Bucket Fill slow after version 3.30

[shepcxa]

I would like to update to the newest version of PDN but every version after 3.30 seems to have a VERY slow bucket fill time.  Since I use this the most, I have to stick with 3.30 or lower in order to get anything done.  Can anyone tell me why this is or if there is a fix?

[Ego Eram Reputo]

I'm perplexed.  The Fill tool is always very fast on my system using the latest version.  Thousands of users here have not mentioned the tool being slow.

 

I suspect that your system is either old, slow (or both) or that you are filling an extremely complicated and/or large selection.

 

Please give us your system specs (Operating system, Service Packs, RAM, etc...,) and image size so we can try and diagnose the problem for you.

[shepcxa]

Thanks for the reply EER.  I was thinking the same thing, until I talked to a couple of friends who use PDN for the same reason I do and they also found the same result when going from 3.30 to a newer version.  We are using to bucket fill duct work shown on a construction document (color coding different systems).  It is a PDF saved as a TIFF and the file is less than 3 megs in size.  Some are very clear and clean and I wouldn't consider them detailed or complicated.  Pretty much filling in rectangles.  

 

I am working on an HP Pavilian DV7 laptop with the following specs...

 

Processor:       AMD A6-3400M APU with Radeon HD Graphics 1.4 GHz

RAM:                4.00 GB

System Type:   64-bit Operating System

Operating System:  Windows 7, Service Pack 1

 

Typical file starts as a PDF around 2mg with a drawing size of approximately 24 inches by 36 inches.  I "save as" and choose TIFF at 300dpi resolution.  Then from there I open in PDN and begin to bucket fill the duct work I am trying to color code.  Up to PDN 3.30 it fills very fast.  If I update to the newest version (or anything after 3.30) the bucket fill becomes very slow.  Other people I talk to doing this same thing (PDF saved as TIFF and using bucket fill) have seen the same slow down after version 3.30.  I don't know if it is an issue we are creating when we save the PDF as a TIFF or if we are using PDN the wrong way, or what.

 

What's weird is that I can uninstall any newer version of PDN and go back to version 3.30 and it becomes very fast again.  

 

I am also new to the forum so if I can figure out how to attach, or make a file available, I can provide a sample as well.  

 

Thanks again for the help!

[Ego Eram Reputo]

...

Typical file starts as a PDF around 2mg with a drawing size of approximately 24 inches by 36 inches.  I "save as" and choose TIFF at 300dpi resolution. 

 

Stop right there.  24 inches x 36 inches @ 300DPI = 7200pixels x 10800pixels.  That's a large image! 

 

I'd be interested in seeing one of these and trying it out myself.  Can you upload it to an image hosting site (Photobucket, imageShack...,) and post the link here?

 

More help on this: http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/topic/12193-how-to-use-images-in-your-posts-signatures-and-avatars/

[shepcxa]

OK, I couldn't upload the PDF to Photobucket but I could Save As the TIFF and upload that so here is a link...

 

http://s1317.photobucket.com/user/shepcxa/media/M2-0Revised3-12-13_zps7efc50cd.jpg.html 

 

If I use bucket fill on this drawing it fills very quickly in version 3.30.  If I upgrade to the newest version, it becomes very slow again. 

 

Thanks again!

[shepcxa]

OK, not sure the link worked.  Try this one....

 

http://i1317.photobucket.com/albums/t631/shepcxa/M2-0Revised3-12-13_zps7efc50cd.jpg

[pdnnoob]

Photobucket shrinks your image automatically for the web, so the picture you posted is 1024x682 pixels. The only site I've used that allows for images the size you are trying to upload is deviantart.

[shepcxa]

OK, working on uploading it to Deviantart now.  Then I will have to figure out how to share it.  Stay tuned.....

[shepcxa]

OK, I think if you go on deviantart ans search for M2-0 you will find it.

[pdnnoob]

Here's a link to the image for convenience:

http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2013/143/b/6/m2_0_revised_3_12_13_by_shepcxa-d66bwr4.png

[shepcxa]

Anyone been able to open this file in version 3.30 and bucket fill some areas, then open in the latest version of PDN and see a difference in fill speed?  I am still experiencing the issue on several different machines here.  Thanks in advance for any help.

[Rick Brewster]

Currently your best options are to get more RAM, and/or only keep open 1 image at a time. Or, scan at a lower DPI like 225 or 150 or something appropriate.

 

24" x 36" at 300dpi means each image is going to require about 1GB of memory* when opened in Paint.NET 3.5. The images on disk may be small but that's with a lot of compression. When Paint.NET loads it up, it has to decompress and convert to 32-bit pixels. You'll quickly fill up 4GB with those, at which point everything "spills" out to the disk instead (paging / virtual memory), which is probably why it's very very slow (disk is something like 10,000x slower than memory). 

 

RAM is super cheap, so I'd definitely look into that. You're already running 64-bit Windows, so you're all set there.

 

Paint.NET 4.0 will use less memory (significantly less in some cases), although we'll still have to see how well it handles this case.

 

* (24 x 300) x (36 x 300) x 4 x 3

[shepcxa]

Awesome, thanks Rick.  I just ordered more RAM so I should be up to 16GB by weeks end.  I will then update to the latest version and let you know how it works.  If it is still slow, I will keep on trucking with version 3.30 until 4.0 comes out.  Keep up the good work!!

[shepcxa]

OK, got my new RAM in and I am now running 16GB total.  Updated to 3.5.10 and still have the same issue.  Same file will bucket fill in a split second using version 3.30 and takes over two minutes for the same area to bucket fill in version 3.5.10 (or anything higher than 3.30).  

 

So, it looks like it's back to version 3.30 for now.  Thanks anyway everyone.  I will keep an eye out for 4.0 when it is released!!