slow clipping paths

I'm baffled. Clipping paths gradually slow down until they are unusable on my G4 533 dp. Photoshop is usually unaffected by system extensions but I've tried every possible configuration in case.Isolating the cause is difficult because the problem is intermitent and inconsistant but in 10 years I have never had a PS problem I couldn't fix. Please help, Joe.

I saw something about this a while back on the photoshop "user to user" forum on Adobe's site. Can't remember details but if I remember right, it was a 6.0 bug.

Are you running PS version 6.0?
If so upgrade it with the .01 patch available from adobe's site and you'll be set.

If it is some other version... and since it is, as you say "intermitent". I'd need a little more information, like;

How much RAM is in that G4?
How much of that RAM is dedicated to Photoshop?
How many paths?
How complex is the path?
What size image produces the problem?
How many steps are being saved by the history pallet?

sheeeesh, I can think of a hundred more... hope its the 6.01 patch

Thanks for your help. Okay, I'm running PS 6.0.1 set to a wapping 1300000k of RAM (out of a full 1500000) and allocated to a clean10GB scratch disk through 2 G4 processors. I know, this should fly.

The problem can begin with the first few plotted points or may take an hour or so to grind in. It's worse on larger images, 100mb+ (though that's hardly giant) but this never occurs on my older G4 or G3 with equivalent files. Purging History and Ram makes no difference either.

Riddle me that…

Wow, you should be set. I've got an old 8600 that is just about slow as christmas, and it runs PS just fine with very large files.

Of that 1.3 gig of memory how much is allocated to PS?

Give it 500 meg and see if you run into that.

Highlight the application icon
Command + I
Select memory in the drop down
set the RAM allocation
minimum and preferred

<--- I'm sure you know the drill, that is for the folks that don't know how to allocate memory on a macintosh.

You might also, (if you haven't that is) try changing scratch disk to your start-up disk and see if that changes anything. Try trashing your preferences file, that never hurts.

<--final thought
If you haven't you might do a search on the user to user forums on adobe's site and see if anyone else has had this on the dual chip G4 machines.

Hi Chris,

Yes, literally, thats 1.3g allocated to PS. My sytem has the full 1.5g physical. I've also used every disk available for scratch or startup - even a Ram disk, all to no avail. Yep trashed prefs, reinstalled, you name it.

I've had no luck with Adobe's forums which is partly why I ended up here.

Like your 8600, I used to use a 7100 which beat this for paths. Paths being vector based should even wizz on a Performa.

Any other ideas? All are gratefully received.

Please tell me, Joe, with that much actual physical RAM, that you don't have Virtual Memory enabled at the system level via your memory control panel. Photoshop has it's own proprietary scheme for memory/image cache and VM will slow it down.

There are also some issues regarding contextual menus being enabled, as well as the need for an MP update, AGM extensions, and some other stuff that you might need to update.

I'm not running MP, so I only tangentially and hazily recall this stuff from reading the Adobe U2U forum for Phothoshop on a Mac.

I seriously suggest you dig a little deeper on the Adobe forum and ask your question there. Chris Cox should be able to help you quickly.

No. Ordinarily I add the recommended extra 1 meg but VM is actually disabled once you've install the maximum physical. In fact it was this problem (plus falling prices) that prompted me to install so much in the first place.