"Zotero experienced an error updating your document"

maxsihvo · 2025-07-17T15:40:20+00:00

Hi,

I recently switched from Mendeley to Zotero because of Mendeleys problems with Safari and Word on Mac. I've updated my own references, but adding new ones is turning out to be a pain in the ass. Every other time I add a citation, the word processor comes up with the error "Zotero experienced an error updating your document". I've tried just about everything on your troubleshoot page on the Mac Word errors, from deleting zotero, updating Word, manually deleting Zotero.dotm and reinstalling the plugin, but every time i do that, it works for 1 citation, after which it once again displays the same error code.

dstillman · 2025-07-17T15:40:48+00:00

We'd need a Report ID to start.

maxsihvo · 2025-07-17T19:27:14+00:00

Here is the Report ID: 997814847

adomasven · 2025-07-18T06:53:31+00:00

What version of Word are you running? Make sure it's the latest version.

maxsihvo · 2025-07-18T06:57:23+00:00

Word version: Version 16.99 (25071321)

I've already checked with Microsoft Updater that it's the newest version.

adomasven · 2025-07-18T08:07:06+00:00

I'm afraid your best bet is to split your document into multiple chapter-documents to improve this. There's a long-standing bug in Mac Word that affects some users more than others, and is seemingly random. It may depend on system load, number of opened apps, or number of advanced elements in the document. I'm sorry I don't have anything better to suggest. We are working with Microsoft to update our extension to use a new API that will eliminate this issue.