menu bar disappears whenever I use word search in notes

Andrew Kahrl
Whenever I click on the magnifying glass icon in a note, the menu bar that runs along the top (the slightly less shaded portion with buttons for adding new sources, attachments, etc. and the main library search box) disappears. I then need to close zotero and reopen it for it to reappear. This is one of numerous bugs that I have been forced to deal with in this new version, which has made zotero so frustrating to use that I might need to stop using it entirely and move on to a different system. Is there any way I can revert my account to the old zotero version?
  • adomasven
    Could you submit a Report ID?
  • dstillman
    Also, can you take a screenshot, upload it somewhere (e.g., Dropbox or Google Drive), and provide a link here? No one else has reported this, so this certainly isn't any sort of general issue.

    If you're running any third-party plugins, you should temporarily disable them and confirm that this still occurs.
  • Andrew Kahrl
    I am not sure is Report ID pertains to this problem, but here it is: 910079361. I took 4 screen shots and uploaded them to this folder in google drive, which anyone can access with this link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13sE46C3VaZBDmi4bclWo534TyRxfu3ZE?usp=sharing

    The screen shots show as follows:
    Step 1: I opened up a note for a source (all is fine)
    Step 2: I click on the magnifying glass (everything still okay)
    Step 3: I type a word into the search bar (notice the top row missing)
    Step 4: I close the search bar for the note (but the top row is still missing)

    In order for the top row to return, I need to close and reopen zotero.
  • dstillman
    edited June 10, 2022
    Whoa. That's wild. We've never seen anything like that before.

    Is there any thing unusual about this system? Are you running any third-party utilities that might be interfering? Do you recall changing any hidden settings in the Config Editor?

    Could you create a new Zotero profile and see if it still happens in that? (Don't set up syncing in the new profile or anything like that. Just create a sample note to test.)
  • Andrew Kahrl
    I don't believe I am running any third-party utilities and am not sure how I can check. It's a new MacBook Pro. As I said in my first post, I've been dealing with a series of issues ever since I upgraded to the newest version of zotero that makes it almost unusable at times.
  • dstillman
    See above.
  • Andrew Kahrl
    I am not sure how to follow the steps for creating a new zotero profile but downloaded the latest version of zotero on another laptop and uploaded my account to it and performed the exact same search on both computers with the same resulting glitch.
  • dstillman
    We'll need you to create a new empty profile to debug this. If there's something you don't understand about the steps, ask for clarification.
  • Andrew Kahrl
    I do not understand the first step in the instructions for creating a new Zotero profile:

    "To create an additional profile, start Zotero from the command line and pass the -P flag to open the Profile Manager: "

    So, yes, I need help. Also just to clarify: I do not use zotero from a web browser but only through the app downloaded onto my laptop
  • dstillman
    That line ends with a colon and is followed by step-by-step instructions for each platform.
  • tranhungnghiep
    I confirm the same problem in Zotero 6.0.8 on macOS 12.3.1, sometimes the Zotero search bar disappears after searching in note editor. The Zotero was upgraded from an old Zotero version.

    Procedure to reproduce:
    - Open Zotero
    - Open a note editor
    - Cmd+F to search in note editor
    - Exit note search and note editor

    Procedure to recover:
    - Quit and restart Zotero
  • tranhungnghiep
    For the record, this issue does not happen if the note is edited in a separate window. It also does not happen in a new Zotero profile.

    I have these addons install: Better bibtex, Zotfile, Zotero LibreOffice integration, Zotero Word for Mac integration. But the issue still happens after disabling all addons.
  • John Percival
    @dstillman thanks for pointing me over here, I'd not been able to select the right search terms to find it.

    Report ID: 1800992990
    Zotero 6.0.8 (and it's the same on 6.0.9) on Windows 11

    I created a new profile. I expected the library to be empty, but the new profile contained all the items from my main library. Is that right?

    Anyway, the first new profile I created had the same problem. Subsequent ones do not have the same problem. I do not believe I am doing anything different in the process.

    To reproduce:
    1. Search for an item in the library with a long note.
    2. Within the long note, search for a string that will require the note to scroll down.
    3. See that contents of entire window scroll (menu bar disappears from the top, blank section appears at the bottom).
  • dstillman
    edited June 24, 2022
    Anyway, the first new profile I created had the same problem. Subsequent ones do not have the same problem.
    Are all the new profiles showing your data, or just the first new one? When you create a new profile, it should generally create a new data directory named after the profile in your home folder (e.g., "Zotero Test"). If Advanced → Files and Folders shows it pointing to just the default location of "Zotero" in your home folder, it didn't create a new folder.

    Are you saying this only happens with a long note? How long? If you don't mind, export the parent item to Zotero RDF with notes and email it to support@zotero.org with a link to this thread and we can try to reproduce it with that.
  • John Percival
    Yes all the new profiles are showing my data. They are all using the default data directory, C:\Users\john\Zotero. It appears that they have not created a new data directory when I created a new profile.

    The length of the note is not especially important, it just needs to be long enough to make the notes panel scroll down when searching. I'll email you the RDF in just a moment.
  • martynas_b
    @"John Percival" or @"Andrew Kahrl" Could you make screenshots that include full Zotero window? Before and after the issue. The current screenshots are missing the bottom part of Zotero window, and I need to make sure that nothing overflows.
  • John Percival
    @martynas_b Sure, here you go: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/163C-NRZ1n05rNsGG0JAoE7Q7oa6Lu46j
  • John Percival
    This problem still seems to be present in 6.0.10
  • exito100
    Hi,

    I have been struggling with the disappearing search field for a while too. Same symptoms as above.
    It may be helpful for Dan to know that not only the search field but all icons on that toolbar are scrolling up, the moment the search yields a result in a note (and automatcially scrolls to show the highlighte word in the note). This happens quite fast.

    The disappearing toolbar scrolls automatically upwards and seems to hide "below" the menu bar above. In other words, this happens in notes where scrolling is needed (and done automatically) to show the first search result. I found no way to recover the missing bar other than restarting Zotero. Quite annoying for such a good piece of software :)

    I hope this helps fix this bug. I am on Version 6.0.13
  • John Percival
    One way I have found to recover from this situation is to use the Tab key to move through the various controls until I return to one of the ones that has disappeared at the top - this causes them all to scroll back into position.
  • martynas_b
    @exito100 Could you upload a screenshot as well?
  • John Percival
    @martynas_b - just checking you've seen my screenshots link above? I'm happy to help with determining the cause if I can.
  • martynas_b
    @"John Percival" Yes, I'm just trying to find a common denominator what triggers that.
  • nyssakomorowski
    I had this same issue and still do, but I have found a solution to it. When I select from the menu View>Layout> and then activate the Tag Selector view, the issue stops happening. When I hide the Tag Selector again, the problem happens again. This would explain why this never happened to me before and then suddenly became an issue. I used to have the tag selector visible but recently opted to hide it so I could view more library folders at one time. Good luck everyone.
  • dstillman
    @rowanredsky: Thanks! That was what we needed to finally reproduce this. We'll see what we can do.
  • martynas_b
    This should be fixed in Zotero 7.
  • evc2116
    edited September 10, 2023
    Report #: 1484661705

    My Zotero app is fully upgraded and I am still getting this same issue as reported above. It's not every time that the menu bar disappears but often enough that it is horribly inconvenient. I have to close and restart Zotero to fix the issue. It's been like this since I can remember, most definitely for over two years. Now in grad school and using this app every day. I would appreciate a fix! Thanks for your help!
  • dsr20901
    I'm late to this discussion but I've experienced this behavior, too. Until today and reading this thread, my solution was to exit Zotero and restart the program. The fix that works for me without exiting the program is the one suggested by @rowanredsky: View>Layout> and then activating the Tag Selector view.
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