SLLOOWWW

[Tom Klaber]

Vectorworks seems to be running slower and slower.  It will just stop and think about nothing for MINUTES.  A change in sheet layer will be met with 3 to 5 minutes sitting there.  No operation done - just a change in view.  The view is visible - but it will go into Not Responding for MINUTES.  What is going on??  What is it thinking about?? Its just a sheet with 2 elevations.  It is so frustrating. 

[rDesign]

@line-weight Have you tried any RAM applications which can free up RAM when it starts to runs out? It might save you having to quit & restart.

There’s a couple of them out there. FreeMemory is one that I use on my Intel MBP, don’t know if it works on M-series processors. Apple Store Link below to another.

 

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/memory-diag/id748212890?mt=12

[Andy Broomell]

I have a student using 2025 that's been running into issues lately with Vectorworks becoming incredibly sluggish, seemingly for no reason. The signs point to some sort of RAM issue. It's a pretty new computer and software is up to date, and their files aren't particularly complex.

[Pat Stanford]

What OS are they on.  There were/are definite problems for some users on MacOS14.

 

Workarounds that work for some people include Setting Display have Separate Spaces and setting the VW application window so that it is about 1" from the left edge of the screen especially if using multiple monitors.

 

My issue with sluggishness went away when I upgraded to OS15.3.

 

The problem appears to be an Apple issue with the dynamic screen interfacing allowing you to just place a phone or iPad near a Mac and have it automatically become part of the "workspace"

[Andy Broomell]

26 minutes ago, Pat Stanford said:

What OS are they on. 

 

15.3

 

Working just on their laptop screen, but I'll mention the thoughts about spaces and dynamic screen interfacing, thanks!

[Pat Stanford]

I was seeing slowdown on 14, but have not seen on 15.3.  Make sure she updated to 15.3.1 and VW2025 Update 3 (or Update 4 when it comes out in the next couple of weeks).

[line-weight]

3 hours ago, rDesign said:

@line-weight Have you tried any RAM applications which can free up RAM when it starts to runs out? It might save you having to quit & restart.

There’s a couple of them out there. FreeMemory is one that I use on my Intel MBP, don’t know if it works on M-series processors. Apple Store Link below to another.

 

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/memory-diag/id748212890?mt=12

 

Thanks for this, I have installed one of these and tried messing with it a bit.

 

I don't see it visibly doing much to the amount of memory VW is using. I don't fully understand how all the memory stuff works but I think that part of what's happening is that VW is putting stuff in swap files which I assume are on my HD not in the RAM.

 

My mac (M1 mini) has 16GB of RAM and I start to get problems when VW2025 is listed as using around 20GB in Activity monitor. Obviously not all of that 20GB is in the 16GB RAM.

 

What I observe is this: I open a large file on a certain sheet layer. VW starts using about 5GB of memory (again, according to Activity Monitor). It sits like that as long as I stay looking at that sheet layer. But if I then go to another sheet layer, with a lot of highly detailed viewports on it, the memory shoots up to around 20GB and I start getting problems. If I then go back to the first sheet layer, it stays at 20GB - it doesn't revert to the 5GB that it needed first time. To me this suggests that it has used some memory to show me that other sheet but has not released it, now that I don't need to look at that sheet.

At this point if I try pressing "recycle memory" on the app you link to above, nothing happens to that 20GB registered against VW. The only way I can get it to clear is to close the file and re-open.