Unable to access Citation Dialog box

mporick
Hi, All-

I set my dissertation aside for 2 weeks. Zotero updated! Now I am back at it and unable to insert any citations. I click the Zotero add citation link in Word and I can see (using Alt-Tab) that a dialog box opened in Zotero, but I cannot get it to show so I can add the citation. Anyone have this occur? What's the fix? I'm desperate....I have tried minimizing all windows, restarting, nothing seems to be obvious.
  • dstillman Zotero Team
    Can you provide a Debug ID for Zotero startup through reproducing this, using the Help → Debug Output Logging → "Restart with Logging Enabled…" option?
  • mporick
    In troubleshooting mode, it works! Then when I go back to non-troubleshooting mode I have the same issue.

    Here is what I got after making it work:


    1780177750563 addons.xpi WARN Force scan SCOPE_ALL locations on empty XPIStates locations data

    [JavaScript Error: "TypeError: this.ownerGlobal.gBrowser.getTabForBrowser is not a function" {file: "chrome://global/content/elements/browser-custom-element.mjs" line: 932}]
    getTabBrowser@chrome://global/content/elements/browser-custom-element.mjs:932:54
    onPageHide@chrome://global/content/elements/browser-custom-element.mjs:958:27


    appName => Zotero, version => 9.0.4 (x64), os => Windows 11 26200, locale => en-US, safeMode => true, extensions =>

    (3)(+0030873): Starting full-text content processor

    (4)(+0000001): Registering notifier observer 'fulltext_l6' for [sync]

  • dstillman Zotero Team
    Can you provide the Debug ID for startup through reproducing it without checking the Troubleshooting Mode box?
  • mporick
    At startup:


    1780178312024 addons.xpi WARN Force scan SCOPE_ALL locations on empty XPIStates locations data

    [JavaScript Error: "TypeError: this.ownerGlobal.gBrowser.getTabForBrowser is not a function" {file: "chrome://global/content/elements/browser-custom-element.mjs" line: 932}]
    getTabBrowser@chrome://global/content/elements/browser-custom-element.mjs:932:54
    onPageHide@chrome://global/content/elements/browser-custom-element.mjs:958:27


    appName => Zotero, version => 9.0.4 (x64), os => Windows 11 26200, locale => en-US, extensions =>

    (3)(+0010320): Scheduling next feed update

    (4)(+0000002): SELECT ( CASE WHEN lastCheck IS NULL THEN 0 ELSE strftime('%s', lastCheck) + refreshInterval * 60 - strftime('%s', 'now') END ) AS nextCheck FROM feeds WHERE refreshInterval IS NOT NULL ORDER BY nextCheck ASC LIMIT 1

    (3)(+0000007): No feeds with auto-update

    (4)(+0000000): SELECT libraryID AS id FROM feeds WHERE refreshInterval IS NOT NULL AND ( lastCheck IS NULL OR (julianday(lastCheck, 'utc') + (refreshInterval/1440.0) - julianday('now', 'utc')) <= 0 )

    (3)(+0000010): Running update for feeds:

    (3)(+0000001): All feed updates done

    (3)(+0000000): Scheduling next feed update

    (4)(+0000000): SELECT ( CASE WHEN lastCheck IS NULL THEN 0 ELSE strftime('%s', lastCheck) + refreshInterval * 60 - strftime('%s', 'now') END ) AS nextCheck FROM feeds WHERE refreshInterval IS NOT NULL ORDER BY nextCheck ASC LIMIT 1

    (3)(+0000001): No feeds with auto-update

    (4)(+0000599): SELECT COUNT(*) FROM settings WHERE setting='mImport' AND key='cleanup'



    After being unable to get the citations box to display (other than in Alt-Tab):


    1780178312024 addons.xpi WARN Force scan SCOPE_ALL locations on empty XPIStates locations data

    [JavaScript Error: "TypeError: this.ownerGlobal.gBrowser.getTabForBrowser is not a function" {file: "chrome://global/content/elements/browser-custom-element.mjs" line: 932}]
    getTabBrowser@chrome://global/content/elements/browser-custom-element.mjs:932:54
    onPageHide@chrome://global/content/elements/browser-custom-element.mjs:958:27


    [JavaScript Error: "TypeError: this.ownerGlobal.gBrowser.getTabForBrowser is not a function" {file: "chrome://global/content/elements/browser-custom-element.mjs" line: 932}]
    getTabBrowser@chrome://global/content/elements/browser-custom-element.mjs:932:54
    onPageHide@chrome://global/content/elements/browser-custom-element.mjs:958:27


    appName => Zotero, version => 9.0.4 (x64), os => Windows 11 26200, locale => en-US, extensions =>
  • dstillman Zotero Team
    edited May 30, 2026
    That’s not a Debug ID for Zotero startup. See the linked instructions.
  • mporick
    edited 29 days ago
    Sorry about that! the output is incredibly long. Does this partial data look correct? if so I would need to send the file.


    [output removed — D.S.]
  • adamsmith
    The request is to submit it and post the debug ID here
  • mporick
    D1028846462

    Like I said before, it works fine when I am logged in with debugging mode. It does not work when I login normally.
  • dstillman Zotero Team
    edited 29 days ago
    But startup debug output doesn’t require enabling Troubleshooting Mode. I’m asking for startup debug output with the Troubleshooting Mode box unchecked, when you can presumably still reproduce the problem.
  • mporick
    I thought I was pretty computer savvy but I'm feeling kind of out of my depth. How does this look? D1827822667
  • dstillman Zotero Team
    That output is fine, but I'm not seeing an attempt to use the Word plugin there. Did you reproduce the problem?
  • mporick
    I couldn't get the "run" command to work when Zotero is open. I reproduced the issue, closed Zotero and ran the command again and got this ID: D835299753
  • dstillman Zotero Team
    edited 29 days ago
    I'm not sure what you mean. What "run" command?

    All you need to do is go to Help → Debug Output Logging → "Restart with Logging Enabled…", uncheck "Restart in Troubleshooting Mode", click Restart Zotero, reproduce the problem, and submit the output. Then post the Debug ID here.

    There's no much we can do to debug this without seeing a Debug ID that shows the problem occurring.
  • mporick


    I just tried a different way and got this ID. I really hope this one does the trick: D1767741521

    I was using this method previously:
    Run command: "C:\Program Files\Zotero\zotero.exe" -ZoteroDebug. When I open Zotero, create the problem then try to run this nothing happens. If I close Zotero, I can get "C:\Program Files\Zotero\zotero.exe" -ZoteroDebug to work.


  • dstillman Zotero Team
    (3)(+0000032): Integration: Displaying dialog chrome://zotero/content/integration/integrationDocPrefs.xhtml
    That seems to show the plugin's Document Preferences window appearing. You should look through Zotero's windows. (The window belongs to Zotero, not Word.)
  • mporick
    Yes. It opens. I cannot get to it. I can attempt to grab a video of what I see. I can see it opens and can view a thumbnail in Alt-Tab view. I cannot click on it. I cannot access it to use at all.

    Would you like a video of my screen?
  • dstillman Zotero Team
    Yes, you can send a video to support@zotero.org with a link to this thread. (We'll respond here.)
  • mporick
    sent!
  • dstillman Zotero Team
    edited 29 days ago
    I'd guess that it's trying to open off-screen. (Do you sometimes use multiple monitors?)

    You can try closing Zotero, going to your Zotero profile folder, and deleting the xulstore.json file, and then restarting Zotero.
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