HUGE PS File .. How To Reduce?

D
Posted By
Dee
Oct 29, 2004
Views
887
Replies
28
Status
Closed
Hiya,

Just wondering … I have a PS file that has 6 layers, each layer with a few effects added. This file is a whopping 39 MB! The second one I have is similiar and is 26 MB.

I have it set at 8.50 x 11 … full size sheet. I have allot of RAM, allot of disk space, and a really fast CPU .. just upgraded everything, but STILL it takes forever to move items, apply effects and save things working with this document.

My question: is there any way to make this file smaller … well, I know I can reduce the resolution, or size .. but won’t that compromise the quality of the final output, as in printing?

Thanks!
Dee

How to Master Sharpening in Photoshop

Give your photos a professional finish with sharpening in Photoshop. Learn to enhance details, create contrast, and prepare your images for print, web, and social media.

B
bagal
Oct 29, 2004
Hey-ho too true bug files consume lots of cpu cycles

If you set image to best resolution it will slow down even more

Answers? I really don’t have any but to observe that many image browsers would balk at a 24MB image

The fact you can work in it however slowly is good testament IMHO of PSCS

Aerticus

"Dee" wrote in message
Hiya,

Just wondering … I have a PS file that has 6 layers, each layer with a few
effects added. This file is a whopping 39 MB! The second one I have is similiar and is 26 MB.

I have it set at 8.50 x 11 … full size sheet. I have allot of RAM, allot
of disk space, and a really fast CPU .. just upgraded everything, but STILL
it takes forever to move items, apply effects and save things working with this document.

My question: is there any way to make this file smaller … well, I know I can reduce the resolution, or size .. but won’t that compromise the quality
of the final output, as in printing?

Thanks!
Dee

LL
Leonard Lehew
Oct 29, 2004
On Fri, 29 Oct 2004 15:02:29 GMT, "Dee" wrote:

Hiya,

Just wondering … I have a PS file that has 6 layers, each layer with a few effects added. This file is a whopping 39 MB! The second one I have is similiar and is 26 MB.

I have it set at 8.50 x 11 … full size sheet. I have allot of RAM, allot of disk space, and a really fast CPU .. just upgraded everything, but STILL it takes forever to move items, apply effects and save things working with this document.

My question: is there any way to make this file smaller … well, I know I can reduce the resolution, or size .. but won’t that compromise the quality of the final output, as in printing?

Thanks!
Dee
After you are reasonably through with your editing, you can flatten the layers, of course. If you haven’t already done so change the "maximize PSD compatibility" preference to never. If this is on, the file size is substantially increased, and unless you have other programs trying to read the PSD format, it is unnecessary.

Changing the image size does not make any difference unless you resample the image. The file size is mostly a function of the number of pixels, the color depth, and the number of layers and extra channels.
E
edjh
Oct 29, 2004
Dee wrote:
Hiya,

Just wondering … I have a PS file that has 6 layers, each layer with a few effects added. This file is a whopping 39 MB! The second one I have is similiar and is 26 MB.

I have it set at 8.50 x 11 … full size sheet. I have allot of RAM, allot of disk space, and a really fast CPU .. just upgraded everything, but STILL it takes forever to move items, apply effects and save things working with this document.

My question: is there any way to make this file smaller … well, I know I can reduce the resolution, or size .. but won’t that compromise the quality of the final output, as in printing?

Thanks!
Dee
These are not really large file sizes for a document with those dimensions with 6 layers assuming 300+ ppi. One thing you can do is Select All and go to Image>Crop. That will get rid of any data you have that is past the edges of the document. But I wouldn’t expect too much.


Comic book sketches and artwork:
http://www.sover.net/~hannigan/edjh.html
Comics art for sale:
http://www.sover.net/~hannigan/batsale.html
N
nomail
Oct 29, 2004
Leonard Lehew wrote:

Just wondering … I have a PS file that has 6 layers, each layer with a few effects added. This file is a whopping 39 MB! The second one I have is similiar and is 26 MB.

I have it set at 8.50 x 11 … full size sheet. I have allot of RAM, allot of disk space, and a really fast CPU .. just upgraded everything, but STILL it takes forever to move items, apply effects and save things working with this document.

My question: is there any way to make this file smaller … well, I know I can reduce the resolution, or size .. but won’t that compromise the quality of the final output, as in printing?

Thanks!
Dee
After you are reasonably through with your editing, you can flatten the layers, of course. If you haven’t already done so change the "maximize PSD compatibility" preference to never. If this is on, the file size is substantially increased, and unless you have other programs trying to read the PSD format, it is unnecessary.

Sorry, but this is nonsense as an answer to the OP’s question. "Maximize PSD compatibility" saves a flattened version with your file, so the file size *ON DISK* becomes larger. However, the file size *IN MEMORY* when opened does not change. Consequently, this option does not influence the (lack of) speed of Photoshop during editting. And that was the question!


Johan W. Elzenga johan<<at>>johanfoto.nl Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/
N
nomail
Oct 29, 2004
Dee wrote:

Just wondering … I have a PS file that has 6 layers, each layer with a few effects added. This file is a whopping 39 MB! The second one I have is similiar and is 26 MB.

I have it set at 8.50 x 11 … full size sheet. I have allot of RAM, allot of disk space, and a really fast CPU .. just upgraded everything, but STILL it takes forever to move items, apply effects and save things working with this document.

My question: is there any way to make this file smaller … well, I know I can reduce the resolution, or size .. but won’t that compromise the quality of the final output, as in printing?

I wouldn’t call 39MB ‘whopping’. In fact, 39 MB is not that huge at all. If your computer has troubles with that kind of file size, your RAM may not be that much and/or your CPU may not be that fast.


Johan W. Elzenga johan<<at>>johanfoto.nl Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/
V
Voivod
Oct 29, 2004
On Fri, 29 Oct 2004 15:02:29 GMT, "Dee"
scribbled:

I have allot of RAM, allot
of disk space, and a really fast CPU

And no spell checker.
B
bagal
Oct 29, 2004
Hail Oh Mighty One

(c’mon lads – on your knees The One (all Hail) is here again)

It is good to see you posting Voivod.

Hoping all is well

Aerticus

"Voivod" wrote in message
On Fri, 29 Oct 2004 15:02:29 GMT, "Dee"
scribbled:

I have allot of RAM, allot
of disk space, and a really fast CPU

And no spell checker.
VS
very_simple
Oct 29, 2004
Dee wrote:

Hiya,

Just wondering … I have a PS file that has 6 layers, each layer with a few effects added. This file is a whopping 39 MB! The second one I have is similiar and is 26 MB.

I have it set at 8.50 x 11 … full size sheet. I have allot of RAM, allot of disk space, and a really fast CPU .. just upgraded everything, but STILL it takes forever to move items, apply effects and save things working with this document.

My question: is there any way to make this file smaller … well, I know I can reduce the resolution, or size .. but won’t that compromise the quality of the final output, as in printing?

Thanks!
Dee
Instead of trying to reduce the file size I’d be more inclined to discover why your PC with "lots of RAM" and a "really fast CPU" can’t handle a small file like yours.

I frequently work with 150 MB files on a workstation with a P4, 3.0 GHz CPU and 1,000 MB of RAM. Your files should be a breeze on such a PC.

If you shut down the browse function of CS after you’ve loaded your image(s), you can work faster but the real thing is to buy a separate, well cached hard drive to use as a swap file for Photoshop. A ‘J’ series WD drive is good.

Your problem sounds to me as if you have the swap file (scratch disk) on the same volume as Windows and PS. This can reduce the speed you can work at quite substantially.

If you don’t feel like spending on a new drive, re-partition your existing one to give you 2 extra virtual drives. One of about 5 gig. Set PS to use that drive as it’s scratch disk and don’t limit the size of it.

Set Windows to use the other drive as it’s swap file (virtual memory) and fix the size of (Windows) swap file on the primary drive to 64 meg and the new swap file to 4095 Meg on the remaining drive. You won’t see much performance improvement (if any) until you start using files over 20 meg in size in Photoshop but these setting will increase the ability of PS to handle Microsoft’s memory paging method of accessing a lot of RAM.

On the more Technical front… Windows doesn’t have an absolute limit on how much memory it or programs running under it can use. Instead it uses a method of dumping memory contents to the hard drive (a swap file) so it can free up whatever RAM it has for priority tasks.

Window begins to swap out it’s RAM contents long before it fills available RAM and it is this process which slows down the computer. By fixing the swap file size, Windows doesn’t have to thrash all over the drive looking for fragments it can place as it swaps data back and forth. The same goes for Photoshop in spades.

When you put both swap files on the same drive as the program, the system spends a lot of time thrashing around on the drive looking for where it can place data. Stop that from happening and the whole thing will go a lot faster. The file browser of CS is a real speed hog. Shut it down or don’t use it at all and your system will run faster.

Doug
D
Dee
Oct 29, 2004
Hey Leonard,

Thing is, I need to keep this as a PS file in layers … to continue to work on it, and to always have it in the format where I can change things … add things, or delete things.

Thank you for responding!

Dee

"Leonard Lehew" wrote in message
On Fri, 29 Oct 2004 15:02:29 GMT, "Dee" wrote:
Hiya,

Just wondering … I have a PS file that has 6 layers, each layer with a
few
effects added. This file is a whopping 39 MB! The second one I have is similiar and is 26 MB.

I have it set at 8.50 x 11 … full size sheet. I have allot of RAM,
allot
of disk space, and a really fast CPU .. just upgraded everything, but
STILL
it takes forever to move items, apply effects and save things working
with
this document.

My question: is there any way to make this file smaller … well, I know
I
can reduce the resolution, or size .. but won’t that compromise the
quality
of the final output, as in printing?

Thanks!
Dee
After you are reasonably through with your editing, you can flatten the layers, of course. If you haven’t already done so change the "maximize PSD compatibility" preference to never. If this is on, the file size is substantially increased, and unless you have other programs trying to read the PSD format, it is unnecessary.
Changing the image size does not make any difference unless you resample the image. The file size is mostly a function of the number of pixels, the color depth, and the number of layers and extra channels.
D
Dee
Oct 29, 2004
Hi Ed,

That’s strange, I never knew about cropping in that manner … it did reduce one of the files documents quite a bit … but not the other.

Thank you!
Dee

"edjh" wrote in message
Dee wrote:
Hiya,

Just wondering … I have a PS file that has 6 layers, each layer with a
few
effects added. This file is a whopping 39 MB! The second one I have is similiar and is 26 MB.

I have it set at 8.50 x 11 … full size sheet. I have allot of RAM,
allot
of disk space, and a really fast CPU .. just upgraded everything, but
STILL
it takes forever to move items, apply effects and save things working
with
this document.

My question: is there any way to make this file smaller … well, I know
I
can reduce the resolution, or size .. but won’t that compromise the
quality
of the final output, as in printing?

Thanks!
Dee
These are not really large file sizes for a document with those dimensions with 6 layers assuming 300+ ppi. One thing you can do is Select All and go to Image>Crop. That will get rid of any data you have that is past the edges of the document. But I wouldn’t expect too much.

Comic book sketches and artwork:
http://www.sover.net/~hannigan/edjh.html
Comics art for sale:
http://www.sover.net/~hannigan/batsale.html
D
Dee
Oct 29, 2004
Hiya Johan,

Just to let you guys know … this is what I have:

AMD Athlon XP 2800+
2.08 GHz
1.00 GB of RAM

I also have a 40 Gig Hard Drive partitioned into 3 drives: C (13) D (13) and E (9.30) or something like that.

Dee

"Johan W. Elzenga" wrote in message
Dee wrote:

Just wondering … I have a PS file that has 6 layers, each layer with a
few
effects added. This file is a whopping 39 MB! The second one I have is similiar and is 26 MB.

I have it set at 8.50 x 11 … full size sheet. I have allot of RAM,
allot
of disk space, and a really fast CPU .. just upgraded everything, but
STILL
it takes forever to move items, apply effects and save things working
with
this document.

My question: is there any way to make this file smaller … well, I know
I
can reduce the resolution, or size .. but won’t that compromise the
quality
of the final output, as in printing?

I wouldn’t call 39MB ‘whopping’. In fact, 39 MB is not that huge at all. If your computer has troubles with that kind of file size, your RAM may not be that much and/or your CPU may not be that fast.


Johan W. Elzenga johan<<at>>johanfoto.nl Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/
D
Dee
Oct 29, 2004
Hi Voivod:

Actually, I’m usually a very good speller and never use the spell check. ‘wink’

I’ve been extremely sick for a month … am under extreme amounts of stress for various reasons .. and the fact that I used the spelling (allot) instead of (alot) isn’t the worse thing I can think of. *smile*

Have a good evening …

Dee

"Voivod" wrote in message
On Fri, 29 Oct 2004 15:02:29 GMT, "Dee"
scribbled:

I have allot of RAM, allot
of disk space, and a really fast CPU

And no spell checker.
D
Dee
Oct 29, 2004
"call me any name" wrote in message
Dee wrote:

Hiya,

Just wondering … I have a PS file that has 6 layers, each layer with a
few
effects added. This file is a whopping 39 MB! The second one I have is similiar and is 26 MB.

I have it set at 8.50 x 11 … full size sheet. I have allot of RAM,
allot
of disk space, and a really fast CPU .. just upgraded everything, but
STILL
it takes forever to move items, apply effects and save things working
with
this document.

My question: is there any way to make this file smaller … well, I know
I
can reduce the resolution, or size .. but won’t that compromise the
quality
of the final output, as in printing?

Thanks!
Dee
Instead of trying to reduce the file size I’d be more inclined to discover why your PC with "lots of RAM" and a "really fast CPU" can’t handle a small file like yours.

I frequently work with 150 MB files on a workstation with a P4, 3.0 GHz CPU and 1,000 MB of RAM. Your files should be a breeze on such a PC.
If you shut down the browse function of CS after you’ve loaded your image(s), you can work faster but the real thing is to buy a separate, well cached hard drive to use as a swap file for Photoshop. A ‘J’ series WD drive is good.

Your problem sounds to me as if you have the swap file (scratch disk) on the same volume as Windows and PS. This can reduce the speed you can work at quite substantially.

If you don’t feel like spending on a new drive, re-partition your existing one to give you 2 extra virtual drives. One of about 5 gig. Set PS to use that drive as it’s scratch disk and don’t limit the size of it.
Set Windows to use the other drive as it’s swap file (virtual memory) and fix the size of (Windows) swap file on the primary drive to 64 meg and the new swap file to 4095 Meg on the remaining drive. You won’t see much performance improvement (if any) until you start using files over 20 meg in size in Photoshop but these setting will increase the ability of PS to handle Microsoft’s memory paging method of accessing a lot of
RAM.
On the more Technical front… Windows doesn’t have an absolute limit on how much memory it or programs running under it can use. Instead it uses a method of dumping memory contents to the hard drive (a swap file) so it can free up whatever RAM it has for priority tasks.

Window begins to swap out it’s RAM contents long before it fills available RAM and it is this process which slows down the computer. By fixing the swap file size, Windows doesn’t have to thrash all over the drive looking for fragments it can place as it swaps data back and forth. The same goes for Photoshop in spades.

When you put both swap files on the same drive as the program, the system spends a lot of time thrashing around on the drive looking for where it can place data. Stop that from happening and the whole thing will go a lot faster. The file browser of CS is a real speed hog. Shut it down or don’t use it at all and your system will run faster.
Doug

Hi Doug,

Here’s what I have on my computer:

AMD Athlon XP 2800+
2.08 GHz
1.00 GB of RAM

I also have a 40 Gig Hard Drive partitioned into 3 drives: C (13) D (13) and E (9.30) or something like that.

I guess I’m not use to working with large files, so they seemed large to me … but in perspective, I guess they’re really not. I think the problem I’ve been having is manipulating the layers, saving, etc. .. being so slow. I have a couple of questions on your comments:

1. How do I shut down the ‘brose’ function?

2. As you can see, my drive is partitioned: now I need to absorb and understand all you said about ‘scratch’ files, etc….. would you care to go into a little more depth, or should I say, explain that in really easy terms .. so I can do this?

3. How do I shut down the ‘file browser’?

Thanks a bunch!
Dee
D
Dee
Oct 29, 2004
"Dee" wrote in message
"call me any name" wrote in message
Dee wrote:

Hiya,

Just wondering … I have a PS file that has 6 layers, each layer with
a
few
effects added. This file is a whopping 39 MB! The second one I have
is
similiar and is 26 MB.

I have it set at 8.50 x 11 … full size sheet. I have allot of RAM,
allot
of disk space, and a really fast CPU .. just upgraded everything, but
STILL
it takes forever to move items, apply effects and save things working
with
this document.

My question: is there any way to make this file smaller … well, I
know
I
can reduce the resolution, or size .. but won’t that compromise the
quality
of the final output, as in printing?

Thanks!
Dee
Instead of trying to reduce the file size I’d be more inclined to discover why your PC with "lots of RAM" and a "really fast CPU" can’t handle a small file like yours.

I frequently work with 150 MB files on a workstation with a P4, 3.0 GHz CPU and 1,000 MB of RAM. Your files should be a breeze on such a PC.
If you shut down the browse function of CS after you’ve loaded your image(s), you can work faster but the real thing is to buy a separate, well cached hard drive to use as a swap file for Photoshop. A ‘J’ series WD drive is good.

Your problem sounds to me as if you have the swap file (scratch disk) on the same volume as Windows and PS. This can reduce the speed you can work at quite substantially.

If you don’t feel like spending on a new drive, re-partition your existing one to give you 2 extra virtual drives. One of about 5 gig. Set PS to use that drive as it’s scratch disk and don’t limit the size of
it.
Set Windows to use the other drive as it’s swap file (virtual memory) and fix the size of (Windows) swap file on the primary drive to 64 meg and the new swap file to 4095 Meg on the remaining drive. You won’t see much performance improvement (if any) until you start using files over 20 meg in size in Photoshop but these setting will increase the ability of PS to handle Microsoft’s memory paging method of accessing a lot of
RAM.
On the more Technical front… Windows doesn’t have an absolute limit on how much memory it or programs running under it can use. Instead it uses a method of dumping memory contents to the hard drive (a swap file) so it can free up whatever RAM it has for priority tasks.

Window begins to swap out it’s RAM contents long before it fills available RAM and it is this process which slows down the computer. By fixing the swap file size, Windows doesn’t have to thrash all over the drive looking for fragments it can place as it swaps data back and forth. The same goes for Photoshop in spades.

When you put both swap files on the same drive as the program, the system spends a lot of time thrashing around on the drive looking for where it can place data. Stop that from happening and the whole thing will go a lot faster. The file browser of CS is a real speed hog. Shut it down or don’t use it at all and your system will run faster.
Doug

Hi Doug,

Here’s what I have on my computer:

AMD Athlon XP 2800+
2.08 GHz
1.00 GB of RAM

I also have a 40 Gig Hard Drive partitioned into 3 drives: C (13) D (13) and E (9.30) or something like that.

I guess I’m not use to working with large files, so they seemed large to
me
.. but in perspective, I guess they’re really not. I think the problem
I’ve
been having is manipulating the layers, saving, etc. .. being so slow. I have a couple of questions on your comments:

1. How do I shut down the ‘brose’ function?

2. As you can see, my drive is partitioned: now I need to absorb and understand all you said about ‘scratch’ files, etc….. would you care to go into a little more depth, or should I say, explain that in really easy terms .. so I can do this?

3. How do I shut down the ‘file browser’?

Thanks a bunch!
Dee

OH MY! OH MY! I spelled the word ‘browse’ wrong!!! Please oh please don’t have my head! *wink*

Dee
C
Corey
Oct 29, 2004
36 MB shouldn’t really be that big of a deal. I work with files much larger and have no problem. If I were you, I would check your preferences and see how much RAM is allocated to Photoshop and maybe reduce the number of History states.

Peadge 🙂

"Dee" wrote in message
Hiya,

Just wondering … I have a PS file that has 6 layers, each layer with a
few
effects added. This file is a whopping 39 MB! The second one I have is similiar and is 26 MB.

I have it set at 8.50 x 11 … full size sheet. I have allot of RAM,
allot
of disk space, and a really fast CPU .. just upgraded everything, but
STILL
it takes forever to move items, apply effects and save things working with this document.

My question: is there any way to make this file smaller … well, I know I can reduce the resolution, or size .. but won’t that compromise the
quality
of the final output, as in printing?

Thanks!
Dee

T
technoaussie
Oct 29, 2004
Dee Wrote:
Hi Doug,

Here’s what I have on my computer:

AMD Athlon XP 2800+
2.08 GHz
1.00 GB of RAM

I also have a 40 Gig Hard Drive partitioned into 3 drives: C (13) D (13) and E (9.30) or something like that.

I guess I’m not use to working with large files, so they seemed large to

me

.. but in perspective, I guess they’re really not. I think the problem

I’ve

been having is manipulating the layers, saving, etc. .. being so slow. I have a couple of questions on your comments:

1. How do I shut down the ‘brose’ function?

2. As you can see, my drive is partitioned: now I need to absorb and understand all you said about ‘scratch’ files, etc….. would you care to go into a little more depth, or should I say, explain that in really easy terms .. so I can do this?

3. How do I shut down the ‘file browser’?

Thanks a bunch!
Dee
Sorry to tell you this Dee… If you can’t manage the setup of your PC, maybe it’s time to call a mobile technician who can? The browser of Photoshop is the part that lets you browse your PC for a file to open. It has it’s own ‘X’ in the top right hand corner which will shut it down. The other stuff presumes you have a basic knowledge of your PC. From your reply it doesn’t seem the case.

You can find about the swap file size with Windows help and access the parts to alter from the control panel under system, virtual memory. If you can’t see the system icon in the control panel, switch to classic view (XP users).

Photoshop has to be configured after installation for optimum performance… Read the manual and figure it out because mobile technicians will charge you a heap every time you call them. A step by step tutorial is out of the question in a news group.

Doug
S
Stephan
Oct 29, 2004
Dee wrote:
Hiya Johan,

Just to let you guys know … this is what I have:

AMD Athlon XP 2800+
2.08 GHz
1.00 GB of RAM

I also have a 40 Gig Hard Drive partitioned into 3 drives: C (13) D (13) and E (9.30) or something like that.
That might be the problem
You have only one drive and not that much memory
Get another drive (fast one)and install it on the other channel. It is a very bad idea to have your OS and your work on the same drive in the first place, you’ll discover that by yourself one day if you don’t believe me now
Give PS enough RAM in preferences and chose the second drive for your swap files.

I have a more modest chip than yours, Athlon2600, 50% more RAM than you and I routinely work with stitched panoramas that are often over 200MB and PS is plenty fast.

Stephan
E
edjh
Oct 30, 2004
Dee wrote:
Hi Ed,

That’s strange, I never knew about cropping in that manner … it did reduce one of the files documents quite a bit … but not the other.
Thank you!
Dee

"edjh" wrote in message

Dee wrote:

Hiya,

Just wondering … I have a PS file that has 6 layers, each layer with a

few

effects added. This file is a whopping 39 MB! The second one I have is similiar and is 26 MB.

I have it set at 8.50 x 11 … full size sheet. I have allot of RAM,

allot

of disk space, and a really fast CPU .. just upgraded everything, but

STILL

it takes forever to move items, apply effects and save things working

with

this document.

My question: is there any way to make this file smaller … well, I know

I

can reduce the resolution, or size .. but won’t that compromise the

quality

of the final output, as in printing?

Thanks!
Dee

These are not really large file sizes for a document with those dimensions with 6 layers assuming 300+ ppi. One thing you can do is Select All and go to Image>Crop. That will get rid of any data you have that is past the edges of the document. But I wouldn’t expect too much.

Comic book sketches and artwork:
http://www.sover.net/~hannigan/edjh.html
Comics art for sale:
http://www.sover.net/~hannigan/batsale.html
Sometimes you might have a repeating pattern or some other image data which goes on beyond the bounds of the document. So when that’s cropped out naturally the file size is made smaller.


Comic book sketches and artwork:
http://www.sover.net/~hannigan/edjh.html
Comics art for sale:
http://www.sover.net/~hannigan/batsale.html
H
Hecate
Oct 30, 2004
On Fri, 29 Oct 2004 15:02:29 GMT, "Dee" wrote:

Hiya,

Just wondering … I have a PS file that has 6 layers, each layer with a few effects added. This file is a whopping 39 MB! The second one I have is similiar and is 26 MB.

I have it set at 8.50 x 11 … full size sheet. I have allot of RAM, allot of disk space, and a really fast CPU .. just upgraded everything, but STILL it takes forever to move items, apply effects and save things working with this document.

My question: is there any way to make this file smaller … well, I know I can reduce the resolution, or size .. but won’t that compromise the quality of the final output, as in printing?

Thanks!
Dee
First, that isn’t a big image. Images don’t even start getting big till you’re over the 100Mb mark. 😉

You can save the image as Tiff using LZW compression. That’ll save space if that’s what you’re after. But if you’re having problems coping with an image that small there’s something wrong with your system.



Hecate – The Real One

veni, vidi, reliqui
D
Dee
Oct 30, 2004
"edjh" wrote in message
Dee wrote:
Hi Ed,

That’s strange, I never knew about cropping in that manner … it did
reduce
one of the files documents quite a bit … but not the other.
Thank you!
Dee

"edjh" wrote in message

Dee wrote:

Hiya,

Just wondering … I have a PS file that has 6 layers, each layer with
a
few

effects added. This file is a whopping 39 MB! The second one I have
is
similiar and is 26 MB.

I have it set at 8.50 x 11 … full size sheet. I have allot of RAM,

allot

of disk space, and a really fast CPU .. just upgraded everything, but

STILL

it takes forever to move items, apply effects and save things working

with

this document.

My question: is there any way to make this file smaller … well, I
know
I

can reduce the resolution, or size .. but won’t that compromise the

quality

of the final output, as in printing?

Thanks!
Dee

These are not really large file sizes for a document with those dimensions with 6 layers assuming 300+ ppi. One thing you can do is Select All and go to Image>Crop. That will get rid of any data you have that is past the edges of the document. But I wouldn’t expect too much.

Comic book sketches and artwork:
http://www.sover.net/~hannigan/edjh.html
Comics art for sale:
http://www.sover.net/~hannigan/batsale.html
Sometimes you might have a repeating pattern or some other image data which goes on beyond the bounds of the document. So when that’s cropped out naturally the file size is made smaller.


Comic book sketches and artwork:
http://www.sover.net/~hannigan/edjh.html
Comics art for sale:
http://www.sover.net/~hannigan/batsale.html

Yup, that’s exactly what I had … repeats of the same item … and it extended way over the edge of the actual document. Thanks so much for that tip!

Dee
D
Dee
Oct 30, 2004
"Stephan" wrote in message
Dee wrote:
Hiya Johan,

Just to let you guys know … this is what I have:

AMD Athlon XP 2800+
2.08 GHz
1.00 GB of RAM

I also have a 40 Gig Hard Drive partitioned into 3 drives: C (13) D
(13)
and E (9.30) or something like that.
That might be the problem
You have only one drive and not that much memory
Get another drive (fast one)and install it on the other channel. It is a very bad idea to have your OS and your work on the same drive in the first place, you’ll discover that by yourself one day if you don’t believe me now
Give PS enough RAM in preferences and chose the second drive for your swap files.

I have a more modest chip than yours, Athlon2600, 50% more RAM than you and I routinely work with stitched panoramas that are often over 200MB and PS is plenty fast.

Stephan

Thanks so much Stephan!

Making note of all that information …

Dee
D
Dee
Oct 30, 2004
"…" wrote in message
Dee Wrote:
Hi Doug,

Here’s what I have on my computer:

AMD Athlon XP 2800+
2.08 GHz
1.00 GB of RAM

I also have a 40 Gig Hard Drive partitioned into 3 drives: C (13) D
(13)
and E (9.30) or something like that.

I guess I’m not use to working with large files, so they seemed large to

me

.. but in perspective, I guess they’re really not. I think the problem

I’ve

been having is manipulating the layers, saving, etc. .. being so slow.
I
have a couple of questions on your comments:

1. How do I shut down the ‘brose’ function?

2. As you can see, my drive is partitioned: now I need to absorb and understand all you said about ‘scratch’ files, etc….. would you care
to
go into a little more depth, or should I say, explain that in really
easy
terms .. so I can do this?

3. How do I shut down the ‘file browser’?

Thanks a bunch!
Dee
Sorry to tell you this Dee… If you can’t manage the setup of your PC, maybe it’s time to call a mobile technician who can? The browser of Photoshop is the part that lets you browse your PC for a file to open. It has it’s own ‘X’ in the top right hand corner which will shut it down. The other stuff presumes you have a basic knowledge of your PC. From your reply it doesn’t seem the case.

You can find about the swap file size with Windows help and access the parts to alter from the control panel under system, virtual memory. If you can’t see the system icon in the control panel, switch to classic view (XP users).

Photoshop has to be configured after installation for optimum performance… Read the manual and figure it out because mobile technicians will charge you a heap every time you call them. A step by step tutorial is out of the question in a news group.

Doug

Hey Doug!

LOL … no no .. I KNOW how to shut down PS browser like that! I thought you meant there was a way to shut it down permanently .. so it would not open again the next time PS opens up. Guess we just misunderstood each other…

I appreciate the information on the swap file … etc. etc… will read up on that and see what I can do.

Dee
D
Dee
Oct 30, 2004
"Peadge" wrote in message
36 MB shouldn’t really be that big of a deal. I work with files much
larger
and have no problem. If I were you, I would check your preferences and see how much RAM is allocated to Photoshop and maybe reduce the number of History states.

Peadge 🙂

Will check those things also …. Thanks!

Dee
N
nomail
Oct 30, 2004
Dee wrote:

That might be the problem
You have only one drive and not that much memory
Get another drive (fast one)and install it on the other channel. It is a very bad idea to have your OS and your work on the same drive in the first place, you’ll discover that by yourself one day if you don’t believe me now
Give PS enough RAM in preferences and chose the second drive for your swap files.

I have a more modest chip than yours, Athlon2600, 50% more RAM than you and I routinely work with stitched panoramas that are often over 200MB and PS is plenty fast.

Stephan

Thanks so much Stephan!

Making note of all that information …

Dee

I think RAM is not your problem if you have 1 GB already, and increasing it to 1.5 GB may not do much. Photoshop needs 3 to 4 times the amount of RAM that your image occupies as a minimum, so if you work with 30 to 40 MB images, 1 GB RAM is plenty. But do make sure that Photoshop actually *gets* as much as 500 MB or so. Another hard drive, that you use for Photoshop as scratch disk, sounds like your first priority to me.


Johan W. Elzenga johan<<at>>johanfoto.nl Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/
C
Corey
Oct 30, 2004
Dee wrote:

LOL … no no .. I KNOW how to shut down PS browser like that! I thought you meant there was a way to shut it down permanently .. so it would not open again the next time PS opens up.

—————————————-

Clicking on the little X should prevent the File Browser panel from showing up next time you open Photoshop.
Do you dock your palettes to the palette well in the top right portion of Photoshop? It keeps them out of the way until you need them.

Peadge 🙂
LL
Leonard Lehew
Oct 30, 2004
On Fri, 29 Oct 2004 19:23:27 +0200, (Johan W.
Elzenga) wrote:

Sorry, but this is nonsense as an answer to the OP’s question. "Maximize PSD compatibility" saves a flattened version with your file, so the file size *ON DISK* becomes larger. However, the file size *IN MEMORY* when opened does not change. Consequently, this option does not influence the (lack of) speed of Photoshop during editting. And that was the question!
You’re right of course. I didn’t read the original posting as carefully as I should.

Thanks,

Leonard
N
neon
Nov 1, 2004
Hecate wrote:
On Fri, 29 Oct 2004 15:02:29 GMT, "Dee" wrote:

Hiya,

Just wondering … I have a PS file that has 6 layers, each layer with a few effects added. This file is a whopping 39 MB! The second one I have is similiar and is 26 MB.

I have it set at 8.50 x 11 … full size sheet. I have allot of RAM, allot of disk space, and a really fast CPU .. just upgraded everything, but STILL it takes forever to move items, apply effects and save things working with this document.

My question: is there any way to make this file smaller … well, I know I can reduce the resolution, or size .. but won’t that compromise the quality of the final output, as in printing?

Thanks!
Dee

First, that isn’t a big image. Images don’t even start getting big till you’re over the 100Mb mark. 😉

You can save the image as Tiff using LZW compression. That’ll save space if that’s what you’re after. But if you’re having problems coping with an image that small there’s something wrong with your system.



Hecate – The Real One

veni, vidi, reliqui
hecate’s right…something is wrong with your system.
my system:
1.6 G P4
512 M Ram 50% allocated to PS
NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 100/200 video card with 32M
Samsung Syncmaster 191T plus LCD monitor with analog connection Windows XP/SP1
1 – 40 G 7200rpm hard drive (not partitioned)
i consistently work with 50 – 70 meg images in PSD format exclusively with 5 – 20 layers.
PS CS runs great…fast, stable, etc. i frequently have other apps. running in the background also.
some things you might want to consider up front:
are you running XP with SP2? i’m not. there are zillions of issues with SP2
have you screwed around with your virtual memory settings? i let windows manage mine.
how plugged up (or healthy)is your hard drive? does it need to be defragged?
motherboard issues?
anti-virus software can cause problems (especially Norton). have you got any viruses, spyware?
etc., etc., etc.
really sounds like you’ve got a sick system.
CB
Curt Bousquet
Nov 1, 2004
neon wrote let it be known in
news:gEqhd.63759$:

Hiya,

Just wondering … I have a PS file that has 6 layers,
each layer with a few effects added. This file is a
whopping 39 MB! The second one I have is similiar and is 26 MB.

I have it set at 8.50 x 11 … full size sheet. I have
allot of RAM, allot of disk space, and a really fast CPU .. just upgraded everything, but STILL it takes forever to move items, apply effects and save things working with
this document.

You should also check where your scratch disks are set… Sometimes having the scratch disk set to use your system drive (C:\) can really slow things down.

I agree with another poster. A 39MB image is by no means large. You shouldn’t be noticing performance issues on your computer until the images is at least a few hundred MB.

When it is being really slow, what is your system doing? If you are using windows 2K or XP look at the Task Manager’s performance monitor. Is the CPU at 100%? If the CPU is NOT maxed out, it may be a hard drive or memory/bus speed issue. Also look at your process list in the task manager and stop any programs that are using tons of memory. Also sort the list by CPU usage and see if htere are any background tasks using too much CPU time. Try to boot ‘clean’ before starting
photoshop, not starting anything that you absolutely don’t need, even things like HP printer monitor software (memory and CPU hogs).

Another possibility is that you have some kind of
addware/spyware infecting your machine. This stuff will NOT be detected by antivirus programs and can bring a system to its knees. Look for ‘addaware’ or ‘spybot search and destroy’ online to detect and remove such things.

Talk about slow… I just finished doing an image for a client that needed to print at 8 feet by 14 feet, 300dpi. It was made up of 14 individual 6MP digital images. The final file, sent to them on DVD, was 1.2GB.

They originally asked me to FTP it to them, or attach it to an email until I educated them about file sizes 🙂

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