Dead slow, no mac, no plugin, no pdf -- what is my reason?

Regensburg
edited February 22, 2024
Hey there,

any help would be appreciated:

Zotero has become so slow that it is basically unusable. I'm finishing my dissertation and cannot (and don't want to) switch to another software.

Here are the (apparently) common causes that do _not_ apply in my case:
- I am on a Windows PC (10)
- I am not using plugins for Word or the like, I just export citations for Bibtex
- I quit using the zotero pdf reader and open the pdfs in an external reader (it did not change anything!)
- I have sufficient storage left on zotero (and my pc)

- I am on the beta version (it first helped and then it did not)
- I do use Obsidian now and then, but I think that's not zotero's problem.

Asking the task manager, zotero consistently uses a lot of working memory, but also a lot of electricity -- even when it is only opened, without doing anything, and the computer is ventilating like crazy.

I am quite frustrated, I just don't have the time to wait around for _every_ click!
Every click takes several seconds.

Thanks a lot...

Very unhappy,
Christina
  • adamsmith
    What size is your Zotero library (i.e. how many items) and are you using and Zotero add-ons (such as BetterBibTeX). If so, have you tried disabling them? E.g. with BetterBibTeX, I think you can see significant lags with certain auto-export settings.
  • Regensburg
    My storage folder is 4.32 GB, 14.348 files.

    Yes, I was using BetterBibTeX; I switched it off now and I think indeed zotero is usable again. THANK YOU!!! That was great help! <3
  • adamsmith
    So BBT itself really shouldn't be causing this, so if you find it helpful otherwise, you can likely re-enable that and figure out the exact settings that cause this. If you don't use the auto-export feature in particular, just removing auto-exports in the BBT preferences will likely fix this for you. If not (and, again, this is assuming you find the add-on otherwise helpful, which I'd guess is the case when writing using BibTeX), start an issue on the project's github, where the dev is typically very prompt in helping out.
  • Regensburg
    Thanks, I'll think about it... I think I don't really need BetterBibTeX switched on (I think I tested it, but did not like the change, and then did not end up using it?), and as long as switching it off -- even if it should'n be the (full) cause -- helps me out here, I'm happy enough for now (due to time constraints ;-)). Thanks again!!
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