How Large of a Database Can Zotero Handle?

adamgolding

If there is any specific information as to how Zotero's performance scales as a function of the size of its database, I would be very interested to know--while I currently have only 8000 or so records in zotero, I already have a 20,000 record set in HistCite that represents how my citation tasks are growing in scope, since it was a 'trial run' for some much larger projects...

adamsmith

nothing specific - up to 20k definitely works fine - beyond that I don't know what's been tested. It also depends on other factors - e.g. you can significantly reduce the size of your database (and thus speed up Zotero) if you don't use full-text indexing. Obviously the speed of your computer matters, etc.
You may also run into problems syncing with huge databases, but I don't know what exactly the size limits are there.

adamgolding

Currently it takes up to 10 seconds for the complete list of my references to display when I click "My Library"--is this normal for an 8000 record database?

adamsmith

I think that should be much faster - it's less of a second for me with a library about half that size - are you using standalone or Zotero for FF?

dstillman

Currently it takes up to 10 seconds for the complete list of my references to display when I click "My Library"

The first time since restarting Standalone/Firefox, or every time?

adamgolding

I experience this both in ff and in standalone.

It's somewhat faster when it's not the first time (5-8 seconds).

dstillman

Note that the total size of your library depends on child items as well. To get the total count you need to go to My Library, click an item and press the "+" key, and then do Select All.

dstillman

Items in the trash also count. Empty the trash if you haven't.

adamgolding

Ah, the actual figure is: 49381, the number I was giving before was just the number of PDFs

dstillman

OK, yeah. That would be why it's slow.