RoboHelp 8 Very Slow

Report · Jun 08, 2009

I recently upgraded from Version X5 to Version 8 and have found that Robohelp is extremely slow when opening and using my main project. I have already tried creating an empty text file in the en_us folder as suggested on Peter Grainge's site (Number 8 on this page http://www.grainge.org/pages/authoring/rh8/using_rh8.htm) and this has made opening the start page quicker but done little to improve the perfromance of my project.

This seems all the more strange as i have already used the trial version with a copy of this project for a month or so and after making the change suggested above i was able to use the project as normal.

For reference i am running the project off my local drive (c:) and using it with Microsoft Visual SourceSafe., If anyone has nay ideas or has experienced similar problems, your help would be much appreciated

Report · Jun 09, 2009

We've experienced a marked improvement in the RH8 speed (opening, closing, and everything in between), the projects being integrated with Robo SourceControl (however, VSS has traditionally integrated well with RH, too).

So I'd look at the configuration of your RH/VSS being at the root of your problem (how was the database folder created, how were the RH projects added, etc.).

There are special RH project files that are local-machine-specific, and that should not be included in the source control database. Generally, if you add the project to source control from within the RH project, RH will keep those files from being added to source control.

Good luck,

Leon

Report · Jun 09, 2009

Another thing to check might be your anti-virus settings. We had horrible slowness at one point because our anti-virus was scanning every file as RH was getting them from VSS. The techs changed us to the same profile as the developers and we haven't had the problem since. Unfortunately I don't know what the exact changes were, but your techs might be able to help anyway. (Note: this was with RH6, not RH8, but it couldn't hurt to check.)

Report · Jun 15, 2009

I switched from RH7 to RH8. Right off the bat, RH8 seems a little slower than RH7, but in two weeks the performance of RH8 has dropped down to "abyssmal". It has nothing to do with version control -- it's slow to navigate from one topic to another. Who else has this experience, and what did you do about it? Based on this, it is not a matter of opinion that RH8 is not acceptable -- it is a sad fact, ... so I hope someone can help.

To the original poster, ... did you resolve anything?

Report · Jun 15, 2009

Hi there

Where is your project? RoboHelp 8 will be incredibly slow if your project is on a network drive. It's always best to ensure it's stored and edited locally off the C drive.

Additionally you may be interested in fellow Adobe Community Expert Peter Grainge's site linked below.

Click here to view (Look at item number 7)

Cheers... Rick

Report · Jun 15, 2009

robm44,

I am in exactly the same scenario as you - upgraded from X5 to version 8, and using VSS. I work off of my C drive, but I check the project files in and out from the server using SourceSafe.

The actual check-in/check-out from VSS is slow but not unbearable. RH8 takes a bit of time to load, but again, not unbearable.

My issues are with the interface - it isn't "snappy" when opening topics, inserting links, opening dialog boxes...even when typing in a topic. It's just laggy. And the compile times are much longer than in X5. I've been monitoring my Task Manager, and I'm not running out of RAM or CPU cycles. Even when compiling, I'm not anywhere close to maxing out the CPU.

Honestly, I haven't found a decent solution, so I just deal with it. Everything else on my work machine is snappy enough - Word, Outlook, Acrobat, etc.

For reference, I'm using a P4 3.0Ghz, 1GB RAM, Win XP SP3, which is above the minimum specifications. What hardware are you using? Is anyone here using RH8 on a machine with a faster CPU or more RAM and having a better experience?

Report · Jun 15, 2009

Hi there

Did you try following the steps outlined in the link to my colleague Peter's site?

Cheers... Rick

Report · Jun 15, 2009

I will give this a try, thanks.

Edit: I just added the blank DLL file, as recommended, and re-opened my project. It is substantially faster now!

Thanks Rick!

Report · Jul 06, 2009

Just did the same thing and RH is flying. I don't understand why doesn't Adboe fix this problem? why should users hack the system?

Report · Jul 06, 2009

Because that fix does not work for everyone so they need to find a better solution. Be grateful it has worked for you!

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

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