Can't do any citations in Google Docs

dstillman Zotero Team
This discussion was created from comments split from: Available for beta testing: Much faster Google Docs integration.
  • sashamayeb
    Can anyone help with Google Docs with Chrome combo?

    The 'z' just stays grey or just shows the page image in the connector extension. I can't do any citations at all..
    So frustrating! Thanks
  • dstillman Zotero Team
    I'm not sure what you mean here — the "Z" in the Google Docs toolbar is always gray, and I don't know what you mean by "just shows the page image". Are you actually looking at the Google Docs interface, or are you looking at the Save to Zotero button that the Zotero Connector adds to the browser toolbar?

    See Using Zotero with Google Docs for what you're looking for, and if you're still having trouble see Reporting Problems for the information we'd need to help you.
  • sashamayeb
    Hi, so when I'm in my google doc, I can see the chrome extension icon. The icon is of a page (not a z), so it's fine to add a new reference, but it doesn't show an option to add a citation to the doc. It instead goes to 'saving to....'. But I want, is to be able to go through my documents and now add citations from the list of references I've added.

  • dstillman Zotero Team
    edited May 9, 2023
    Right, but that button doesn't have anything to do with citing in Google Docs. Again, see the linked documentation page for the Google Docs functionality you're looking for.
  • sashamayeb
    Yes, I had a look through. OK so now I can bring up the citation bar, but it just seems stuck in updating mode..

    At the top of the page where it says Updating (link) when I open it says

    :\Selected field ds97Xf not returned from Docs backend
  • dstillman Zotero Team
    Disable all other browser extensions, reload Google Docs, and try again.
  • sashamayeb
    Done, but it just gets stuck in updating.. (15+ mins of inactivity) ..
  • dstillman Zotero Team
    Make sure the citation dialog isn't just appearing behind your other windows. It's part of the Zotero app, so cycle through those windows.

    If you're sure it's not that, we'd want to see a Debug ID from Zotero for reloading Google Docs and reproducing this, using the "Restart with Logging Enabled…" option.
  • sashamayeb
    Submitted with Debug ID D1194416220

    When I re-started it this time, it does seem to connect now and link the citations. But then keeps getting stuck.. Any more suggestions gratefully recieved.

    Thank you.
  • dstillman Zotero Team
    Can you provide a Debug ID from the Zotero Connector for the same thing? Restart browser and Zotero before reproducing.
  • sashamayeb
    Submitted with Debug ID D238980921
  • adomasven Zotero Team
    Can you explain step by step what you're doing in a new document after restarting Zotero and your browser, and what happens? Make sure you look through open Zotero windows if you're seeing the "Please wait..." overlay in Google Docs and do not refresh or close the Google Docs document tab if you have initiated a citation operation and it has not finished
  • sashamayeb
    I open the google document.
    Then I click a section of the existing text.
    Then I click the 'z' in the menu
    The citation bar opens and I start typing to find the reference.
    Once found, I click on it.
    Then I click enter to select it.
    Twice this worked and entered the citation as expected.
    But then, the next time the red bar stayed open with a blue strip across it, as if part way through a process. Here is where it stays. Now if I click again within the text to make a citation, it seems stuck on the past process.
    I wait (now for another 8 mins ish)

    I do have another window open with other tabs, but assuming this does not impact the process..
  • adomasven Zotero Team
    If you have a stuck red bar, but the document doesn't say "Zotero is updating your document", then it means you have pressed refresh in the google docs tab (or you switched to so many different tabs in your browser, that the original google docs tab got unloaded to conserve memory, and then reloaded upon focusing it again). That will break the Zotero citing integration.
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