Having problems with the software!!!

[ckilyk]

I just received the full version of the scrapbook max software yesterday. Prior to receiving it, I was using the demo version and then the partial version after I purchased it (via the download). When I received the cd, I installed the content package. Ever since then I've been experiencing a significant slow down in the program. Specially when I try to use the embellishments!!! The performance is unacceptable!! Why does it take soooo long to load the embellishments?? I even uninstalled the entire thing and reinstalled it from scratch. I also performed a disk-defrag and cleanup on my laptop to ensure it wasn't my computer. I've also checked my memory and usable space and I have 14 GB available so space isn't an issue. I have a laptop that is only a year old so I know it's not my computer.

When I started this email the corners were starting to load. It appears as if they have stopped loading but I can only scroll through about half of them and then it says - Not Responding. I also experience this Not Responding when trying to load the tag town embellishments. Some of the smaller packs seem to load at an acceptable rate but not all.

I was on the fence about which scrapbook product to purchase and so far I'm not thrilled with the performance of this one. Am I missing something here??? I would consider myself a computer "power user", in the IT field so I'm very computer literate and I don't understand where these issues are cominng from.

Please advise.

[*eng*]

I am not a techie so I can't offer any advice, I'm sure someone will have a suggestion. All I can say is that the programme isn't that slow. Do hang on thouh I'm sure you will receive help, themoderators check the threads and will respond. Welcome by the way, you will be very pleased you bough the programme once the glitch is rectified.

[Desmond]

Hello,

What version of the software are you using? (eg. 1.0.0.0 -- you can determine this by clicking Help > About)

What are the specs of your computer? (eg. 1.0 ghz, 256 mb ram)

Thanks!
Desmond.

[Manatee25]

dont dispair

Desmond is a whiz at getting these kind of things fixed! The program is FANTASTIC so dont give up on it yet! You will love it when you get it running properly. I had a problem with mine when I first got it too and Desmond had me fixed up and running in no time! Good luck!

[Desmond]

Desmond is a whiz at getting these kind of things fixed! The program is FANTASTIC so dont give up on it yet! You will love it when you get it running properly. I had a problem with mine when I first got it too and Desmond had me fixed up and running in no time! Good luck!

I appreciate the vote of confidence, but let's not get excited until the problem actually goes away!

Since we produced the CD's we distribute, we've made significate improvements to the software to improve the speed. So my first step is to make sure you're using the latest version of the software.

Desmond.

[ckilyk]

Software issues

Hi Desmond,

I have version 1.0.6.1 of your software. It literally arrived yesterday, 4/11/07
My computer is a Dell Latitude D600, running windows XP Pro with 1.40 GHz, 1.0 GB of RAM and 1400 MHz.

Any ideas why the embellishments are so slow to load? It appears as if it is the larger files like the Tag Town, and Photos, etc that take so long. Plus, once loaded they seem to repopulate quicker until I exit the program. Once I get back into it they repopulate slowly again.

Please advise.
Cheri

[Marion]

My solution to that was to move as many things as possible out of the program folder. I made up separate folders for everything and I drag and drop onto my current scrapbook page rather then use the embies icon. I do that with just about everything, backgrounds, embies, shapes etc. Works great and doesn't slow down the program. I use it on my desktop and also on my laptop. In addition I have everything on a external harddrive that will plug into either computer. I have been using the program for over a year now with little or no problem. Give it a try, you will this is the easiest and most versatile program I have found, and I tried lots!

[Desmond]

Scrapbook MAX! caches images, etc. the first time they are displayed / rendered. Then, each subsequent time, the image is displayed from the cache, not the actual file ... unless something triggers a refresh / redraw of the image. (you'll notice this the most when switching pages. THe first time you view a page in sbmax it takes a few seconds. But the next time, it's quicker.)

We are aware that Scrapbook MAX! slows down when it scans a folder with a lot of files in it (Eg. the Tags) and are exploring ways of reducing the delay for our next version. But in the mean time, there's not a lot that can be done.

What some of our users do is browse the content with Windows Explorer (outside of sbmax) with the thumbnail view, and drag/drop the content into sbmax. It's not an ideal solution, but as work-arounds go, it isn't bad.

Is it prohibitively slow, or just annoying slow?

Desmond.

[ckilyk]

Thanks to both Desmond and Marion. It is more annoyingly slow than prohibitively slow. Everything has been cached and it does seem quicker - must just be my lack of patience too! I actually like the windows view idea with the thumbnails - puts everything right out there for you!

Thanks again!
CK