Zotero on Mac OS: Word could not communicate with Zotero.

lhcgeneva
Report ID: 1929873150

Hi all,


I'm getting the following error message:
Word could not communicate with Zotero. Please ensure that Zotero is open and try again.

I've tried steps outlined here https://www.zotero.org/support/word_processor_plugin_troubleshooting

and also read this thread, which appears unresolved:
https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/108154/new-mac-word-could-not-communicate-with-zotero-please-ensure-that-zotero-is-open-and-try-again

which didn't seem to find a solution, in the end?

Thanks!
  • dstillman
    These are the steps you'll want to follow:

    https://www.zotero.org/support/word_processor_plugin_troubleshooting#word_could_not_communicate_with_zotero_please_ensure_that_zotero_is_open_and_try_again
  • lhcgeneva
    Yes, that's what I did (I linked the whole page, not the subsection), I tried the debugging feature, but this didn't seem to log anything, when reproducing the error, which makes sense if the error is on the word plug-in side and it can't even find zotero.
  • adomasven
    Could you produce a restart Debug ID from Zotero? Just wait for Zotero to load, then submit the Debug ID.
  • lhcgeneva
    Sure, here's the ID: D836667253

    Thanks!
  • adomasven
    If you go to http://127.0.0.1:23119/connector/ping in your browser while Zotero is running, does it say "Zotero is running"? Do you run any proprietary security or proxy software?
  • lhcgeneva
    edited January 11, 2024
    It says Zotero is running. No proxies. No proprietary security software afaik.
  • adomasven
    What is the full version number of Word that you are running (e.g. 16.80)? Did the plugin ever work on this machine or is this a new install?
  • dstillman
    @lhcgeneva: Also, can you just confirm again that you've deleted Zotero.dotm from the Word Startup folder, restarted Word and made sure that the plugin was completely gone, and then (and only then) reinstalled the plugin via Zotero and restarted Word?
  • lhcgeneva
    @adomasven I'm running 16.80 indeed. It used to work until earlier this week, probably for about a year or so, since I've had it installed. I upgraded to Sonoma a while ago, not exactly sure when.

    @dstillman, yup, did all of this again just now. Didn't work. Is there anything I need to do in the Add ons Manager? Like disable the word plugin or sth? Couldn't uninstall it there.
  • adomasven
    Open Terminal.app, and paste the following line into it:

    curl -s -o /dev/null -I -w '%{http_code}' -X GET 'http://127.0.0.1:23119/integration/macWordCommand?agent=MacWord16&command=addEditCitation&document=/Applications/Microsoft%20Word.app/&templateVersion=2'

    Press Enter. What is the output of this command?
  • lhcgeneva
    Output is 200% and it opens the usual word dialog as it would be expected if the plugin works.
  • adomasven
    Do you have a ZoteroPort.txt file in your Word Startup folder? If you do not, the most likely reason for why this is not working for you is that Word is unable to execute the MacScript command which performs a HTTP request (like the one you tested in the terminal). It's hard to say why that is, but is generally likely dependent on some user configuration. You should create a new macOS user account and see if Zotero integration in Word works correctly there.
  • lhcgeneva
    Even in a new account on the same machine I don't have that file. In this case the plugin exists in the word panel, however, clicking the add citation button just doesn't do anything.
  • adomasven
    Does it work in a new account after restarting your Mac?
  • lhcgeneva
    It does indeed. Still no luck in the old account, though. Ok, so are there any candidate settings I could check? I'm not aware of messing to much with my account in the past few days, so any advice would be appreciated...
  • adomasven
    Unfortunately we don't have good suggestions for what to check here, you will have to think of what system changes you have made over the past days. If you work out what it was, do let us know, as we infrequently get reports like that and we have not had anyone report figuring out what causes this.
  • lhcgeneva
    If that helps I'm also happy to do a remote session, if you could troubleshoot directly on the system? I'm writing a grant that's due in three weeks and it would be a shame having to transfer things to a different user account, etc., plus that's not a long term solution. Can I somehow manually create that file? Is there a simple way to check whether the MacScript command works for something else?
  • adomasven
    If you open this Zotero.dotm file (make sure you allow macros to run), do you get an error while trying to add citations and if so, what error is it?
  • lhcgeneva
    Solution for now: Reinstalling Word.
    Let's hope it lasts :) At least all the citations are still there and editable.

    Thanks for the support!
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