Insert citation in a table bug

Hi Everyone,

I have been using Zotero for a while now and I seem to run into a bug that I have never encountered before. Before I describe the bug I use LibreOffice with the Zotero connector plugin and the citation works normally when I type my essays.

My bug is, when I add a citation inside a table, it will insert normally. However when I want to add another citation, the citation dialog consequently hangs for an indefinite amount of time, and does not add the next citation. It doesn't matter if I do the citation outside or inside the table it will not work. In other words, if a Zotero citation is inserted inside a table cell, I am unable to add any future citations.

I also tried a new document, created a sample table and put a citation in. It and it does the same thing. I have also tried putting citations outside the table first and it works every time, but if I insert or copy and paste the citation in inside a table, it hangs on the next one.

My current workaround for the time being is to manually type my citations in the table, and then insert citation outside the table and make it the text all white so that it will register the bibliography, not ideal but the only way for me to get my references.

I am using Fedora 44 KDE that is up to date.
Operating System: Fedora Linux 44
KDE Plasma Version: 6.7.0
KDE Frameworks Version: 6.27.0
Qt Version: 6.11.1
Kernel Version: 7.0.12-201.fc44.x86_64 (64-bit)
Graphics Platform: Wayland

Here is my Libre Office writer version
Version: 26.2.4.2 (X86_64)
Build ID: 620(Build:2)
CPU threads: 16; OS: Linux 7.0; UI render: default; VCL: kf6 (cairo+wayland)
Locale: en-AU (en_AU.UTF-8); UI: en-US
Calc: threaded

My Zotero is version 9.0.4 (64-bit). I am using APA 7th edition for my essay if this helps.

I tried looking for a solution online but I may not be phrasing my searches properly, any feedback would be appreciated.
  • adomasven Zotero Team
    Does this happen if you don't have citations in tables that are the first element in the document, or if your document doesn't start with a table?
  • If there are no citations inserted in the table, it works as intended.

    The only time if does not work is after the citation is inserted into a table.
    This is what I have tried:
    1. Create some text with citations and then put a table, once I insert a citation inside a table (which successfully works) any citations in or out of the table does not work, so I cannot add any citations after the first citation is in the table.

    2. Put a table first then add some text in the table and put my first citation in any cell. The citation dialogue hang when I try to insert my second citation. This happens if I insert inside the table or outside of the table.

    3. Tried multiple tables with the same effect.

    So basically, if one citation is inside any table cell, any future citations will not add.

    I hope this clarifies my bug.
  • adomasven Zotero Team
    Could you send a small sample document to support@zotero.org with a link to this thread where you have a table that is not at the start of the document with a citation, and where further citations are not inserted. Also produce a Debug ID for an attempt to insert a citation that fails in this sample document.
  • Hi adomasven,

    I just sent the email and I gave some context for the problem I am having.
  • adomasven Zotero Team
    Right, we received your documents. There's currently a bug with documents that have a table as the first element in them, or possibly the first element after a section break. We have a fix for that that will be released in the Zotero Beta soon. If you have a document, where you can reproduce an insertion failure as a result of citations in tables that are not at the start of the document, please send it to us. Otherwise if you have issues in your main document that are not related to tables, you should still create and post a Debug ID here (don't make a copy of the the debug output, just submit and post it here), and also follow Troubleshooting Errors in Word Processor Documents.
  • Thanks adomasen,

    I went to check my original document and my Title Page (fist page) has a table for information on my assessment, as the first element.

    This is the bug that is causing my future citations to not work. I have also checked new page breaks and section breaks, and placed a table as the first element but the bug does not appear and works as intended. So if the first page has a table as the first element, it will hang.

    Thanks for the info, and I hope the bug is resolved in the next release!
  • adomasven Zotero Team
    The fix is now available in the Zotero Beta if you want to try that. The LibreOffice plugin should reinstall automatically, but you may need to restart LibreOffice for it to be picked up. Otherwise you can update the plugin via Zotero Preferences.
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