Pop-up Dictionary intermittently not working, potentially with no other add-ons interfering

[wushugirl05]

Prerequisite checklist

• [x] In case of a bug: Have you tried restarting Anki?
• [x] Are you running the latest version of the add-on. Have you redownloaded the add-on from AnkiWeb to make sure?
• [x] Did you check the add-on documentation (e.g. AnkiWeb description, Wiki if it exists) for known issues?
• [x] Did you perform a cursory search through the existing issue reports?

What is the problem/feature you would like to see fixed/implemented?

[This is a bit vague, but there are times in which popup dictionary addon doesn't work as in it doesn't run when I double click. Restarting Anki solves the problem 50% of the time, and reinstalling the addon solves the problem 99% of the time but it's only temporary. I need to reinstall the addon approximately 5X a week.]

How can we reproduce the problem?

[Honestly, I am not sure how to exactly reproduce the problem every single time, but here is the way I do anki.]

1. [Doing anki, occasionally using popup dictionary]
2. [Go back to the main screen. Close my laptop for a bit]
3. [Try to do anki again. Doesn't work]

Version information

Anki

[Version 2.0.52 Qt 4.8.2 PyQt 4.9.4]

System

• Operating system: [MacOS (but also doesn't work on my Windows 10)]
• Version: [2.0.52 on my Mac (2.12 on my Windows)]

[jyarbro1]

I'm having a similar problem. Can't get popup dictionary to work at all. Running Anki 2.11. Have disabled night mode, and have tried changing hot keys.

[galantra]

I'm having a similar problem. Can't get popup dictionary to work at all. Running Anki 2.11. Have disabled night mode, and have tried changing hot keys.

Same here. I simply can't figure out why.

[glutanimate]

Thanks for the feedback, guys. Judging by the responses here and on other support channels there does seem to be a class of malfunctions and instability that is not directly related to interference with other add-ons. Unfortunately I have yet to reproduce this on my system, so it's difficult for me to address the issue with the data I have available at the moment.

However, I am working on a overhaul of the add-on which will not only be founded on a much more stable base to start with, but also contain the type of diagnostics and debug logs that will allow me to trace issues like this much more easily. I will notify you as soon as that's ready, and hopefully we can then finally squash these bugs together.

[glutanimate]

One thing you guys could help me with for now, just to 100% confirm that these issues are not related to any other add-ons: Try to disable all other add-ons except Pop-up Dictionary for a reviewing session or two and see if that results in any difference in terms of the stability of the add-on.

[galantra]

Alright, so I removed all add-on folders "addons21" except for pop-up dictionary. And it worked fine! I do have (too) many add-ons installed and will try to find out which one interferes with POD. For now, I have added the folders back to addons21 except for 1496166067 (night mode). I can reassure that POD still does not work at all. Thus, night mode is not the culprit here. I'll open another issue with a list of my add-ons.

[aleksejrs]

I have about 50 add-ons in 2.1.19, and POD worked fewer times than it did not the few times I tested it. It seems to work at least most of the time on 2.0.52 where I have 69 add-ons…