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reporting_problems [2020/04/01 01:53] – dstillman | reporting_problems [2024/04/21 00:13] – [2. Provide Steps to Reproduce] dstillman | ||
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- | ====== Reporting Zotero Problems ====== | ||
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- | Is something in Zotero not working correctly for you? Here's the information you'll need to provide in the [[/ | ||
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- | ** Please provide both #1 and #2 listed below. ** | ||
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- | ==== 1. Provide a Report ID ==== | ||
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- | === Zotero === | ||
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- | If you're experiencing a problem, before restarting Zotero, open the Help menu in Zotero and select " | ||
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- | In the window that pops up, submit the error report, and then copy the numeric Report ID (not the contents of the report) and paste it into your Zotero Forums thread. Error reports aren't reviewed unless referred to in the forums, since the reports generally aren't helpful without context and/or follow-up. | ||
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- | If you're not able to provide a Report ID, be sure to include your operating system and [[kb:zotero version|Zotero version]] in your forum post. | ||
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- | === Zotero Connector === | ||
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- | If you're experiencing a problem with the Zotero Connector, before restarting the browser, open the Zotero Connector preferences: | ||
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- | * **Chrome:** Right-click on the "Save to Zotero" | ||
- | * **Safari:** Right-click anywhere on a webpage and select " | ||
- | * **Firefox: | ||
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- | In the Report Errors section, click " | ||
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- | If you are unable to provide a Report ID, be sure to include your [[kb:zotero version|Zotero version]], Zotero Connector version, browser, and operating system in your forum post. | ||
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- | ==== 2. Provide Steps to Reproduce ==== | ||
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- | The best way to help us fix a problem is to explain exactly what's happening and how to consistently reproduce it: if you can, we can almost certainly fix it quickly or tell you how to fix it. Note that after a problem occurs, other things in Zotero may temporarily break, so it's important to restart Zotero and try to repeat what you did before it occurred. | ||
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- | If you're not able to reproduce the problem, explain what happened and what you were doing when it occurred. | ||
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- | Post a message to the forums with the follow info: | ||
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- | - The exact steps you took to reproduce the problem — or, if you're unable to, a what you were doing when the problem occurred — including any buttons or other interface elements that you clicked on | ||
- | - What happened, including **include exact error messages** or other relevant text that you see on the screen | ||
- | - What you expected to happen (unless you're reporting a clear error message) | ||
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- | === Bad: === | ||
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- | >Zotero keeps crashing while I'm using it! HELP! | ||
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- | === Good: === | ||
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- | >Report ID: 1892199645 | ||
- | > | ||
- | >When I drag an item from the Unfiled Items into another collection while a tag is selected in the bottom left, Zotero tells me it has to be restarted. | ||
- | > | ||
- | >Steps to reproduce: | ||
- | > | ||
- | >1. Start Zotero. | ||
- | >2. Click on " | ||
- | >3. Click on a tag in the tag selector. | ||
- | >4. Drag an item to another collection. | ||
- | > | ||
- | >Zotero displays the message 'An error has occurred. Please restart Zotero.' | ||
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- | === Bad: === | ||
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- | >I can't figure out how to add a web page to Zotero. | ||
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- | === Good: === | ||
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- | >Report ID: 19672347 | ||
- | > | ||
- | >I can't figure out how to add a web page to Zotero. | ||
- | > | ||
- | >Steps to reproduce: | ||
- | > | ||
- | >1. Click the leftmost toolbar button above the middle pane in Zotero, with a white plus inside a green circle. | ||
- | >2. Open the " | ||
- | > | ||
- | >I expected to see "Web Page" in this menu. I see " | ||
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- | ===== Reporting Startup Errors ===== | ||
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- | For serious problems that prevent you from using the reporting wizard --- such as Zotero not opening at all --- we may need more information: | ||
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- | 1. First, be sure you've tried restarting your computer. Many startup errors will go away after a computer restart. | ||
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- | 2a. If you're able to access the Zotero Help menu, go to "Help -> Debug Output Logging -> Restart with Logged Enabled…" | ||
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- | 2b. If you can't access the Help menu, or if the problem doesn' | ||
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- | == macOS == | ||
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- | - Open Terminal via Spotlight or from / | ||
- | - Go to the Terminal menu and open Preferences. In Settings-> | ||
- | - Paste the following into the terminal and hit return. < | ||
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- | == Windows == | ||
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- | - Press Windows-R or search for " | ||
- | - Click Browse and locate the Zotero application directory. This is typically %%" | ||
- | - Select the %%" | ||
- | - The complete path to the %%" | ||
- | - Click OK. | ||
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- | == Linux == | ||
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- | * From a terminal window, run ' | ||
- | \\ | ||
- | 3a. If you used " | ||
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- | 3b. If you used the command line, Zotero should start with a separate debug output window. Once it has stopped logging activity, click " | ||
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- | === Alternative: | ||
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- | If the above steps don't work, repeat the steps above, replacing " | ||