Is there a length (or size) limitation to insert a formatted note in LibreOffice?

poettli
It seems that LibreOffice cannot format a note with the selected citation style beyond a certain length (or size?). Sorry if this has been previously brought to your attention, I could not find a past report.

Debug ID: D1272973846
maOS 15.5
LibreOffice 24.8.7.2
Zotero 7.1-beta.37
  • adomasven
    edited June 13, 2025
    The length of the note should not be an issue, but we haven't tested with notes with 100+ citations, so there could be bugs. Could you binary partition (make copies and cut them in half to identify the problematic one) the note and see if some specific element or citation in it is causing the problem?
  • poettli
    The note is created from annotations made on a single paper. But I will try what you suggested and report here.
  • poettli
    edited June 13, 2025
    Ok, this is because of the template I use for the highlights. If I use the default template, there is no problem. Word is able to work with my template, but not LibreOffice.
    I was able to define a template that make LibreOffice to fail to render the note: <blockquote>{{highlight}}</blockquote><p>{{citation}}</p>
  • adomasven
    Could you provide complete minimal steps to reproduce this?
  • poettli
    Sorry, I cannot find minimal steps to reproduce. Sometimes, it works with a lot of annotations transformed to a note. Sometimes, it fails with 15 annotations, but not with 14 (after removing the 15th annotation). It seems that having a selected area on top of everything is a must have. But I cannot say much more at the moment. Is there any hint in the debug I have submitted?
  • poettli
    OK, this might reproduce the issue:

    1. Modify "extensions.zotero.annotations.noteTemplates.highlight": <blockquote>{{highlight}}</blockquote><p>{{citation}}</p>

    2. Open any recent PDF (text must be able to be selected)

    3. "Select Areas" tool, select the title and authors for example (be generous with the size of the area to select).

    4. "Highlight Text" tool. Select (by double clicking) randomly 5 words in the main text.

    5. In the left panel, you should now have at the top the area selected at #3 + 5 highlights (single words).

    6. In the main Zotero window, "Add Note From Annotations". Select the newly created note (faster to access in LO with Zotero 7)

    7. Open LibreOffice, Zotero, Add Note, Select any style (in my case I used DIN 1505-2 alphanumeric), Select the note created at #6.

    8. You should see "Zotero experienced an error updating your document. Would you like to view troubleshooting instructions?"
  • adomasven
    Can you produce a Debug ID for attempting to insert this note into a new document? Does it matter which citation style you use? Does it matter if the inserted citations have accented symbols (non-standard ASCII)?
  • poettli
    Can you produce a Debug ID for attempting to insert this note into a new document?
    D1252988012
    Does it matter which citation style you use?
    No. I have tried with APA7, APA7 (note), CMoS17 (author-date), Vancouver (author-date). The issue always occurs.
    Does it matter if the inserted citations have accented symbols (non-standard ASCII)?
    I have tried only with English words. I just tried with accented French words and Japanese kanji but, strangely, I cannot reproduce with the steps described above.
  • adomasven
    I have tried only with English words. I just tried with accented French words and Japanese kanji but, strangely, I cannot reproduce with the steps described above.
    So does this only happen with a specific item? Or does changing the item metadata (e.g. adding non-ASCII characters) that is causing issues make it work? Or can you not reproduce this at all in a new document?
  • poettli
    edited June 13, 2025
    So does this only happen with a specific item?
    I can reproduce from any PDF with English words.
    Or does changing the item metadata (e.g. adding non-ASCII characters) that is causing issues make it work?
    I tried adding accented letter to the journal name, the title, author name. With no effect on the outcome.
    Or can you not reproduce this at all in a new document?
    Everything was done in a new document

    Does it mean you cannot reproduce?
  • adomasven
    Yeah, I cannot reproduce this neither on Ubuntu 24.04, nor on MacOS 15.5. I wonder if this is due to some LibreOffice configuration. Can you reproduce on a different machine, or a different user account on the same Mac?
  • poettli
    I tried on another Mac and I also get an error with the first example (LO Version: 24.8.4.2).
    What I described after seems to work in this machine. I think I had the same error on Ubuntu 22.04 (I'll check tomorrow).
  • adomasven
    Can you export the item with which you've performed the procedure described above?
  • poettli
    Can you reproduce on a different machine
    Just tried in Ubuntu 22.04 with a fresh LO profile. Same error. (LO 24.8.7.2)
    or a different user account on the same Mac
    Same error.

    I have tried with 2 different JRE: Oracle Corporation v.20 and Eclipse Adoptium v.17.0.6
    Can you export the item with which you've performed the procedure described above?
    Yes, I can.
  • adomasven
    Can you export the item with which you've performed the procedure described above?

    Yes, I can.
    Hah. Could you send it to us? Or provide the URL of some item with open-access PDF where the issue can be reproduced with the steps above?
  • poettli
    Could you send it to us?
    To Zotero support email address or directly to you?
  • adomasven
    support@zotero.org
  • adomasven
    edited June 19, 2025
    @poettli Thanks. I finally managed to reproduce it. The fix will land in the next Zotero Beta build.
  • poettli
    edited June 19, 2025
    Awesome! @adomasven, thanks a lot !
  • adomasven
    Beta is now out. Your LibreOffice plugin should update automatically if LibreOffice is closed. If not, you can update it manually in the Zotero Preferences -> Cite. Let us know if the issue is fixed for you.
  • poettli
    Yes, this is fixed for me. Thank you.
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