Can't install styles from web or manually

joshtrampier
New zotero user - didn't know if I should post this in a new thread or comment on one from 2008. In any event, I cannot install styles from the style repository.
http://www.zotero.org/styles

Clicking install for the Chicago Manual of Style (Author-Date format) style pops up the message "http://www.zotero.org/styles/chicago-author-date/dev?install=1 does not appear to be a valid style file."

Downloading the file and using the zotero style manager to add the style manually results in a similar error message: "chicago-author-date.csl does not appear to be a valid style file."

This has happened with others as well, including American Antiquity (draft 4) and American Journal of Archaeology (Author-Date).

I am using zotero 2.0.9 on Firefox 3.6.13 on a Windows XP box, all service packs + updates installed. Thanks for your help!
  • adamsmith
    new thread is good - don't recycle very old threads.
    Very odd, I've never seen this (and it works correctly for me).
    Maybe some odd character encoding issue? Do you have anythin unusual selected in Firefox View--> Character Encoding?
  • joshtrampier
    Unicode (UTF-8) is selected there (Default).
  • adamsmith
    and the already installed citation styles work?
    Have you been able to install any new styles?
    Oh, also, trigger the error again, send an error report post an error report ID (Zotero Gears Menu) here.
  • joshtrampier
    edited February 25, 2011
    Alright, this is just odd - when trying to replicate the error, I found the style that I wanted installed just fine. So nevermind!

    FYI (and for anyone else who reads this), here are the things that changed since I posted this error message, in order:

    1) I used the zotero style manager to remove extraneous styles by highlighting a style and hitting the minus button. All the styles disappeared, not just the one highlighted (American Psychological Association 6th Edition).
    2) I restarted Firefox. All the styles were still missing from the style manager.
    3) I went to the online Zotero Style Repository to reinstall all those default styles that had disappeared. I clicked on 'install' for three, then checked the style manager in preferences. Not just three, but all of the disappeared styles (including many that I hadn't "reinstalled") had now reappeared.
    4) I went to the online Zotero Style Repository and clicked on those styles that I couldn't previously install like American Antiquity (draft 4) and American Journal of Archaeology (Author-Date). These now installed just fine. :s

    Just a guess - There's something odd going on with the way the style manager list was populating that probably impacted the style install process. Perhaps a read-write issue? Or storage/read directories had been changed behind the scenes? I didn't tweak any such settings. Somehow seems to have been fixed by "reinstalling" default styles, perhaps pointing the zotero install to the proper directory.

    Bit strange...but it works now. Thanks for your attention, adamsmith.
  • adamsmith
    sounds like a corrupted style directory - resetting that would have been my next suggestion ("Reset Translators and Styles" in the advanced tab of the Zotero preferences). If someone encounters the same issue, I'd recommend trying that first.
  • peci_trg_r
    2.1.6 updated today. Firefox 3.6.10. Win XP
    First, all data gone. Sync refresh to link did retrieve it.
    non-standard styles gone.
    Cannot install styles using link. Will try manual (still looking for directions)
    Tried American Society for Civil Engineers and a few others.
    All returned error like xml does not contain styles.
    Saw similar problem in 2.0, but that thread was closed.
  • adamsmith
    This doesn't make any sense. If you updated today you should have Zotero 2.1.10 and if you updated your FF anytime in the last, I dunno, year, you should have a more recent version - the current version on the 3.6 branch is 3.6.21.
    So please update your versions first.
  • peci_trg_r
    Before you go to the 'that doesn't make sense' place realize that many of us in the corporate domain do not have admin rights and updating firefox requires an act o' god/des or more!

    So I did update both firefox and zotero and all is well now.

    Again -if you only load zotero (and firefox) a few times a year then hold off on the updates, especially if the paper deadline is due!

    Of course, I did find a 'bug' where the noted version of Zotero really wanted a later version of firefox to load in properly. . .
  • adamsmith
    still doesn't make sense that you'd get an update to Zotero 2.1.6 today, but glad that it's working now.

    I also just want to point out that from a security perspective, for your corporation to have you run outdated FF version is a _huge_ security risk - one year old browser versions commonly have numerous well known exploits, so while I understand that you can't change this, it still doesn't make sense in the larger scheme of things.
  • peci_trg_r
    While resolved under XP upgrading both Firefox & Zotero;
    The problem persists after an upgrade to a new computer.
    Now on windows 7; checked with both firefox 6.0.0 on work computer and 6.0.2 on home computer.
    Zotero 2.1.10

    Attempting to install ASCE style returns this error:
    This XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it. The document tree is shown below.
  • adamsmith
    that's not an error, that's just a message FF displays every time you open a csl file.
    I'd expect that if you check the list of installed styles you see the style has installed just fine.
  • peci_trg_r
    ASCE is NOT in the local installed list.
    That message is the same one that showed up when I had problems before.
    It did NOT show up when I got a successful style install under XP after updating.
  • adamsmith
    what exactly are you doing to install the style? You would get that message at the top of the page, e.g. if you click on the style itself instead of on the install link in the repository.

    Please remember all caps are considered yelling - you can use _underlining_ in plain text mode or italics <i> </i> in html mode for emphasis.
  • peci_trg_r
    Just trying to deliver the facts. EMPHASIS is emphasis; especially for one word, not the entire sentence.

    Correct; install worked on home computer in 6.0.2
    Did not work on work computer in 6.0.0

    Will try to get admin update unlocked on firefox and see if its the version or some other corporate hurdle.
  • adamsmith
    yeah, I don't care to spend my free and volunteered time helping someone who can't be bothered with minimal courtesy. Maybe someone else does.
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