Google patents - Could Not Save Item error

chipyrom
Hi

I usually add items from Google patents but today It fails and shows the following error message:

"Could Not Save Item"

I've used these URLs:

http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=PgG6AAAAEBAJ

or

http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=E--oAAAAEBAJ

and I'm using

Zotero 1.0.10
Firefox 3.0.7

Best regards,

Chip
  • RintzeRintze
    I sent a fix two weeks ago to the Zotero team (Matt), but it hasn't made it to the SVN yet:

    "The Google Patents translators seems broken. The fix however is simple. Changing
    newItem.title = doc.evaluate('//h2[@class="title"]', doc, nsResolver, XPathResult.ANY_TYPE, null).iterateNext().textContent;into
    newItem.title = doc.evaluate('//h1[@class="title"]', doc, nsResolver, XPathResult.ANY_TYPE, null).iterateNext().textContent;(just a h1 header instead of a h2) does the trick."
  • chipyrom
    Thanks Rintze,

    I assume that in order to fix it now in my local machine the translator code needs to be updated in the zotero.sqlite database. I check that the google patent translator and it has the old code.

    So I'll wait to this fix to be added in the SVN and then I can fix it using the Update translators button.

    Chip
  • amacom73
    Chip, if you're in a tinkering mood, you could always use Rintze's fix and adapt these instructions to edit your local translator until it's fixed in the repository. I am emphatically NOT a coder, but I was able to get a broken translator for an international patent website working this way.
  • RintzeRintze
    edited June 16, 2009
    Those instructions only work for Zotero 2.0 Beta, as there the translators are stored in separate files. For Zotero 1.0.x, you could install Scaffold (see also the Scaffold tutorial). Open Scaffold, load the Google Patents translator, click the code tab and make the change in the code. If you then click the execute button, the change will be saved automatically to your local scrapers.sql file which contains all the translators. Close Scaffold and enjoy your fixed translator.
  • chipyrom
    I've installed Scaffold and fixed the translator. It works !!!
    Thanks.
  • cavallad
    Rintze's fix has now been incorprated into Zotero (I am using v 2.0b6.5) but the error with Google patents persists.

    Any ideas anyone?

    David
  • amacom73
    edited September 3, 2009
    I've duplicated this. Espacenet translator also appears to be broken again. Patent support seems to be a very low priority for the Zotero devs--fair enough, they are busy and need to fix the issues that hit the most users first.

    Is there anyone out there with the know-how and interest to bring these patent translators up to date?
  • cavallad
    Hi Amacom73

    I have started rewriting the Google patents translator and it is semi-working; I need to make some improvements before posting. It has difficulty with the differences between Applications and Patents in terms of the information provided. I note that Zotero has no field for 'Publication number' and there is only one date field. If we can get some traction on these aspects (for which ticket 1455 has been issued) we can get a much better translator.

    David
  • amacom73
    edited September 10, 2009
    That's great David, thanks for the info. Let me know if you need any beta testing--I'm using ff 3.0.13 on mac 10.5.8. I think the most relevant ticket may not be 1455, but the one it refers back to: https://www.zotero.org/trac/ticket/1375.

    Also, looking at past patents I've imported with a working translator, there are two date fields available, "date" and "issue date." In the previous discusssion the workaround was to manually enter filing date into the "date" field. Can you get the translator to map filing date to "date?"
  • karateka
    I was also not getting Zotero to import patents from Google Patents. At first it was Zotero 1.0.10 on FF 3.5.5. So, I upgraded Zotero to 2.0b7.4 and it still won't work. I checked the "Google Patents.js" file and line 124 had the h1:

    newItem.title = doc.evaluate('//h1[@class="title"]' ....

    Google Patents does have a "view patent at the uspto" button, and Zotero does import the information from the USPTO site. So, it has left me somewhat puzzled.
  • karateka
    edited November 17, 2009
    Now I am getting it to work. As suggested by cavallad:

    http://groups.google.com/group/zotero-dev/browse_thread/thread/86e959053fe5253d/b4f598e671d66494?lnk=gst&q=google+patents#b4f598e671d66494

    I added the "else..." statement to the "Google Patents.js" file (line 155) and it imports now. Thanks for the help.
  • tdsmith
    Google Patents is again not working.

    Report ID: 50466141

    Problem: Trying to save an item from Google Patents returns a "could not save item" error.

    Steps to reproduce: Visit a patent, e.g. http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=sAgLAAAAEBAJ&dq=1234567 -- click the Zotero save button in the address bar. Zotero will display a "could not save item" error.

    Thanks,
    Tim
  • electricsbm
    The fix posted by David at following link works like charm for Zotero 2.0.3. I can get patents into my Zotero db now.

    http://groups.google.com/group/zotero-dev/browse_thread/thread/86e959053fe5253d/b4f598e671d66494?lnk=gst&q=google+patents&pli=1
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