Zotero still has problems loading translators and styles.

huwbm2
edited August 27, 2024
The error message referred me to this help:

https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/unable_to_load_translators_and_styles

I have followed everything on the website, but the problem persists.
The initial situation was as follows. I had problems with the identifier in Zotero. Whenever I entered a DOI, the program hung up. That's why I updated Zotero to the latest version. The one where I now also have the makeover. But now I had the problem that Zotero can no longer load the translators and styles. What can I do to make it work again?
I have two user profiles. My personal profile (where the error message does not appear when I select it on startup) and a profile that I use for work. In this profile, the storage location is user-defined so that my personal and work profiles remain separate. This storage location is on a group drive so that other colleagues can also select this folder as a user-defined storage location and we have access to the same literature library. I have checked the integrity of the database, reset translators and styles, made sure the sqlite file is not read-only and I even deleted the translators and styles folders in my location. I don't know what else to try to fix the error.
Zotero generates the following error report:

[additional errors removed — D.S.]

[JavaScript Error: "Invalid or missing translator metadata JSON object in Ab Imperio.js" {file: "chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/translation/translators.js" line: 331}]

[JavaScript Error: "Could not move the source file(C:\Users\person~1\AppData\Local\Temp\Zotero\Ab Imperio.js) to the destination(G:\4\Ordner\Team\Literatur\ZOTERO-Team\translators\Ab Imperio.js)"]

appName => Zotero, version => 7.0.2 (x64), os => Windows 11 22631, locale => de, extensions =>

Please help me.
  • dstillman
    edited August 27, 2024
    This storage location is on a group drive so that other colleagues can also select this folder as a user-defined storage location and we have access to the same literature library
    You absolutely cannot do this. This is functionally a cloud storage folder.

    You should move the data directory back to the local disk.
  • huwbm2
    edited August 27, 2024
    @dstillman OK. Thanks for the information. I didn't know it could cause technical problems. But why did the location work in the previous version of Zotero?
    I had also described that I only did the update because my identifier kept hanging. It's still hanging and I don't know what to do to get it to read DOIs again?
  • dstillman
    We can't help you as long as your data directory is in that location. You're welcome to provide a Debug ID for any particular issue in a new thread after fixing that.
  • huwbm2
    @dstillman I have now moved the location of my work profile to my local hard drive. I have restarted Zotero and I am still getting the error message that translators and styles cannot be loaded. I have tried all of the reset and data integrity check help repeatedly. This is the debug ID: D883878364.

  • dstillman
    edited August 27, 2024
    [JavaScript Error: "Could not remove the file at C:\Users\[…]\Zotero[…]\translators\Ab Imperio.js"]
    OK, then that's due to either security software on the system or file permissions in the data directory preventing Zotero from modifying files (in the 'translators' folder, specifically, but it would be a more systemic problem).
  • huwbm2
    edited August 27, 2024
    @dstillman So there is no way that Zotero can help me? Because my personal profile, which has always been stored on my local hard drive, does not display the error message. So the problem can't be caused by the security software on my work PC, right?
  • dstillman
    All we can tell you is the filesystem error Zotero is getting. Beyond that, it's your system, and you'll need to debug it, or ask your IT department to help. This isn't a problem in Zotero itself.
  • huwbm2
    @dstillman Okay, thanks for the quick help and answer anyway.
  • dstillman
    (You can try just deleting that 'translators' folder and letting Zotero recreate it, but that might hide a larger problem that will reoccur later. Basically, though, something is preventing Zotero from writing to its own data directory, so it's not going to work properly. Various things might cause that, but we can't provide general Windows guidance here.)
  • huwbm2
    @dstillman I tried to delete the translator folder at the very beginning. It was recreated by Zotero, but the error message was passed on. I had now compared the translator folder in my personal profile with my work profile. I noticed that there were no files in my work profile folder other than 'Ab Imperio.js'. However, there were many files in my personal profile. I then simply deleted the translator folder of my work profile and replaced it with the translator folder of my personal profile, which I had copied. Now the error message no longer appears and I can use my work profile again, which is now saved on my local hard drive, and the identifier also works again. This is just to inform you how I solved the problem.
  • dstillman
    edited August 27, 2024
    That’s very likely not a permanent fix. The next time a translator needs to be updated, you’re likely to get the same error, due to whatever underlying problem is causing it.
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