firefox 5 beta and zotero 2.1.6 - do they work together?

SiGi
Hi,

my firefox installation recommends to upgrade to firefox 5 beta. I want to do this, but not before I know whether zotero (2.1.6) will work with it in a stable way.

Have somebody experience with firefox 5 beta and zotero?
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  • ajlyon
    I don't know if anyone has tested Zotero with the Firefox 5 betas yet. If stability is important to you, don't upgrade. If you don't mind experimenting and risking instability, make backups of your Zotero data directory and try upgrading. Post your experience to the forums.
  • loki01286
    edited May 25, 2011
    I've upgraded to Firefox 5, but Zotero won't load. Any idea how to make Zotero compatible with the new version? I'm happy to back data up and try risky things.
  • ajlyon
    If you're experimenting, try the branch XPI (http://www.zotero.org/support/dev/svn_and_trac_access#running_development_xpis) or, if that fails, the trunk XPI (same page). Just be careful to do this after making backups and so forth!

    If Zotero still doesn't load, see the debug output (http://www.zotero.org/support/debug_output). You may need to use the realtime debug output approach.
  • loki01286
    No luck. I tried the branch and trunk but they would not install. I used the Firefox Compatibility Reporter add-on as well (it makes the extension usable and lets you send bug reports to Firefox) but Zotero wouldn't work in Firefox 5 at the moment.
  • dstillman
    The branch requires some changes to be backported from the trunk for Fx5 compatibility.
  • ajlyon
    loki apparently tried both the trunk and the branch.

    Still, there's no call for mainstream users to be concerned about Fx5 compatibility-- a compatible version will certainly be released before the final release of Fx5.
  • dstillman
    Nothing is marked compatible, so it wouldn't install normally, but the trunk definitely works. I have it running here with both the Firefox 5 beta and Firefox nightlies (i.e., Firefox 7.0 builds).
  • Simon
    As of a few minutes ago, both the 2.1 branch and the trunk are compatible and marked as such. However, the word processor plug-ins are still completely untested.
  • loki01286
    edited May 26, 2011
    I've tried the branch again today and this time it installs. Thanks.
  • lucas
    aj wrote:
    Still, there's no call for mainstream users to be concerned about Fx5 compatibility-- a compatible version will certainly be released before the final release of Fx5.
    However, it appears that the default behavior of standard Fx4 installations is to recommend upgrading to Fx5. Here is how the update alert appears in my Fx4.0.1 installation on OS X:
    Update Available
    A security and stability update for Firefox is available:
    Firefox 5.0 Beta
    It is strongly recommended that you apply this update for Firefox as soon as possible.
    I don't know why Mozilla would be pushing the beta on non-beta users, but unless I'm mistaken here, it looks like the situation is such that many Zotero users may upgrade to Fx5 prematurely.
  • Simon
    lucas, I think you will get a prompt to update to Firefox 5 beta if you had Firefox 4 beta installed previously. This is configurable by changing the app.update.channel preference. Users who did not previously install Firefox 4 beta should not see an upgrade prompt.
  • DWL-SDCA
    I keep one of my computers free of beta software. I didn't install FF4-beta on it. The FF 4.01 on that machine strongly suggested the update to FF5 beta. Before I installed the beta on any of my computers, I went to the Zotero forum because Zotero is essential to my daily work.

    David
  • lucas
    @Simon: Thanks-- it looks like you're right. I had installed the beta previously, and then I replaced it with the stable release a few months ago. But I just checked the "app.update.channel" preference, and it is indeed set to "beta". Perhaps the setting somehow carried over from my previous beta installation, although David's post, above, raises further questions.
  • dstillman
    It's highly unlikely that the beta is being sent accidentally to users who didn't install the beta previously—if it were, we'd hear about it in places other than here.
  • Simon
    The trunk builds of WinWord and OpenOffice Integration are now compatible with Firefox 5.
  • lucas
    For the record, for anyone else who, like me, had previously installed the beta on a Mac, you can find the file "channel-prefs.js" in this folder:

    Firefox.app/Contents/MacOS/defaults/pref

    You can open the file in a text editor and change the word "beta" to "release".

    The official instructions are here, although I found them a little confusing.
  • Simon
    edited May 27, 2011
    Zotero MacWord Integration is now compatible as well, although it isn't marked as such. You will need to install the Add-on Compatibility Reporter or disable compatibility checking in about:config, and you will need to install this PythonExt XPI (which contains builds for Firefox 3.6 on x86/PPC, 4.0 on x86/x86_64, and 5.0 on x86/x86_64). This works on my system, but further testing is warranted. If anyone tries this, please post.
  • Anthony J. Langlois
    Simon (or anyone else) I have downloaded the release version of ff5, and the add on compatibility reporter and the PythonExt XPI - but have no luck in getting Zotero to start.
    Any ideas? I'm on a MacBookPro
  • ebozonne
    edited May 30, 2011
    I have installed the trunk versions of Zotero and Winword plugins in Firefox5, they look compatible as they are activated (windows PC).

    but, the winword plugin does not work actually, the error message: "firefox could not load the component to communicate..."
    (I am using winword2007)
  • Simon
    Anthony and ebozonne, please provide a report ID after triggering the error.
  • ebozonne
    Maybe it can help, here is a report ID: 893067175
    but the error occurs within microsoft word, and the title is "Zotero Integration Error"
  • Simon
    ebozonne, check for updates or re-download the Zotero WinWord Integration trunk and try again. There was a missing file, but it should be fixed now.
  • ebozonne
    Thanks Simon for the fast fix, it works now!
  • dnh
    edited June 10, 2011
    Hi, my system (Kubuntu 11.04) just updated to FF5 () - any help how I can make it use Zotero and OpenOffice? I can't install the PythonExt mentioned above ...

    Thanks, DNH
  • adamsmith
    install the Ooo trunk xpi
    http://www.zotero.org/support/dev/svn_and_trac_access#word_processor_plugins_dev_xpis
    you should be fine, but be extra diligent about keeping back-up copies of your document to be safe. The Python ext is for Mac only.
  • dnh
    Thank you for the quick response. It appears to work now.

    However, when I ask for the extension to be reinstalled in OOo, it reports that it wants me to install libreoffice-java-common?
  • adamsmith
    yeah, that's on purpose because it's the same add-on for LO and the package is needed an missing from the default LO install. I don't think you'll need it for Ooo, but I'd go ahead and install in anyway in case you want to switch over to LO.
  • Simon
    dnh, you do have LibreOffice installed, right? If so, this is intended behavior as adamsmith describes above. If not, this is a bug and we need to fix it.
  • peircej
    Simon, just FYI, the solution you posted on May 27th is working for me
    (OS X 10.6.7, FFX 5.0, Word 2011, Zotero 2.1.8)
  • holtzermann17
    I'm trying to install the MacWord Integration plugin on FF 3.6.17, with Zotero 2.1.8, and I'm getting an error: "Installation could not be completed because an error occurred. Please ensure that Microsoft Word is closed, and then restart Firefox."

    But Word is closed, and restarting Firefox doesn't help.
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