Upgrade StorageUnstable Zotero installation in win11 - bug report
Report ID: 563587378
Intro:
With the aim of migrating from Mendeley to Zotero, I installed Zotero on my PC. However, I encountered several bugs with my installation as well as issues with the library migration. After extensive consultation with Google Gemini, I ended up now writing this bug report in hope of receiving some help.
Summary:
This review outlines a series of severe, persistent, and highly unusual bugs in a fresh installation of Zotero 7.0.24 on Windows 11. Despite performing a complete and exhaustive "deep clean" uninstall and reinstall, these bugs, which appear to be related to UI and file management, continue to persist, suggesting a fundamental system-level conflict.
System Information:
Zotero Version: 7.0.24 (64-bit)
Operating System: Windows 11
Additional Context: My aim is to utilize a cloud syncing service (Syncthing) and linked files from a custom data directory. I have not gotten to set it up just yet due the issues below.
List of Observed Bugs:
Right-Hand Pane Layout Issue: The right-hand pane, which should display a tabbed layout for "Info," "Notes," "Tags," etc., is instead stuck in a stacked layout. The about:config setting extensions.zotero.itemPane.stacked could not be changed to false to correct this behavior.
Missing prefs.js File: The preferences file, prefs.js, was found to be completely missing from the Zotero data directory. This file, which stores UI settings, was not created even after Zotero was restarted multiple times, indicating an issue with Zotero's ability to write to its own data directory.
PDF Preview Failure: A single click on an attachment entry in the right-hand pane does not show a preview; instead, it opens the PDF in a new tab. This overrides Zotero's intended behavior and appears to be a misinterpretation of a single-click gesture.
Drag-and-Drop Folder Failure: Dragging an entire folder of PDF files from the file explorer into the Zotero library fails to initiate an import. While a single-file drag-and-drop works correctly, the folder-level import function is entirely non-functional.
Inconsistent Highlight Migration: During a library import from Mendeley, some PDF highlights migrated correctly, while others did not. This suggests that Mendeley's saving behavior is inconsistent, or Zotero's import process is failing to handle a mix of standard and proprietary annotations.
Troubleshooting Efforts:
The following troubleshooting steps were taken, with each failing to resolve the issues:
Checking standard Zotero settings and preferences.
Checking the about:config editor for relevant preference keys.
Running Zotero as an administrator to address potential permissions issues.
Using Zotero's built-in import function was found to not support folders and many pdf attachements folder paths missing.
A Complete "Deep Clean" Reinstallation: The Zotero application was fully uninstalled. All associated files in the Windows Registry (regedit) and hidden AppData folders were manually deleted. The Zotero data directory itself was also deleted. The application was then reinstalled from a fresh download. All bugs persisted even after this extreme step.
Final Diagnosis:
Based on the failure of a complete system reset to fix these issues, the problem is not with the Zotero application's files or a corrupt profile. It appears to be a unique and fundamental system-level conflict between Zotero's code and the specific Windows 11 configuration on this machine. This bug is so severe that it prevents Zotero from correctly writing preferences and processing basic UI and file-related commands, leading to a completely unstable experience.
Many thanks for looking into it!.
Balint
Intro:
With the aim of migrating from Mendeley to Zotero, I installed Zotero on my PC. However, I encountered several bugs with my installation as well as issues with the library migration. After extensive consultation with Google Gemini, I ended up now writing this bug report in hope of receiving some help.
Summary:
This review outlines a series of severe, persistent, and highly unusual bugs in a fresh installation of Zotero 7.0.24 on Windows 11. Despite performing a complete and exhaustive "deep clean" uninstall and reinstall, these bugs, which appear to be related to UI and file management, continue to persist, suggesting a fundamental system-level conflict.
System Information:
Zotero Version: 7.0.24 (64-bit)
Operating System: Windows 11
Additional Context: My aim is to utilize a cloud syncing service (Syncthing) and linked files from a custom data directory. I have not gotten to set it up just yet due the issues below.
List of Observed Bugs:
Right-Hand Pane Layout Issue: The right-hand pane, which should display a tabbed layout for "Info," "Notes," "Tags," etc., is instead stuck in a stacked layout. The about:config setting extensions.zotero.itemPane.stacked could not be changed to false to correct this behavior.
Missing prefs.js File: The preferences file, prefs.js, was found to be completely missing from the Zotero data directory. This file, which stores UI settings, was not created even after Zotero was restarted multiple times, indicating an issue with Zotero's ability to write to its own data directory.
PDF Preview Failure: A single click on an attachment entry in the right-hand pane does not show a preview; instead, it opens the PDF in a new tab. This overrides Zotero's intended behavior and appears to be a misinterpretation of a single-click gesture.
Drag-and-Drop Folder Failure: Dragging an entire folder of PDF files from the file explorer into the Zotero library fails to initiate an import. While a single-file drag-and-drop works correctly, the folder-level import function is entirely non-functional.
Inconsistent Highlight Migration: During a library import from Mendeley, some PDF highlights migrated correctly, while others did not. This suggests that Mendeley's saving behavior is inconsistent, or Zotero's import process is failing to handle a mix of standard and proprietary annotations.
Troubleshooting Efforts:
The following troubleshooting steps were taken, with each failing to resolve the issues:
Checking standard Zotero settings and preferences.
Checking the about:config editor for relevant preference keys.
Running Zotero as an administrator to address potential permissions issues.
Using Zotero's built-in import function was found to not support folders and many pdf attachements folder paths missing.
A Complete "Deep Clean" Reinstallation: The Zotero application was fully uninstalled. All associated files in the Windows Registry (regedit) and hidden AppData folders were manually deleted. The Zotero data directory itself was also deleted. The application was then reinstalled from a fresh download. All bugs persisted even after this extreme step.
Final Diagnosis:
Based on the failure of a complete system reset to fix these issues, the problem is not with the Zotero application's files or a corrupt profile. It appears to be a unique and fundamental system-level conflict between Zotero's code and the specific Windows 11 configuration on this machine. This bug is so severe that it prevents Zotero from correctly writing preferences and processing basic UI and file-related commands, leading to a completely unstable experience.
Many thanks for looking into it!.
Balint
1. Zotero 7 does not longer have a tabbed right-hand pane, see https://www.zotero.org/blog/zotero-7/
2. prefs.js is in the profile, not the data, folder: https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/profile_directory
3. The single click issue might be a mouse setting? By default, a single-click should open the righ-hand tab with a preview of the first page of the PDF
4. There is no folder level import of files into Zotero natively. Depending on your needs, this plugin might help: https://github.com/retorquere/zotero-folder-import
5. Might well be a Mendeley bug, but you'd have to report that separately.
(None of the troubleshooting was needed; better to just report issues and ask first before going to such length)