TechNote

Optimize performance (FrameMaker 9 on Windows XP)

What's covered

Operating system software
Hardware
Resources

The performance of Adobe FrameMaker is affected most by available random-access memory (RAM) and computer processor speed. Other factors can also affect performance, such as the options you select, system configuration, and the built-in limitations of FrameMaker.

Operating system software

By customizing your operating system so it runs efficiently, you not only increase the amount of system resources available to applications, but also ensure that your applications run efficiently. Optimizing your hard drive and virtual memory, organizing or removing temporary files, and disabling unnecessary applications running in the background improves performance.

Check your system for damaged fonts

If there is a damaged font on your system and you have WYSIWYG font preview turned on, your computer can slow significantly.If you turn off font preview and your computer performance improves significantly, test for a damaged font.

Temporary files

When you work in an application, a copy of your data file is stored temporarily on the hard drive. Many applications create .tmp files and then delete them when you quit the application. Crashes or system errors, however, may prevent an application from deleting these files. These files can build up over time, taking up disk space and causing problems. From time to time, you should quit all programs and remove all temporary files.

To delete temporary files:

Choose one of the following:
- (Windows XP) Start > Search > All Files and Folders
- (Windows 2000) Start > Search > For Files and Folders
In the Named text box, type *.tmp.
Choose Local Hard Drives from the Look In pop-up menu.
Click Find Now or Search Now.
When the search results appear, choose Edit > Select All.
Choose File > Delete. Click Yes to send the files to the Recycle Bin.
Empty the Recycle Bin.

To make sure that at least 280 MB of free space is available on the hard disk to which temporary files are written:

Quit all applications.
Choose Start > Control Panel, and then double-click System.
Click the Advanced tab, and then click Environment Variables.
In the User Variables For [user profile] section, locate TEMP in the Variable column, and note the folder listed in the Value column. If the complete path for the folder isn't visible, double-click TEMP in the Variable column, and note the folder name in the Variable Value text box.
Note: If a TEMP variable doesn't exist, contact your system administrator for assistance.
In Windows Explorer, verify that the folder you noted in step 4 exists on a non-compressed disk partition that has at least 280 MB of free space:
- If the folder doesn't exist, then create it: Right-click the drive, choose New Folder from the menu, and type the folder name you noted in step 4 (for example, Temp).
- If the disk doesn't have enough free space, then create additional space by removing unnecessary files. To determine the amount of free space, right-click the drive and choose Properties from the menu.

Optimizing and defragmenting hard disks

Over time, the computer's hard disk can become damaged or fragmented (unavailable in a large contiguous block). If there is not enough contiguous space for the system to save a file, it saves pieces of the file to different locations on the disk. It takes an application longer to read a fragmented file whose pieces are saved in several locations.

See "Repair and defragment hard disks (Windows XP)" (TechNote kb404981) for details.

Windows virtual memory

Virtual memory allows your system to use hard-disk space to store information normally stored in memory (RAM). Because it takes longer to access information on a hard disk than it does to access information in memory, using a portion of the hard disk as virtual memory can decrease performance. In addition, FrameMaker cannot use the hard-disk space the system uses for virtual memory for its scratch disk files, which it uses to store image information as you work. If you need more memory to work in FrameMaker, Adobe Systems recommends installing more RAM.

Specifying a fixed virtual memory setting helps prevent FrameMaker scratch disk files from competing for the same space with virtual memory, especially if you set the virtual memory setting on a different drive than the primary scratch disk. For both kinds of virtual memory, be sure to use a drive with enough free, uncompressed space. RAID 0 partitions provide the best possible performance as FrameMaker scratch disks.

Quit all applications.
Choose Start > Settings > Control Panel, double-click System, and click the Advanced tab, and then select Settings in the Performance section.
In the Virtual Memory section, do one of the following:
(Windows XP) Click the Advanced tab, and in the Virtual memory section, click Change.
(Windows 2000) Click Change.
From the Drive list, select a hard drive that has at least twice the amount of your computer's installed RAM, or for Windows XP, 1.5 times the amount of your computer's installed RAM. For example, if your computer has 512 MB of RAM, select a hard drive that has at least 1 GB of free hard drive space, or 768 MB for Windows XP. For best performance, choose a hard drive not used for the FrameMaker scratch disk(s).
In the Paging File Size for Selected Drive section, select Custom size (Windows XP only), and in the Initial Size box, enter a value equal to the twice the amount of your computer's installed RAM.
In the Maximum Size box, enter a value equal to four times the amount of your computer's installed RAM.
Click Set and then click OK.
Note: For the best performance, the Paging File should be on a separate, empty, de-fragmented hard disk.
Click to close the System Control Panel Applet (Windows XP) or the System dialog boxes (Windows 2000).
To restart Windows, click Yes in the System Settings Change dialog box.
Applications running in the background

Some applications may complete for memory with FrameMaker causing slowdowns or system errors when running concurrently with FrameMaker. Before starting FrameMaker, disable other applications, including startup items (items that start automatically with Windows).

For more information about how to disable other applications, see "Disable startup items and services (Windows XP)" (TechNote kb404984).

After you disable startup items and services, try to re-create the problem:

If the problem doesn't occur, one of the disabled startup items conflicts with FrameMaker. Reenable startup items one at a time, testing each time until you determine which item conflicts with FrameMaker. Then contact that item's developer for an update, if available.
If the problem does occur, startup items aren't the cause and you can reenable them:
1. Choose Start > Run, and type msconfig in the Open box. Click OK.
2. Click the Startup tab, and click Enable All.
3. Click OK, and restart Windows.

If the problem recurs, then move the icons and shortcuts back to the Startup folder.

If the problem doesn't recur, then move the icons and shortcuts back to the Startup folder one at a time to determine which application causes the problem.

To identify a problematic application specified in the registry to start automatically:

Right-click the taskbar, and choose Task Manager from the menu.
Click the Applications tab.
Select an application, and then click End Task.
Restart FrameMaker, and try to re-create the problem. Then continue as follows:
- If the problem recurs, repeat steps 1-4 and select another application in step 3.
- If the problem doesn't recur, the application you selected in step 3 conflicts with FrameMaker.

Hardware

FrameMaker performance is limited by the hardware you use; the faster the processor or hard disk you use, the faster FrameMaker can process image information. Other hardware options, such as installing additional RAM, using a multiprocessor system, or using optimized and defragmented disks, can also improve performance.

Performance or redraw issues

Performance and redraw problems include:

FrameMaker runs extremely slowly, or slows down suddenly.
Windows, palettes, images, and selections don't redraw correctly when partially covered by dialog boxes.
Images redraw very slowly when edited.
Menus don't appear or you can't access menu items.
The pointer disappears when you move it around the screen or between two screens.
The pointer displays an hourglass each time it hovers over a palette (such as the Layers palette).
Dialog boxes are blank.
Errors occur, such as "This application needs to close."
Redraw of layer edges is delayed after you enable Show Layer Edges.

These solutions have solved these problems:

Move all fonts from the Windows\Fonts folder to the desktop, then add them back.
Disable hyperthreading in the BIOS. If performance improves, then upgrade to the latest BIOS.

Installed RAM

FrameMaker requires the available RAM to equal several times the size of each image, depending on how you use the application. If FrameMaker has insufficient memory, it uses hard-disk space (scratch disk) to process information. Because accessing information in memory is faster than accessing information on a hard disk, FrameMaker is fastest when it can process all or most file information in memory (RAM), without using the scratch disk.

Hard disks

Because FrameMaker reads and writes file information while working on an image, the faster the access speed of the disk containing your image or the scratch disk, the faster FrameMaker can process image information. To improve FrameMaker performance, work on files saved on disks with fast access speeds, such as an internal hard disk, rather than those with slow access speeds, such as a network server (hard disk accessed over a network) or removable media. Removable media often have slower access times and are more easily damaged than nonremovable disks.