Zotero PDF reader unusably slow

pummo

I installed Zotero 7 and the application runs smoothly except for the PDF reader, which is so slow that makes it hard to use. Every time I scroll or zoom it takes time to load. Writing annotations is impossible, input is so slow it won't ever show. I have no plugins installed. On Mozilla the PDFs work just fine.

pummo

My PC is a Surface 9 Pro with Windows 11. I can see the rendering happening line by line. No difference in troubleshooting mode.

dstillman

Intel or ARM?

pummo

Intel

dstillman

Can you provide a Report ID?

Does this happen with any PDF? E.g., this one?

pummo

It happens for every PDF, including the one you linked.
Report ID: 1383295292

martynas_b

@pummo Can you test with the Firefox integrated PDF reader (Zotero reader is based on it) to see if the problem occurs?

Can you test if the same problem occurs in the Zotero Web Library PDF reader when using the Firefox browser?

Also check if Settings → Advanced → Config Editor → layers.acceleration.disabled value is set to false?

pummo

Both layers.acceleration.disabled and layers.acceleration.forced-enable are false.
On the Zotero Web Library PDF reader on Firefox the rendering is completely normal, while the pen annotations are still unusable, both with surface pen and mouse.

martynas_b

Could you test if Zotero 7 latest beta has the same issue?

On the Zotero Web Library PDF reader on Firefox the rendering is completely normal, while the pen annotations are still unusable, both with surface pen and mouse.

Do you mean it’s very slow, or are there other issues?

pummo

Very slow in the same way as the desktop app.
For what concerns the beta version, I'd prefer not to since reverting may not be possible. However, if there's nothing else I can do, I'll do it.

martynas_b

If drawing in the Web Library PDF reader is slow, it likely indicates graphical acceleration issues with your device.

I'm curious if other Surface 9 Pro users can reproduce this issue.

pummo

I can live without the pen but I really need to understand how to fix the rendering problem. This should be possible since it's absent in the Zotero Web library.

dstillman

You should try the beta. You can currently switch back and forth, so you can just switch back to the release after trying it out.

pummo

What's the procedure to switch channels?

dstillman

https://www.zotero.org/support/beta_builds

On Windows, you may wish to use the ZIP version, which doesn't contain an installer, to avoid overwriting your primary installation. (Your existing Zotero database will still be used.)