Zotero crashes Word

llodewyck
I have been building my zotero library without incident, but now when I go to actually add citations and bibliography through zotero, Word keeps crashing. This is the exact problem I encountered with EndNote, and the reason why I abandoned it after spending a year building my library there. Arrgh! I am working on Microsoft Word 2008 for Mac, Version 12.2.9, Latest Installed Update 12.2.9. I have a Mac OS X, Version 10.5.8
  • Simon
    Are Zotero and Zotero MacWord Integration up to date? You should be able to check in Tools->Add-ons->Extensions. The latest version of Zotero is 2.1.6, and the latest version of Zotero MacWord Integration is 3.1.2.
  • llodewyck
    yes, thanks, they are up to date. I just double checked. Not sure why this is happening. Is it a clue that it happened with EndNote, too? Eventually, with EndNote, it happened with such frequency (at least 20 times an hour, Word "encountered an unexpected error" and closed) that I had to stop using it. I'm afraid the same thing will happen with Zotero. It seems weird that I can't find anyone else with this problem! Is there something wrong with my mac?
  • llodewyck
    I reinstalled in integration and updated to 2.1.7, and it's still happening. "Microsoft Word has encountered an unexpected error and needs to close" Thoughts??
  • Simon
    It shouldn't be possible for any Zotero-related issue to make Word crash, and the fact that you've seen this with EndNote as well and we haven't heard of similar issues from other users seems to indicate that this is a problem with your system. Try reinstalling Word.
  • amphioxus
    I have the same experience as Llodewyck. Latest Zotero, Word 2008 crashes after I add or edit citations. This time it waited eight hours of non-use, then spontaneously: down.

    I haven't had Word crash otherwise for a couple years. OSX 10.6.7. Mac Mini, 4GB ram.

    I do a hard save after every citation. Defensive.
  • adamsmith
    How exactly does Word crash?
    What do you mean by "waited eight hours of non-use, then spontaneously down"?
    Word shuts down without you doing anything?
  • amphioxus
    Word crash message: "Word has encountered a problem and must shut down." I used Word 2008 with Zotero doing citations till about 1:00 AM last night, and then on a non-cited docuement till about 2:30 AM last night. I didn't use it this morning, and didn't have any of its documents open, while doing an email, about 10:00AM, when I got that message.

    Identical crashes were more frequent when I had started building citations, and then used Word to change the numbering from 'i, ii, iii,' to '1,2,3,' or when I used Word to change citations from footnotes to endnotes. Setting it up right in advance seemed to help.

    Firefox 3.6.17 (4 was retrograde per features I like.) Word 2008. Mac Mini OSX 10.6.7. 4GB RAM. Zotero 2.6.17.

    Zotero is great. This is a minor irritation, compared to the time Zotero saves. Bravo, and thanks~Philip
  • adamsmith
    The fact that the last, identical crash wasn't caused by a Zotero related action makes it seem pretty unlikely to me that this is Zotero related. It also raises the problem of reproducing the error. Maybe Simon has another idea what to look for, but I would at least simultaneously try to troubleshoot this from the MS Word side of things.
  • Simon
    This is an issue on the Word side of things for sure. Try the instructions given here.
  • amphioxus
    edited August 14, 2012
    I followed the above instructions, first cleaned out old preferences, to no avail. I then used 'Remove Office Tool' and Reinstalled 2008. Still crashed, not immediately, no change there.

    Then I purchased Office 2011 for Mac. I again used the 'Remove Office Tool,' and installed. If I insert a Zotero citation, word still crashes--still not immediately: once when the mini woke up after sleeping; once 24 hours after inserting a Z citation, just when I unzipped an MP3 file; and sometimes randomly later. Back with Word 2008 it crashed a time or two when Flash Player crashed. Now, same type of crash. Office 2011 install changed nothing.

    Mac Mini OS10.6.8, 2.0GHz, 4GB. Zotero 3.08, Zotero Word-for-Mac Integration 3.5.5, Firefox 14.01.

    Great software, I love how it works, indispensable, but...crashes--any clues?


    ~Philip
  • amphioxus
    edited August 15, 2012
    I woke OS 10.6.8 from sleep. Firefox displayed the spinning rainbow ball for half a minute. Then: "Microsoft Word has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry..." Firefox displayed a message, "The Adobe Flash plugin has crashed. This only happens after I use Zotero, though this time it waited through two days of occasional citation inserts.

    Is Some interaction of Flash and the Firefox Zotero plugin crashing word?
  • amphioxus
    Not Flash. I removed Adobe Flash. Inserted six or eight Zotero citations. Transferred a couple from one Word docx to another. Let the Mac sleep for six hours. On waking, Word crashed.

    Eh?
  • nrennie
    For what it's worth: I too have this problem, and it does seem to me to be a problem with Word (I have Office for Mac 2011): the RefWorks plug-in (Write-N'-Cite) led to Word's crashing in the way described by others above, and I have the same problem with Zotero. In both cases, the problem only arises when the plug-in is actually selected to show, in Word. Having it installed but unselected doesn't cause crashing.
  • ludovic071
    edited February 29, 2016
    Hi everybody,

    I've got the same issue for a while, but I've fixed before my document was too big to solve the problem (ctrl + z saved me actually ^^). I think it's related to the revision mode of word. It seems that zotero plug-in shuts down the revision tab when you open it. However, if it doesn't the crash appears.

    In my case, I just erased the two last citations, and when I ran the plugin, it was working perfectly.

    Hope it helps you.
  • Farridnejad
    I have also some similar problems with Zotero 5.0.23 with Microsoft Word for Mac 15.36. Always when I go to actually add citations and bibliography through zotero, Word keeps crashing! Any idea what can I do to fix the problem?
  • amphioxus
    Hi there Farridnejad. I haven't had this problem for a couple years, so I'm not up to date, but: For a while I figured it was because Zotero wanted files in .doc rather than .docx form. I didn't comply. I always saved just before and after adding a citation. If Word crashed, no big thing. I suspect Zotero updated its compatibility with .docx because it hasn't crashed Word for a long time. I use the Add-on for Firefox, on a Mac, 10.10.5. Different OS, browser or the standalone may work differently. I wish I had a better answer for you. Good luck.
  • bwiernik
    @Farridnejad Start by updating your version of Word to the current version (15.0.39). If the problem persists, please start a new thread with the details.
  • Farridnejad
    @amphioxus & @bwiernik, thank you both for your comments and tipps. I try with updating Word and will see what happens.
  • llodewyck
    edited October 31, 2017
    good luck.
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