Framemaker 10 scroll speed slows down while showing pictures

[frameissuer]

Hi at all,

just a simple question.

When I scroll down in a document, the scroll speed is increasing really much. I have to turn the mouse wheel 5 times more to reach the same part on a page as without a picture.

And scrolling does not look really smooth.

Is there a procedure to reduce the picture quality to get a faster scroll speed?

Why is showing pictures so hard for framemaker?

Regards Michael

[Bob_Niland]

... as without a picture.

What graphic file type?

If raster, what dpi?

What import size?

Any rotation applied?

And, of course:

What Frame version?

What operating system?

32- or 64-bit?

How much RAM?

How much swap space?

Large and/or hi-res raster images, such as TIFF and JPEG, can have a performance impact during edit.

Image rotation (any format) has an impact.

You can reduce the impact by re-saving TIFFs and JPEGs as EPS, so that the UI only has to deal with the low-res preview/thumbnail. PDF also has a low-res preview, but I haven't any material experience with importing it in Frame.

I haven't found a way to improve performance with post-import rotates other than to create a rotated variant in the source image editor, and re-import without further rotation.

You can also disable graphics for the present session if you don't need to see them.

_______

I recall a page with a single 300 dpi 8x10 TIFF taking a half hour just to display in Frame 3.1. Computers are a bit faster now, but individual cores haven't improved much in the last decade, and the Frame GUI is probably not yet multi-threaded. So, we still need some awareness of performance impact with image imports.

[frameissuer]

Hi Error,

nice to read your answer.

Here it comes:

file type .tiff and .png (editorial required)

resolution 300dpi (editorial required)

size is defined as the same  e.q. 76mm width is prepared in the same size

no, never rotated in framemaker (also no paintings in framemaker)

Framemaker 10, all updates

Win7 ultimate

32bit

4GB (of course only ~3 useable)

page file size 3GB

corei5 4x2.5GHz

I know there is the option to view without pictures, but it is not useful by me because I have to do comments for the pictures (manuals and so on).

***BUT!!! Some other programs can handle with pics?! Am I wrong? They could built some thumbs and show them instead... that's easy. how many people are programming these stuff? 3? how many use it? disapproval by my side! Showing pics inside documents is esential for that tool.

Thanks

[Bob_Niland]

file type .tiff and .png (editorial required)

What's the deliverable?

If it's only PDF, I'd spin EPS or PDF* copies of the TIFF and PNGs, and import the copies.

• You will experience a dramatic improvment in edit performance.
• The output will remain identical. Editiorial will not be able tell.

What's the typical content of the TIFFs?

... of the PNGs?

What are the source elements for these (e.g. PSD, RAW, camera JPG, etc.)?

If you decide to try PDF import, we'll need some discussion on PDF save options.

Even if TIFF or PNG support preview/thumbnail, Frame probably doesn't use it. Frame does use the small preview image optionally present in EPS and PDF.

[Arnis_Gubins]

If you just want to scroll quickly through a document, then simply use <esc> v v  to toggle the graphics on or off. FM does not create thumbnails of the graphics. If you want high quality output graphics and fast scrolling, I would recommend the use of EPS, which includes it's own preview.

[Bob_Niland]

Arnis: If you want high quality output graphics and fast scrolling, I would recommend the use of EPS, which includes it's own preview.

Can you comment on why EPS, and not PDF?

Where we use EPS in our FM7.1 production environment, it's in part because PDF import is unstable in FM7. So I haven't had much experience with the benefits and hazards of PDF import in later versions.

I  just ran a quick test of EPS and PDF import in FM9, and noticed a Benefit and a Hazard:

EPS Benefit: If an EPS lacks a preview, Frame 9 fakes one for the UI. In FM7 and earlier, you got a gray box. Ok, it's not an error-diffused preview, but hey, it's a welcome enhancement.

PDF Hazard: Whether a PDF has a preview or not, FM9 appears to present the full resolution image to the UI. This presumably means: no UI performance benefit to using a PDF vs. the upstream raster it was derived from. Curiously, in FM7.1, until the PDF image eventually self-destructs into a 1x1in gray box, PDF imports display the preview if present.

If FM ever gets color management and massive UI multi-threading, and Windows gets real CMYK, the case for EPS in FM is likely to be substantially weakened. But as FM and the Windows GDI stand today, EPS still has a lot to recommend it.

[Arnis_Gubins]

FM internally converts PDF to EPS on the fly (i.e. extra processing required, though barely noticeable on most current processors) so it has to do additional work every time. For some things, like catalog production, this does add up. The filter used is the same one as the Acrobat export one (Save As EPS).

The EPS preview generated by the Acrobat export filters is hard-wired (i.e. only option is "Include Preview") to a 96dpi 8-bit preview.

In Windows versions of FM, if the EPS file has no preview, then FM just inserts the ubiquitous rey box. This behaviour is consistent from FM6.0 up to the latest FM10.0.2. I don't see what you mention  about generating a preview happening in any version of FM 9 on Win XP nor Win7 platforms.

WIth earlier versions of FM, the EPS import couldn't handle previews with transparency or 8-bit colour modes properly giving very unpredictable results. I can't remember if FM7 still had this issue.

[Bob_Niland]

I don't see what you mention about generating a preview ...

Yep. Make that a "never mind".

I created the "no preview" EPS using AI, but neglected to switch off BOTH Preview and Thumbnail. When you switch off just Thumbnail, you still get a preview image, but one that is pattern dithered rather than ED dithered. Switch off both; get gray box.

Photoshop has only one control for this: "Preview".

This previews & thumbnail meta-data, btw, can consume a huge amount of space in a delivered PDF, unless they are removed by Acrobat [Pro] "Examine Document" post-processing. As far as I can tell, there is no reason to leave them in.

[frameissuer]

Arnis, Error

thanks for answering. I will check it. Takes some time. I will reply as soon as possible.

CU

[too-2]

Error7103 - We have a similar situation as frameissuer and I'd like to ask a quick question. My dept is currently in the process of converting a very large manual to FrameMaker and linking to every illustration, table, chart, etc via PDF. These are very large chapters. The preview is super slow. Is there something we should be doing to our PDFs to make our files quicker?

(FM 8.0p277, windows 7)

TIA!

[Bob_Niland]

> ... linking to every illustration, table, chart, etc via PDF.

I don't have much experience importing PDFs, because it's unstable in the FM7.0 and 7.1 I use, and I have zero experience with FM8 (I don't know if PDF import behaves like 7 or 9).

By "linking" do you mean importing by reference, OLE, copy into document, or something else?

Are you having to scale the images?

Are you having to rotate them at arbitrary (angles other than multiples of 90 degrees)?

Have you experimented with re-saving several PDFs to EPS from Illustrator, and rechecking performance?

[hor_mengy6464193]

I am using FM 2017, the scroll speed is still very slow. Really appreciate if this could be adjusted.

[Barb Binder]

Did you trying changing the scroll speed in Windows?

How to Control Your Mouse Scroll Speed in Windows 10

[hor_mengy6464193]

Yes, it works. Thanks.  However, the scroll speed also affect other programs in Windows 10.  It is alright for me.

[Barb Binder]

Really appreciate if this could be adjusted.

If you are wishing that FrameMaker has its own scroll speed controls you can put in a request here:

Tracker