Fixing Zotero 7 PDF Viewer Default App Reset Issue ('Program Not Found' Error)

HaoDongding
I'm encountering an issue with Zotero 7 where I can't permanently set the default PDF viewer to Zotero's built-in reader. Although I can manually select Zotero's viewer to open PDFs temporarily, the setting resets after restarting the software or computer, causing the system to display a "program not found" error and preventing direct PDF access. How can I resolve this?https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u13304982/5p9k70ew5f56l1o5nf2d.png
  • dstillman
    edited May 23, 2025
    You installed a third-party app (Scholaread) that's hijacking the setting, and apparently does so even after it's uninstalled.

    If you go to Tools → Plugins in Zotero, do you see a Scholaread plugin?

    We haven't yet figured out how the app is changing this setting even after people have uninstalled it.
  • HaoDongding
    I have uninstalled the Scholaread plugin and software, and the Scholaread option is no longer visible in the plugin list. Although files still show Scholaread as the default opening method, they are actually opened via WPS. When I disabled WPS, the system prompted that it could not find the application。
    https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u13304982/vjkw627ke69uohtm2ox9.png
  • dstillman
    But what happens now if you set the reader setting back to “Zotero”?
  • HaoDongding
    The files can be opened using Zotero's built-in viewer, but this setting does not persist after restarting Zotero. If the operation is not repeated, the previous error will reappear.
  • HaoDongding
    Thank you, I have resolved this issue by reinstalling Zotero 7.
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