I'm using Inkscape on both my personal computer and on a computer at work. The computer I have at work is a horrible basic office computer, but Inkscape works smooth and fine on it. At home I have a really strong computer and yet I find Inkscape lagging.
there was no answer for me there. Since I'm using Windows on both of these computers, it doesn't make sense why Inkscape would work a lot better on a weak PC.
When I'm moving the canvas, it's lagging. When I select or deselect an object, there's a 1 second delay with it. When I'm moving objects, it feels as if Inkscape is trying to "smooth" the movement and then all I get is latency with moving the object. It's really annoying and off putting precision and speed for me.
There can be a lot of issues that will low the performance of inkspace. First of all check the updates for your system, including windows and system drivers updates. After this check all process that runs on your PC even if they are in sleeping mode. They can use some resources of your system especially those that are required for Inkspace running. Also, you can try to install any pc tune up. With the help of such software, you can check your system as well as register and optimize them by cleaning all waste files and deleting insufficient programs that can slow down your PC. I use Ashampoo Winoptimizer on my PC. I think it will help you. And you'd an try to reinstall the Inkspace. Sometimes it can help. I think it's better to start with this step.
@harveycastle thanks for your input. However I don't think this will help me.
My PC runs just fine. I use it for latest video games on 2K resolution and settings maxed out. I've used it for 3D rendering as well. There is no performance issues whatsoever so I don't intend on installing any optimizing software because there is no need for it. There's more than enough resources left for Inkscape to utilize.
My drivers and windows are up to date.
I reinstalled Inkscape again as admin and turned on all the checkboxes during installation. I also tried changing my themes within Inkscape, it didn't help.
I don't think there's anything I could suggest that would actually help. But I am curious, how fast is Inkscape if you boot up from an Ubuntu USB stick and install Inkscape there?
There are known issues with windows and mac development, mostly that we do not have enough developers. Speed is one of those things that is high on the agenda, but the speed differences between Linux and Mac is incredibly stark.
I assume you have Inkscape 1.0 on those pc's? A solution for now is to install 0.92.5 on your home computer. You can also install a portable version, to try it out. Then you can have both versions together on one system. Beware: do not try to run them at the same time, that doesn't work.
Martin, if I have an opportunity to test it on Ubuntu, I will do that and let you know the results.
Kirstie, I'll try the 0.92 version but my problem is that this problem is persistent and I very much would like to stick with the 1.0 version. Even if it works fine on 0.92, I would try to suck it up and keep using the 1.0. It's worth a shot though as I'll know if the problem is somewhere in my PC or somewhere in compatibility between just the 1.0 and my PC.
Inkscape 1.0 is still fairly new, so there are bugs. Chance is it will get better with a new release. But you want to know what is the matter, I understand.
My advice was just to help you get the work done. I use different versions of Inkscape for their different possibilities. For example, Inkscape 1.0 has the pencil with pressure sensitivity, which I love. But the bugs in 1.0 make me use 0.92.4 by default.
Same problem for me. I reduce number of threads to 1 in render option and it's seem to have resolve the problem for me. I have a i7 6700k cpu running under Win 10. Maybe it's possible to tweak it more but it's what i have for the moment. hope it's will help.
Not sure how this idea fits onto the Mac, but I will try his for sure. I can't speak of Inkscape "performance" on macOS anymore; it's more like where snail&turtle say Good Night. 😴
I tried 1.1 the other day on Windows. It was unusable slow, see my video, posted on IRC. Eventually someone suggested trying out version 0.92, which works smoothly. It's a great piece of software. Now I wonder: What causes the slowness in version 1.1?
Responsiveness is important to me when working with graphics software. In the 90s I used Micrografx Designer, later Xara, then Affinity. All of them, and expecially Xara, are extremely fast. Now I'm surprised seeing that even moving a solid rectangle is super sluggish with InkScape 1.1. That has been fast since the availability of 2D accelerated graphics cards in the 90s. Before that, the CPU had to do pixel manipulation in graphics memory, which of course was slow. On the PC with VGA and below, there was not even support for sprites, like on some home computers. But that's the 80s and early 90s.
I am also experiencing incredibly slow responses with 1.1. I have a brand new (2 weeks) hp Spectre laptop with pretty beefy components... so there shouldn't be any issues as far as the PC goes. As mentioned above, just moving shapes around is very laggy, as is zooming in or out. Today, when opening a VERY simple file (literally, just the numbers 2 and 5 - both 8" tall & 4" wide, using a basic font & colored white), there was easily an 8 - 10 second delay between clicking the file to open, and when Inkscape finally opened.
Is downgrading to 0.92 still the recommended solution? I sure do love the new things added to 1.1... but it clearly isn't working for me (as is). Fingers crossed there's a setting to change, or an update patch - heck, I'd even be willing to try it if its a beta patch!
Admittedly, I'm quite relieved to find this thread. I was fearful something terrible was going on with my new PC, be it a hardware issue, or a crazy virus (though, not sure how that would have happened... it's pretty locked down).
I clicked thru a few other forum threads & eventually got directed to this memory growth issue (https://gitlab.com/inkscape/inkscape/-/issues/2585), and I'm fairly certain the Document Properties panel was open when I experienced the slow response when moving objects & zooming/scrolling. Just tried to reduplicate the slow response with & without the document properties panel open and it definitely seems to be the culprit, so I now know how to avoid that issue for the time being.
Not sure about the super slow open, but that isn't a work-stopping issue for me. I can deal with that. Maybe it's still somehow related to the memory growth/leak noted in the link above & will resolve in a future 1.2 version. **fingers crossed** I'll still scroll thru the bug tracker link you provided to see if I can find any of the other "quirky" issues I've been experiencing with 1.1.
Same for me. Adobe Illustrator is very fast, no lagging, is capable of editing large SVGs without a problem. But when I try to edit the same files in Inkscape, it's slow, laggy, often unresponsive. Also fonts selection is way slower than on Illustrator, when I scroll it on inkscape it's slow and lagging (I have over 3000 fonts). I really want to use inkscape, but I just can't due to it being slow and lagging.
I already tried 1.2 before posting, some svgs even looked pixelated and took some time to render vectorized version. My CPU is Intel i7-4700MQ and running Windows 10 64bit with 16 GB RAM.
But here is a gif of how font browsing feels like.
Thank you for sharing the gif. For the text-bar performance, I'd try turning off the font samples in the menu. See checkboxes in the text preferences (pic)
WRT large svg files, an example file would be very helpful.
I have lag even doing simple things like moving a png with some text over it, and my PC is not that bad. And I think that reducing threads to 1 in the render settings seems to improve the experience a little.
[Off-topic link removed by moderator. Repeat offense results in banning.]
Beyond the Basics Inkscape lagging on a strong PC
Inkscape.org
Hey,
I'm using Inkscape on both my personal computer and on a computer at work. The computer I have at work is a horrible basic office computer, but Inkscape works smooth and fine on it. At home I have a really strong computer and yet I find Inkscape lagging.
I've read this topic: https://inkscape.org/forums/questions/inkscape-10-is-a-bit-laggy-and-not-smooth/
there was no answer for me there. Since I'm using Windows on both of these computers, it doesn't make sense why Inkscape would work a lot better on a weak PC.
When I'm moving the canvas, it's lagging. When I select or deselect an object, there's a 1 second delay with it. When I'm moving objects, it feels as if Inkscape is trying to "smooth" the movement and then all I get is latency with moving the object. It's really annoying and off putting precision and speed for me.
Any advice to solve this?
There can be a lot of issues that will low the performance of inkspace. First of all check the updates for your system, including windows and system drivers updates. After this check all process that runs on your PC even if they are in sleeping mode. They can use some resources of your system especially those that are required for Inkspace running. Also, you can try to install any pc tune up. With the help of such software, you can check your system as well as register and optimize them by cleaning all waste files and deleting insufficient programs that can slow down your PC. I use Ashampoo Winoptimizer on my PC. I think it will help you. And you'd an try to reinstall the Inkspace. Sometimes it can help. I think it's better to start with this step.
@harveycastle thanks for your input. However I don't think this will help me.
My PC runs just fine. I use it for latest video games on 2K resolution and settings maxed out. I've used it for 3D rendering as well. There is no performance issues whatsoever so I don't intend on installing any optimizing software because there is no need for it. There's more than enough resources left for Inkscape to utilize.
My drivers and windows are up to date.
I reinstalled Inkscape again as admin and turned on all the checkboxes during installation. I also tried changing my themes within Inkscape, it didn't help.
I don't think there's anything I could suggest that would actually help. But I am curious, how fast is Inkscape if you boot up from an Ubuntu USB stick and install Inkscape there?
There are known issues with windows and mac development, mostly that we do not have enough developers. Speed is one of those things that is high on the agenda, but the speed differences between Linux and Mac is incredibly stark.
HI Kristijan,
I assume you have Inkscape 1.0 on those pc's? A solution for now is to install 0.92.5 on your home computer.
You can also install a portable version, to try it out.
Then you can have both versions together on one system. Beware: do not try to run them at the same time, that doesn't work.
Martin, if I have an opportunity to test it on Ubuntu, I will do that and let you know the results.
Kirstie, I'll try the 0.92 version but my problem is that this problem is persistent and I very much would like to stick with the 1.0 version. Even if it works fine on 0.92, I would try to suck it up and keep using the 1.0. It's worth a shot though as I'll know if the problem is somewhere in my PC or somewhere in compatibility between just the 1.0 and my PC.
Hi Kristijan,
Inkscape 1.0 is still fairly new, so there are bugs. Chance is it will get better with a new release. But you want to know what is the matter, I understand.
My advice was just to help you get the work done. I use different versions of Inkscape for their different possibilities. For example, Inkscape 1.0 has the pencil with pressure sensitivity, which I love. But the bugs in 1.0 make me use 0.92.4 by default.
Same problem for me. I reduce number of threads to 1 in render option and it's seem to have resolve the problem for me. I have a i7 6700k cpu running under Win 10. Maybe it's possible to tweak it more but it's what i have for the moment. hope it's will help.
Not sure how this idea fits onto the Mac, but I will try his for sure. I can't speak of Inkscape "performance" on macOS anymore; it's more like where snail&turtle say Good Night. 😴
I tried 1.1 the other day on Windows. It was unusable slow, see my video, posted on IRC. Eventually someone suggested trying out version 0.92, which works smoothly. It's a great piece of software. Now I wonder: What causes the slowness in version 1.1?
Responsiveness is important to me when working with graphics software. In the 90s I used Micrografx Designer, later Xara, then Affinity. All of them, and expecially Xara, are extremely fast. Now I'm surprised seeing that even moving a solid rectangle is super sluggish with InkScape 1.1. That has been fast since the availability of 2D accelerated graphics cards in the 90s. Before that, the CPU had to do pixel manipulation in graphics memory, which of course was slow. On the PC with VGA and below, there was not even support for sprites, like on some home computers. But that's the 80s and early 90s.
I am also experiencing incredibly slow responses with 1.1. I have a brand new (2 weeks) hp Spectre laptop with pretty beefy components... so there shouldn't be any issues as far as the PC goes. As mentioned above, just moving shapes around is very laggy, as is zooming in or out. Today, when opening a VERY simple file (literally, just the numbers 2 and 5 - both 8" tall & 4" wide, using a basic font & colored white), there was easily an 8 - 10 second delay between clicking the file to open, and when Inkscape finally opened.
Is downgrading to 0.92 still the recommended solution? I sure do love the new things added to 1.1... but it clearly isn't working for me (as is). Fingers crossed there's a setting to change, or an update patch - heck, I'd even be willing to try it if its a beta patch!
Admittedly, I'm quite relieved to find this thread. I was fearful something terrible was going on with my new PC, be it a hardware issue, or a crazy virus (though, not sure how that would have happened... it's pretty locked down).
Thanks!
Cathy
Performance is a broad issue on the bug tracker:
https://gitlab.com/groups/inkscape/-/issues?scope=all&state=opened&search=performance
Maybe skim through and see how your issues may be similar.
I also suggest resetting the preferences in the System section of the preferences dialog.
I clicked thru a few other forum threads & eventually got directed to this memory growth issue (https://gitlab.com/inkscape/inkscape/-/issues/2585), and I'm fairly certain the Document Properties panel was open when I experienced the slow response when moving objects & zooming/scrolling. Just tried to reduplicate the slow response with & without the document properties panel open and it definitely seems to be the culprit, so I now know how to avoid that issue for the time being.
Not sure about the super slow open, but that isn't a work-stopping issue for me. I can deal with that. Maybe it's still somehow related to the memory growth/leak noted in the link above & will resolve in a future 1.2 version. **fingers crossed** I'll still scroll thru the bug tracker link you provided to see if I can find any of the other "quirky" issues I've been experiencing with 1.1.
Thanks Tyler! Appreciate the response!!
C ~
Same for me. Adobe Illustrator is very fast, no lagging, is capable of editing large SVGs without a problem. But when I try to edit the same files in Inkscape, it's slow, laggy, often unresponsive. Also fonts selection is way slower than on Illustrator, when I scroll it on inkscape it's slow and lagging (I have over 3000 fonts). I really want to use inkscape, but I just can't due to it being slow and lagging.
It depends greatly on OS and origin of file.
1.2 is now released and has performance fixes.
https://wiki.inkscape.org/wiki/index.php?title=Release_notes/1.2
Give it a spin and chime back with details.
I already tried 1.2 before posting, some svgs even looked pixelated and took some time to render vectorized version. My CPU is Intel i7-4700MQ and running Windows 10 64bit with 16 GB RAM.
But here is a gif of how font browsing feels like.
Thank you for sharing the gif. For the text-bar performance, I'd try turning off the font samples in the menu. See checkboxes in the text preferences (pic)
WRT large svg files, an example file would be very helpful.
Thanks. It is faster now. Also seems that editing is a bit faster and not lagging as much now.
That´s a rude workaround - I really can´t specify fonts alone by its naming. But I am glad not to be affected (M1Mac):
3000 is a lot of fonts.
I have lag even doing simple things like moving a png with some text over it, and my PC is not that bad. And I think that reducing threads to 1 in the render settings seems to improve the experience a little.
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