Adobe Community: Too slow on internal references (InD CS6 [8.0.1] on OSX 10.7.5, 3.4GHz iMac with 16GB memory)

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1. Peter Spier,

Dec 14, 2012 4:46 AM in reply to Edward Lipsett

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Is this a single file, or a collection of files in a Book (.indb)?

Cross references slow the file down because they need to constantly be checked and updated as you type. The more you have, the longer that takes. If you are using a Book and have refeerences to other files it's even worse, with ID opening and closing the other files in the background unless you've left them open.

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2. peter at knowhowpro,

Dec 14, 2012 5:05 AM in reply to Edward Lipsett

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If the cause is indeed constant live updating of cross-references, you might want to investigate the commercial InDesign Cross-References plug-in from dtptools.com. It offers the option of turning off live updating. It can convert existing InDesign cross-references to its own (and back,) so there's no manual work needed. There's a free trial. It avoids the problem common to many plug-ins: error messages when opening an InDesign document on a machine that doesn't have the plug-in installed. There's a free Cross-References Reader plug-in for those users. Existing cross-references are maintained when text reflows, but the full product is required to create new cross-references or change their formats.

HTH

Regards,

Peter

_______________________

Peter Gold

KnowHow ProServices

Edward Lipsett wrote:

I'm making a 400-page book in the latest version of InDesign. Other books of similar length present no problems, but this particular book has huge numbers of internal references. For example, it says "see page xx for more information," and I'm specifying the xx with an internal page reference, so if the text reflows later the displayed page number remains correct.
That all works fine.

The problem is that there are a LOT of such references, and InDesign response is getting slower and slower. It now takes about 60s to display a reference panel when creating a new one, for example, and about the same length of time to just select a color for a text string.

The Mac has plenty of free memory, according to the activity monitor, so my guess is that reducing the number of active extensions will help.

My questions are:
1. Is there a list anywhere of what each particular extension actually does, so I can tell if I might need it for this job or not?
2. If there is something else I should try in addition to or instead of the above, PLEASE TELL ME!

Thanks for your time.

Edward Lipsett
kurodahan.com
Fukuoka, Japan

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3. Edward Lipsett,

Dec 14, 2012 5:26 AM in reply to Peter Spier

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This is the Notes chapter of a book. The book has about a dozen chapters, but all the others just have the reference targets.

After I get this part done I get to start on the index, which will be even more insane.

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4. Edward Lipsett,

Dec 14, 2012 5:28 AM in reply to peter at knowhowpro

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Thank you, Peter.

Given that all the other files, including other files in this same book, work normally, I think it's pretty clear that the cross-referencing is the cause of the problem.

I'll check out dtptools.com

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5. Peter Spier,

Dec 14, 2012 5:35 AM in reply to Edward Lipsett

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I'm going to infer that this is indeed a multiple-file project. Openeing all the files will help, but frankly you'll be wise to use the plugin. Inter-file cross refs in ID are euphemistically known to be "fragile" and very prone to breakage and causing problems later. Most people I know have abandoned using them and switched to single-doc books or the plugin if cross-refs are required.

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6. Edward Lipsett,

Dec 14, 2012 5:57 AM in reply to Peter Spier

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GBP99 is not cheap, but if InDesign might suddenly forget all the work I've put into making these cross-references, it's probably a good investment.

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7. Peter Spier,

Dec 14, 2012 6:04 AM in reply to Edward Lipsett

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The other Peter might know how long the trial is good for. You might be able to complete the project in that time frame.

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8. Edward Lipsett,

Dec 14, 2012 6:09 AM in reply to Peter Spier

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Trials are good to see if something works, but if it does work I buy it.
Unles you pay people, they stop making things, and I like things.

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9. peter at knowhowpro,

Dec 14, 2012 7:05 AM in reply to Edward Lipsett

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If your project is commercial and is part of a revenue-producing operation, the cost of effective and efficient tools isn't steep, it's an investment. To be clear, only one user needs the plug-in to create the references - other users only need the free reader plug-in to edit the content.

Also, since your productivity is affected by InDesign's cross-reference weaknesses, consider posting a formal feature improvement request here: Wishform

The dtptools.com has info about the duration of the trial.

AND, I neglected to mention that the plug-in is a lot smarter than InDesign's built-in X-refs! Read the product info thoroughly. You may find ideas that can reduce manual effort, such as automatically adjusting the reference text as: "See <topic name> on this/next/opposite/previous page."

HTH

Regards,

Peter

_______________________

Peter Gold

KnowHow ProServices

Edward Lipsett wrote:

GBP99 is not cheap, but if InDesign might suddenly forget all the work I've put into making these cross-references, it's probably a good investment.

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10. Edward Lipsett,

Jan 23, 2013 4:53 PM in reply to peter at knowhowpro

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Just a follow-up for other people interested in this issue.company

I purchased the plug-in, and worked with their support people to fix a few minor issues relating to my specific software (native-Japanese version of InD6).
They provied a tweaked version of the plug-in within a day or two, and it works perfectly so far.
InDesign is now as fast as it normally is when there are no cross-reference at all, and I'm still working on the same file with six million cross-references.

GBP99 is still a fair amount of cash, but I think the plug-in is worth it.

Color me satisfied.

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Too slow on internal references (InD CS6 [8.0.1] on OSX 10.7.5, 3.4GHz iMac with 16GB memory)

Dec 13, 2012 8:54 PM

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