Zotero is not adding citation in Google Docs anymore

rfmoral · 2025-10-08T19:50:10+00:00

[Split from Z' in google docs is not working]

Zotero is not adding citation in google docs anymore. The menu is still there, but even when we choose add citation, it doesn't do anything. I tried adding the citation from shortcut command (ctrl + alt + c), and all it does is to add a special character in google docs (₢). The previous version was already buggy, but now it is simply not working.

dstillman · 2025-10-08T19:55:15+00:00

Can you provide a Debug ID for reloading Google Docs and reproducing this?

rfmoral · 2025-10-08T20:15:32+00:00

D1496769339

CarolineMcCormack · 2025-10-09T04:43:40+00:00

I have been experiencing the exact same thing! It started yesterday afternoon (after the new update I think). I've tried using uninstalling and reinstalling zotero connector in both firefox and chrome and the issue is the same. Let me know if you have any insight

CarolineMcCormack · 2025-10-09T04:43:40+00:00

^debug ID for my previous comment about experiencing the same issue: D1429901464

rfmoral · 2025-10-09T21:50:57+00:00

I tested it on new documents, and the referencing works as expected. It appears that the issue occurs with files that already had a bibliography of citations. I've also tried multiple debugging strategies, but the issue persists.

CarolineMcCormack · 2025-10-10T16:26:43+00:00

Also, the connector is working normally for me in Safari but the Chrome/firefox version doesn't work in either browser

rfmoral · 2025-10-10T16:55:58+00:00

I've been using MS Edge navigator. @Caroline, yesterday I learned a trick to add citations to my document that existed before the update: I copied and pasted a previous citation to the place I wanted to add a new one; then, I clicked on the citation and chose "edit with zotero", and it worked. With this trick I could bypass the issue of adding a new citation.

CarolineMcCormack · 2025-10-10T16:56:47+00:00

Good to know, thank you!

adomasven · 2025-10-13T06:44:38+00:00

@rfmoral Your issue was that the citation dialog for new citation is opened by Zotero, but doesn't automatically appear on top of Google Docs. This behaviour is controlled by Windows and we are unable to force the dialog to always appear on top. When you press Add/Edit Citation you should wait a little and if the dialog doesn't appear, look through open Zotero windows.

If you keep pressing Add/edit citation, Zotero will close the existing citation dialog (that you didn't notice appeared), and will try to load another one.

@CarolineMcCormack If you still see this issue, submit a Debug ID from Zotero, not Zotero Connector.

rfmoral · 2025-10-13T16:41:51+00:00

@adomasven thank you for your response. This is not the issue I have. I'm aware of the windows tricks to see zotero's dialog boxes. My issue is that for a document that I already had citation before the update, it won't add new citation unless I play the trick I describe above. Zotero is working normally on my new documents, but it is not working on the ones I had citations before.

adomasven · 2025-10-13T17:56:45+00:00

In that case you should submit a Debug ID for an attempt to add a new citation into your existing document, and you should also describe what you did step-by-step and what happened.

machmil · 2025-10-14T14:08:53+00:00

The proposed solution by @rfmoral works on my side. Many thanks for it and for establishing this discussion. I had a hopeless day yesterday as reinstalling Chrome and Zotero did not help me.

dstillman · 2025-10-16T14:50:18+00:00

@rfmoral, @CarolineMcCormack, @machmil: If you're still seeing this, please update to Zotero Connector 5.0.185 (if your browser hasn't yet updated), reload Google Docs, and try again.