Upgrade StorageSlow Zotero with Mac /will it be faster with Windows?
I am writing my dissertation with Zotero. I'm using an older Mac and inserting citations with Zotero in Word takes a terribly long time (> 5 minutes per citation). I have already tried all the tricks and it is of little use (document separated, automatic updates switched off, open office used). I have read that Zotero works better with Microsoft and Word for larger documents. I have therefore decided to buy a Microsoft laptop. Of course, I'm afraid that it won't work any faster on Microsoft either. Can I assume that inserting citations will work faster with a new Microsoft laptop and Word/Zotero? My thesis will end up being around 250 pages long, I'm currently at 100 pages.
What kind of performance does a laptop need to have to be able to write such a paper with Zotero without any problems? Thank you very much for your help!
What kind of performance does a laptop need to have to be able to write such a paper with Zotero without any problems? Thank you very much for your help!
To be clear, though, even in a large document in Word for Mac, inserting citations should be fast with automatic updates disabled. It's only refreshing that's really expected to be slow, and that's something you only need to do once at the end when you have automatic updates disabled.
(We're working with Microsoft to speed up Word for Mac.)
I meant LibreOffice and not open Office, please excuse me! I'm not that much of an expert. Unfortunately, I had problems with LibreOffice, all the formatting looked different somehow and the citations also took a very long time. But I don't think I switched off the automatic updates there. But I can try it again, as it seems to work faster.
If I still decide to buy a Microsoft, can I assume that Zotero/Word will work faster on it? My Mac is older anyway (Mac Book pro 2016), so I would have to buy a new laptop in the next few months anyway. Would zotero be faster also with a new Mac, or would a windows be better?
Great that you are working on a solution to make Zotero work faster on Mac. When can we expect to see results here? Thank you very much!
I would personally not recommend buying a Windows laptop just for Zotero — we don't have a specific ETA for the new Word for Mac plugin, but we're actively working on it with Microsoft, and I think you'll get many more years of happy computing in general on an Apple Silicon Mac. Again, with automatic citation updates disabled, citation inserts should still be pretty quick, and you also have the option of using LibreOffice or Zotero in a Windows VM on the Mac temporarily if you really need to.
(Zotero is largely developed on Macs, so it would be strange to buy a Windows computer for Zotero.)
I will be happy to try out the tips and if nothing helps, I will evaluate the purchase of a new Mac.
I have now bought a new MacBook pro (2023) and it is much faster. Pasting a quote now takes about 10 seconds, whereas before it always took several minutes.
I can now work well. Thanks for your help!