Expert: Kevin Stohlmeyer - 12/16/2008

Question
Hi Kevin,  I have Ill 13.0.2.  While working on a book cover illustration for a
class, I used several affects and created a pine tree with many layers of the
symbol dots. I began having problems with file preview time and Illustrator
low memory alarms.  Often it wouldn't preview at all but take me to outline
mode. A rep at a MAC store suggested taking the doc apart by layers to
figure out what the issue was. I have 230 Gigs of a 320 GIG HD available
running 4 GIGS of ram.  That doc size was about 80 MGS.  He checked out my
system and said everything was fine with it.  I ditched the symbol sprayer
tree, made my own very detailed pine tree, beginning with one needle, and
put it and it's parts into the symbol library for ease of repeat use.  Returning
to the cover file, i continued work on it with the four tress I created i visible
yet it still took about 6 minutes to save the file each time.  The total file size
is only about 40 mgs now.  At school I opened the file with all components
visible just fine the first time.  On a reopen later it came up in outline mode.  
That system had only 2 gigs of Ram.  I'm not sure what's causing the memory
problem, it doesn't occur in other CS programs (CS3) or with other files.  --
Also, if I delete the tree symbol library file after delinking the tree from the
symbols, will this cause a problem with the documents they are used in ?  
 Amazingly, it did print all the invisible trees in the document when I didn't
think they would show up.   
Any ides or suggestions on this slow down would be helpful and
appreciated.  Also a source of detailed instruction on creating, making and
saving symbols would be great.  The contacts i have don't use the library.  
Only advice I received was not to put such a detailed illustration into it.  I'm
not convinced that's the real problem, as I was having issues before I created
that.  But it's only been since building the book cover document.  

Thanks,  Julie

Answer
Hi Julie,

Usually the bigger culprit of memory drag down in Illustrator (or macs in general) are how many fonts you have installed in your HD. If you are not using a font management system, like Suitcase or FontExplorer, you may be losing RAM from that.

Specific to Illustrator though, it has nothing to do with how many symbols are in your doc or in the library. It may have more to do if you have run a lot of effects in your document, such as drop shadows, 3D, glows, etc. The fact that it is opening in outline mode from time to time usually is because of this.

The tree you created by hand is actually a larger drag down because it has to redraw all the individual needles instead of using symbols, which only has to deal with one.

40 Megs is slightly large for just vector art, unless you have raster art placed in the doc as well.


Symbols are easy. Create your symbol like any other shape in AI and when you are complete, select and drag the object into the symbols palette. To edit a symbol, just double click on it in you doc (not the library).

Thanks

Kevin