Why does Zotero generate a gazillion moves for any given step?

roypeled · June 11, 2014

Is it normal that any reference added through Zotero takes 700+ actions, and roughly a full minute (56 seconds last check). This is not something new, always has been the case, just got to the point when it's become too annoying, so I thought I'd ask.
I can see the number of actions when I try to undo, I need to scroll through tons of "Vba-range.text/name/size/insert-file" and other kinds of commands.
I am working with Zotero 4.0.2, MS Word 2013. Writing Right-to-Left, but this happens with both Hebrew and English references, and intriguingly in most references, but not all (just tried out 5, 4 had 724-764 actions, and took +- a minute one had just 7 and took 2-3 seconds).

Thanks,

Roy

fbennett · June 11, 2014

I can't speak to the operations performed in the word processor, but a 56 second delay for inserting a citation is most definitely not normal. Is there a common feature to the references (or the style) that cause the prolonged delay?

fbennett · June 11, 2014

(You should update Zotero in any case. We're currently on version 4.0.20. Version 4.0.2 is well out of date.)

roypeled · June 11, 2014

Would it make a difference that the document is Right-to-Left? I can't think of any special features. I should mention this doesn't happen on my laptop, only on my desktop (both Word 2013). Oh, and 4.0.2 was a typo, it's indeed 4.0.20.

fbennett · June 11, 2014

Since you have one system that shows the failure and one that does not, you are in a good position to spot possible causes.

The details will be important. Does the delay occur in a fresh document on both systems, or only with particular existing documents? Are both systems running the same version of Windows? Are both systems running Word in RTL? Are there Word extensions or macros installed on one system that are not installed on the other? Are both systems running the same version of Zotero (i.e. Zotero Standalone / Zotero for Firefox)? If the latter, do both systems have the same version of Firefox installed? Are there plugins installed in Firefox (or Standalone) on one system, but not on the other? If Zotero for Firefox, are both systems running the same version of the Word integration plugin, and is it up to date?

If the two systems seem to have an identical configuration, one of the Zotero developers may ask for debugging information.

roypeled · June 12, 2014

Thanks -
Doesn't happen with a fresh document
both systems running Win 8
both RTL (I'm referring to the same document on both systems, synced by Google Drive).
Both have the Word extension
Both standalone
no plugins
I should mention two more things - it's a very long document (180p.) and I'm using a style not from the repository, but with the same document and same style zotero works fine on the laptop and not on the desktop, and a fresh document with the same style works fine on the desktop.

Your help is very much appreciated.

Thanks,

Roy

aurimas · June 12, 2014

When you say it only happens on your desktop, do you mean the number of steps generated in history or the amount of time it takes to complete the action? If the latter, is your desktop much older than your laptop (i.e. is it less powerful, has less memory, etc.)?

and I'm using a style not from the repository, but with the same document and same style zotero works fine on the laptop and not on the desktop

Since manually added styles are not synced between clients, are you absolutely certain that the same exact custom style is being used on both machines? (e.g. one could have some additional modification). To be sure, you could copy the custom style from your laptop and paste it into the styles folder on your desktop (this should overwrite existing style). The styles folder is located in the Zotero data directory. Also, please make a copy of the existing style before overwriting it (for troubleshooting purposes.

roypeled · June 12, 2014

Thanks aurimas, both are new computers (less than a year old) and quite powerful, and yes, definitely the exact same style added from the exact same file :(.

aurimas · June 12, 2014

Could you generate a Debug ID from each computer for the same single operation that takes a long time on the desktop?

adamsmith · June 12, 2014

(I assume it's the style I coded and it's relatively demanding in terms of back references and the like, though of course that doesn't explain the discrepancy.)