Troubleshooting

Solutions for common issues with Academic References.

Installation Issues

Plugin won’t activate

Symptoms: Error message when activating, or activation doesn’t complete.

Solutions:

1. Check PHP version
2. Check WordPress version
3. Memory limit
4. Plugin conflicts
5. Check error logs

License key not activating

Solutions:

1. Check key format – Copy/paste exactly, no extra spaces
2. Check site URL – License is tied to your domain
3. Check activations – May have reached limit
4. Check expiration – License may need renewal

Auto-Cite Problems

“No results found” for DOI

Causes and solutions:

Cause	Solution
Typo in DOI	Double-check, starts with 10.
DOI not registered	Wait for registration, or enter manually
API rate limited	Wait 5-10 minutes, try again
Network issue	Check internet connection

ISBN returning wrong or limited data

Solutions:

1. Use ISBN-13 – More reliable than ISBN-10
2. Try different ISBN – Books have multiple ISBNs
3. Check book is catalogued – Obscure books may lack data
4. Fill in missing fields – Complete data manually

Auto-Cite is slow

Causes:

• External API response time
• Network latency
• Rate limiting

Solutions:

• Wait for fetch to complete
• Don’t cancel and retry repeatedly
• Consider importing in batch instead

Citation Display Issues

Citations showing as [?]

Cause: Broken reference link.

Solutions:

1. Check reference exists – May have been deleted
2. Re-select reference – Edit Citation block, choose reference again
3. Clear cache – Citation cache may have stale data
4. Check reference is published – Draft references don’t display

Wrong citation format

Solutions:

1. Check citation style setting – References > Settings > Citation Style
2. Clear citation cache – Settings > Advanced > Clear Cache
3. Clear page cache – Plugin/hosting cache
4. Hard refresh browser – Ctrl+Shift+R / Cmd+Shift+R

Citations not updating after style change

Steps:

1. Go to References > Settings > Advanced
2. Click Clear Citation Cache
3. Clear any page caching (plugin or hosting)
4. Refresh the page

Bibliography is empty

Check:

1. Citations exist – Are there Citation blocks in the post?
2. References are published – Not draft status
3. Bibliography block added – Must be in the post
4. Clear cache – Try clearing all caches

Import/Export Problems

Import fails with error

Common errors:

“Invalid file format”

• Check file extension matches content
• Ensure file isn’t corrupted
• Try opening in text editor to verify

“Memory exhausted”

• Import smaller batches
• Increase PHP memory limit
• Use CLI import for large files

“Timeout”

• Increase PHP maxexecutiontime
• Import in smaller batches
• Use server-side import

Duplicates appearing after import

Solutions:

1. Enable duplicate detection before importing
2. Use “Skip duplicates” import option
3. Run Find Duplicates tool after import
4. Merge duplicates manually if needed

Export file is empty

Check:

1. References exist and are published
2. Selection includes references
3. Filter settings aren’t too restrictive
4. Try exporting “All References”

Sync Issues

Zotero not connecting

Checklist:

1. User ID correct (numeric)
2. API key valid and not expired
3. API key has library permissions
4. No firewall blocking API requests

Test connection:

• Go to Settings > Integrations
• Click “Verify Connection”
• Note any error message

Sync not finding references

Check:

1. References exist in selected Zotero collections
2. Collection selection includes your items
3. Zotero library has synced to cloud
4. Try selecting “All collections”

Duplicate references after sync

Solutions:

1. Enable duplicate detection in sync settings
2. Run sync on clean library first
3. Merge duplicates after initial sync
4. Check sync direction settings

Frontend Issues

Dashboard not loading

Check:

1. User is logged in
2. Dashboard page exists and is published
3. Page contains [abtuserdashboard] shortcode
4. User role has dashboard access

Submission form not appearing

Check:

1. Frontend submissions enabled
2. Submission page exists with shortcode
3. User has permission to submit
4. No JavaScript errors (browser console)

Reference archive 404 error

Solution:

1. Go to Settings > Permalinks
2. Don’t change anything
3. Click “Save Changes”
4. This refreshes rewrite rules

Performance Issues

Pages with citations are slow

Optimizations:

1. Enable citation cache – Settings > Advanced
2. Enable lazy loading – Citations load after page
3. Use object caching – Redis/Memcached
4. Reduce references per page – In archives

Large library is sluggish

Solutions:

1. Enable object caching (Redis/Memcached)
2. Optimize database tables periodically
3. Use pagination (don’t load all at once)
4. Consider server upgrade

Import taking too long

Solutions:

1. Import in smaller batches (50-100)
2. Increase PHP timeout limits
3. Use WP-CLI for large imports
4. Run during low-traffic periods

Database Issues

“Table doesn’t exist” error

Solution:

1. Deactivate the plugin
2. Reactivate the plugin (recreates tables)
3. If persists, check database user permissions

Data corruption

Steps:

1. Back up current database
2. Go to Settings > Advanced
3. Run “Optimize Tables”
4. If issues persist, contact support

Conflict Resolution

Plugin conflicts

Symptoms: Errors, broken features, white screen

Diagnosis:

1. Deactivate all other plugins
2. Test Academic References alone
3. Re-enable plugins one by one
4. Identify conflicting plugin

Common conflicts:

Plugin Type	Issue	Solution
Caching	Stale citations	Exclude from cache or clear regularly
Security	API blocked	Whitelist plugin endpoints
Optimization	JS/CSS issues	Exclude plugin assets
Editor	Block conflicts	Check for duplicate registrations

Theme conflicts

Symptoms: Layout issues, missing content, styling problems

Diagnosis:

1. Switch to default theme (Twenty Twenty-Four)
2. Test if issue persists
3. If fixed, issue is theme-related

Solutions:

• Override templates in theme
• Add custom CSS
• Contact theme developer

Getting More Help

Enable debug mode

1. Go to References > Settings > Advanced
2. Enable “Debug Mode”
3. Reproduce the issue
4. Check wp-content/debug.log

Information for support

When contacting support, include:

1. WordPress version
2. Plugin version
3. PHP version
4. Error messages (exact text)
5. Steps to reproduce
6. Screenshots if visual issue
7. Debug log if available

Support channels

• Documentation: You’re here!
• Support tickets: wbcomdesigns.com/support/
• Email: support@wbcomdesigns.com

Next Steps

• FAQs – Common questions
• Advanced Settings – Debug options
• Getting Started – Fresh start guide