Upgrade StorageCan't add any new citations to a large (1000+ footnotes) document
I wrote my dissertation and automated the citations using zotero. I wrote and annotated each chapter separately and zotero worked flawlessly with that; all my citations merged and shortened properly when I pasted these chapters into the one large document.
My problem: I'm in the final stages of revising the dissertation (400+ pages, 1000+ citations) and I occasionally need to add a citation (usually it's the one I used before, so it would appear shortened). Zotero keeps crashing during that stage and I'm unable to add any new citation to the document. It works flawlessly in empty or new documents. Did I reach the limit of processing, or is there a workaround to keep working with longer documents? I can't split the dissertation into separate chapters again, I'd need to work with this large file for the final revisions.
My problem: I'm in the final stages of revising the dissertation (400+ pages, 1000+ citations) and I occasionally need to add a citation (usually it's the one I used before, so it would appear shortened). Zotero keeps crashing during that stage and I'm unable to add any new citation to the document. It works flawlessly in empty or new documents. Did I reach the limit of processing, or is there a workaround to keep working with longer documents? I can't split the dissertation into separate chapters again, I'd need to work with this large file for the final revisions.
edit: also, what exactly do you mean by crashing? Crashing means closing down completely; it's distinct from freezing, which may just indicate you need to wait longer.
This is Microsoft Word processor for Mac (updated to the newest version), and iOS on MacBook Pro.
I experienced both crashing (of either Zotero or Microsoft Word or both; experienced by cursor changing to Mac's rainbow loading circle and then not responding at all) and freezing (of just Zotero with Word working normally). I gave freezing around 5 minute time before losing my patience and deleting the citation, should I wait longer?
There is no crash, the program is still running and will eventually complete the task. However, it will probably take hours to fully refresh the document (see for example https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/comment/479045#Comment_479045 or https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/comment/443390#Comment_443390 )
Even then, though, turning off automated citations is a good practice for even mid-sized documents so that Zotero doesn't have to check everything in the document every time you add/edit a citation. That doesn't mean you can't have Zotero update citations in the future (by clicking refresh), just that it's not happening automatically on every action.
That said, if you're absolutely dedicated to writing the entire thing in a single file on Word for Mac, Zotero might not be a good choice at this time. Developers have said they're working on a much faster version, but as that requires changes in Word itself, I'd very much not rely on that happening within a specific timeframe.
I have now deleted the bibliography for now and it seems somewhat working with adding a new citation. I will split up the document then, I guess, for the next chapters. Thank you for your feedback!
(Please don't post on the same issue to multiple threads. It just makes it harder for us to help you.)
Also, will now do the bibliography in a separate document manually - I will not have the time at the end to rely on Zotero alone if all sources will be compiled properly. Seems really - sorry to put it this way - useless then.
Not sure about the compiling of the final thesis eventually and if by then Word has answered your requests, or you have found a better work around for us.
Maybe you could integrate a warning for users? Like: Don't create a bibliography while working on large documents, consider compiling at the end... etc.
It becomes very frustrating when one relies on software to just find out ... the manual way would have been as sufficient or even more reliable.
Maybe a guideline for PhD students would be great or those attempting to write a larger file. The non-tech people will just get stuck and have hard times to find answers. If they even come up with the thought to participate in these forums here and read and find what they were seeking.
But... a hard time finding answers? The answer to this question and the relevant work-arounds have been given dozens of time in this forum (including in this thread, obviously). Asking and receiving an answer feels straightforward to me, or am I missing something here?