extensions/zoteroMacWordIntegration@zotero.org/components/zoteroMacWordIntegration.js:264:9
    setText@file:///Applications/Zotero.app/Contents/Resources/extensions/zoteroMacWordIntegration@zotero.org/components/zoteroMacWordIntegration.js:824:3
    cls.prototype[method]@file:///Applications/Zotero.app/Contents/Resources/extensions/zoteroMacWordIntegration@zotero.org/components/zoteroMacWordIntegration.js:874:12
    setText@chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/integration.js:2672:11
    Zotero.Integration.Session.prototype._updateDocument@chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/integration.js:1328:15


    It looks like it's probably failing on some extended characters (ellipsis and/or em dash) in the bibliography, but that should of course work fine, and does for me.

    What are the full versions of macOS and Word?

    Have you tried restarting your computer?

    Are you using any third-party software that interacts with the clipboard?

    If you go to your Word Startup folder, delete Zotero.dotm, restart Word to confirm that the plugin is completely gone, and then reinstall the plugin from the Cite pane of the Zotero preferences and restart Word, can you reproduce this in a new document?
  • skrueger111
    Mac OS 11.6.5 and Word 16.60 for Mac. It was working fine for me until today. I tried more than one citation and I get the same failure.
    I did as instructed and picked a different citation this time. I was able to reproduce the error. Debug ID D78135118.
  • skrueger111
    I already reinstalled Zotero -- and just now the plug in. Do you think the problem is somewhere in my library? Is there a way to test this by starting a new library and pointing to it? Since I chose different citations in my test document, I'm at a loss for where the issue is.
  • dstillman
    edited April 25, 2022
    Have you tried restarting your computer?

    Are you using any third-party software that interacts with the clipboard?
    You didn't answer these.

    Just to confirm, is your Word set to U.S. English? We've mostly only seen this error for Chinese users with Word set to Chinese, and switching to English fixed it.

    While Big Sur should work totally fine, if you're able to upgrade to Monterey, that would be a thing you could try.

    Otherwise, though, don't create a new library or do anything else drastic. It has nothing to do with your library. If none of the above helps, @adomasven will need to take a look.

    Unless you need to submit something right now, for the moment you can just delete the bibliography and continue inserting citations. (You can also try a different citation style, though presumably any that need to insert extended characters will fail in this way.)
  • skrueger111
    I can restart my computer so I will try that and report tomorrow morning if that worked. I don't think I am using any 3rd party software that interacts with the clipboard. But, hopefully restarting my computer would fix that. I will close everything manually before the restart so it won't reopen. Word is set to English (default). I can't upgrade to Monterey yet, as it isn't yet approved at work. I can continue to add citations (only have one more to add as of now), but I need the bibliography to submit the paper for internal approval at work.
  • skrueger111
    Good news! I was able to create a bibliography in my test documents after I rebooted my computer this morning. So, I crossed my fingers and tried it in my big paper and it worked there also. I was able to add another citation without getting any errors. Hopefully I won't have any further issues. Thanks very much for your help. I learned a lot about Zotero in the process.
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