I don’t recall offhand reading any reports describing symptoms, but…
re: "So much slower"
For comparison purposes would it be possible to do a batch run under CS2 & CS3 against the same set of images and post the times? That would help put your issue into perspective.
Also (for fishing purposes):
* How much total RAM do you have?
* In preferences, what % RAM allocated to CS2, CS3?
* How many images in the run?
* File format: .jpg in, .jpg out? RAW in, .jpg out? or what? * CS3: Check Playback Options (Actions palette menu). Should be set to ‘Accelerated.’ * Is using Scripts > Image processor in CS3 an option for you? I don’t know if this would be more efficient than invoking the action via Automate > Batch. Might be worth a shot.
* Batch dialog: Source: Folder or Bridge?
Thanks for your reply Danny. I’ve run an action that executes a batch process on the same 30 images in CS2 and CS3. Here are the results:
CS2: 48 seconds CS3: 2 minutes, 17 seconds (137 seconds)
Total RAM: 2GB
% RAM allocated to PS: 75% for both CS2 & Cs3
Number of Images: 30
File Format: .jpg in; .jpg out
Playback Options: Set to Accelerated in both CS2 & CS3 Batch Source: Folder
I’ve been playing with this for several weeks and I get the same "slow" results with CS3 no matter what file type, batch source, or number of images. The slowdown is with any action, simple or complex, that calls a batch process, or any script that calls a batch process. I’ve tried increasing the RAM allocation but that had no effect.
I didn’t use the Beta CS3 very much so I’m not sure if that had the same problem, though I did test run some actions to verify that they worked and I didn’t notice a significant difference in speed. When I installed the final version of CS3 I immediately noticed that some actions ran very slowly. Further investigation showed that all of those actions called the batch process. Other actions work just fine and are as quick as they were in CS2. I then ran some batch process directly through the Automate>Batch menu and found that to work slowly. So, I determined that it was a problem with CS3’s batch process. I don’t know if Adobe is using a different code or not, but it definitely is associated with the batch process.
I tried using the Image Processor script but it made no difference in the speed.
Yikes… For CS3 to take nearly 3x longer than CS2 is substantial.
Looks like you’ve pretty much covered the bases possibilities-wise. A+ on your investigation so far.
Since times to apply a given action in standalone mode in CS2 and CS3 are more or less a wash, that suggests the increase in elapsed time to process an image in CS3 batch (or with CS3’s Image Processor script) might be attributed to additional overhead in file open, file save/close operations.
I don’t know how CS2 and CS3 differ in terms of RAM requirements (it might be interesting to watch Task Manager during a batch run), nor how well CS3 and (assuming) XP get along during the file open/save/close dance. So, the only you haven’t tried AFAIK is "lowering" the CS3 RAM % pref setting (maybe 55%-65%), thereby giving Windows a little bigger yard to play in.
Failing that longshot, let’s hope some of the high-tech knights in shining armor arrive soon.
Thanks once again. I tried lowering the RAM allocation to 50% with no success. After setting RAM allocation back to 75% I ran the action again and checked Task Manager which showed CS2 using between 45% and 48% CPU and CS3 using between 35% and 45%.
I just watched the action as it ran in CS3 and noticed that it hesitates for 3 or 4 seconds at the step that opens a file. That seems to be where it is bogging down. All other steps are carried out very quickly.
Could this problem be at all related to residue left over from the Beta version? I followed Adobe’s instructions for removing it through Control Panel prior to installing the final release. The installation went without a hitch as did the re-install that I’ve done since.
It’s particularly frustrating as I like many of the new features in CS3 but find it cumbersome to have to run these actions in CS2.
Hesitation when opening a file: Do you have any network printers defined? If so, make sure those printers are online and available.
Michael, I do have a network printer. It is usually online, but I just checked and the files still open slowly with it online and ready.
Thanks for the suggestion.
try changing the default system printer to something local. define one if necessary…
Dave,
OK, I changed my default printer to a local printer and that helped somewhat. The time for the 30-image batch is now down to 1 min. 22 sec. (82 seconds), but that’s still twice as long as CS2.
So, the printer connection seems weird. Is that a documented problem? I’d like to see a knowledgebase article or tech document just to learn more about it. Do you know if there is one?
Thanks for the suggestion. I guess I can always change the default printer every time i want to run a batch, but it’s still an issue in using 2x the time. I hope there is a fix coming soon.
Hi Robert,
I noticed the same problem with CS3.
I got some improvement with the network printer tip, but I also got a bigger improvement in batch speed by turning off my external drives. This cut nearly 50% of processing time compared to when they were on.
I still don’t get the same speed, but it is an improvement. My test was ten images and the best I could get was about 20 seconds in CS2 and 30 seconds in CS3. Before I turned off my external drives, CS3 took almost 60 seconds.
FYI, I have also noticed that it takes longer just to open images in CS3 compared to CS2. For example, opening 12 jpegs takes about 17 seconds in CS2 and 25 seconds in CS3. This was also repeated on another computer I have, and there is a time difference there too.
I reported this to Adobe and they denied it was anything to do with CS3.
Bye for now.
It’s probably the Bonjour service!
Thanks for your input George. I never really noticed a difference in opening files one at a time, but when I just tried opening multiple files, sure enough, it takes longer in CS3.
I don’t have any external drives so that’s not an issue. What I find curous is that all is well in CS2 and even with the Beta version of CS3 so it really must be a CS3 problem. Though some folks have reported CS3 being much faster than CS2. So, possibly it’s a compatability issue with certain OS and/or hardware. Something clearly changed between CS2 and CS3, though.
Let’s hope that the printer bug fix they are working on at least will improve things — if it ever gets released….
John, I’ve read about the Bonjour service and it seems that there is no easy way to stop it. Plus it is required for iTunes, I think. Do you have any other info?
I have had the same problem and some forums recomend getting rid of extra printers. After doing a little research the problem does seem to relate to the network printers. I made MacroMedia Flash Paper my default printer and that seemed to help alot. I wonder how much of this comes from Bridge searching the network for imamges?
