Why adding a PDF to the Zotero library takes so long?

IsaakM

Whenever I drag a downloaded PDF from the Windows Explorer into Zotero library, it hangs and takes a long time, until the PDF is added to the library. I know that I can add PDFs directly from the browser, but sometimes I have PDFs that I received by mail or transferred from a USB Flash Drive.

I use external WebDAV. Might this be the reason?

adamsmith

Assuming you're using Zotero 5 (otherwise, update), we'd want a debug ID that covers such a hang https://www.zotero.org/support/debug_output
This shouldn't occur and it shouldn't be related to how you sync files.

IsaakM

Yes, I use 5.0.30.

I just created a log and a bug report. The ID is: D469739102

andselisk

It's always been hilariously long to me too, but I got used to it. I haven't noticed any performance improvements between the versions (I used Zotero from the version 3, and Zotero 5 is just as slow as earlier versions when it comes to adding PDFs). I think the reason is that I have `pdftotext` installed and I also increased the amount of characters and pages to index. Adding a 5-page article takes up to 10 seconds, adding a bunch of booklets can take up to an hour and longer.

IsaakM

Absolutely, Andselisk. It's true, it might be related to the PDF indexing feature / "pdftotext". I only use the standard number of characters though.

IsaakM

@adamsmith Did you receive my log?

bwiernik

One of the Zotero developers such as @dstillman will need to look at it.

dstillman

Yes, this is due to full-text indexing. @IsaakM, what are your index statistics in the Search pane of the Zotero preferences, and what are the max character/pages settings set to?

IsaakM

@dstillman

In the meantime I set the max character to: 200000, so it's lower than the default setting.

Max pages are at default: 100

Index Statistics
Indexed: 1811
partially: 88
not indexed: 148
Words: 293462

It's still quite slow, even though my mobile computer has good processing power.