Affinity Designer V2 getting really slow and laggy after some time

[nitro912gr]

Just wanted to add my 2 cents here.

I wish there was a way to use v2 files on v1 so I can move there till is fixed.

[Jimo]

Just adding my voice to this thread to say I'm experiencing the same thing - a build up of 'laggy' behaviour in Designer 2 over time.

I've particularly noticed it when using my graphics tablet - lines can be way behind what I'm trying to draw and there doesn't appear to be any reason why it should be getting so bad, and of course makes it particularly frustrating to use.

Closing the app and starting it up again fixes the problem, although on occasion the app doesn't restart and an inspection of task manager reveals that it thinks it is still running and I have to force quit before starting it up again.

Also, task manager has reported five-figure high memory usage before attempting to quit, but is back to a much lower four-figure memory usage on restarting, even with exactly the same working file open.

I haven't read every post in this thread - so has it already been suggested that the History could be the cause of the problem?

 

[Wil JF]

1 hour ago, nitro912gr said:

Just wanted to add my 2 cents here.

I wish there was a way to use v2 files on v1 so I can move there till is fixed.

Copy all layers and paste on a new document in V1, since you're not using V2 specific features.

[Aeromachinator]

57 minutes ago, MC909 said:

I'm quoting myself here becuase I have since found this not to be accurate. Today for the first time I worked with no slowdowns in Designer no matter how long it remained open, although I did have a random freeze crash which was not repeatable by repeating the same actions. On the older system the slowdown happened every time, without fail. Hopefully this happens again and I can try and narrow down what documents and what they have in common.

 

That's good to hear. DId anything change between this time and the previous slowdowns?

[Aeromachinator]

4 minutes ago, MC909 said:

Nothing I could figure out from memory or looking at recent the documents tab. Today I didn't have it open long enough... closing the app regularly has became a hard habit to break! I will report back as soon as I can add anything of value.

Gotcha. I had thought you were using the latest beta build (1769), because I've been running an instance of it on my computer for a few days without any slowdowns, so I was curious to know. Please do keep us updated!

[debraspicher]

Questions to ask ourselves as we work:

When using the programs, is it the type of lag that results from ALL general operations taking longer (menu actions, destructive changes, etc)? Try to keep your cursor off canvas as much as possible and use shortcuts to see if that time increases.

Or, is it the kind of lag that seems to only occur with regular canvas interaction (hovering, clicking, working with objects direct to canvas)? Try to think when it is actually sluggish.

If it's the processing time of things that require longer wait, that is quite informative. On the other hand, if processing time is the same on lengthier than average operations. Say a filter that used to take 15 seconds to process takes 4 minutes. If it's the same processing time, and it's only when applying changes to the canvas, then it could suggest issues with the "preview" or "display" hitting a bottleneck someplace.
 

I can't speak for others, but canvas interaction seems to be where the vast majority of my lag will come from. More Layers seem to slow preview. Especially Pixel Layers. Fast movement for brushstrokes is out of the question. The accuracy of the line is lost and introduces more sharp turns. It's not usable for fast movement when it is like this.

[Michu]

Debraspicher - Work with vector objects only. The slowdown of all operations (for example, selecting simple objects) applies to both selecting commands from the menu and shortcuts. It's not about the filters, but about the fact that it takes a few seconds to move a simple object after working for a while.

[thegary]

its the same in BETA as well.

check it out. They still haven't fixed it.

[DSGNDM]

Quote

Questions to ask ourselves as we work:

When using the programs, is it the type of lag that results from ALL general operations taking longer (menu actions, destructive changes, etc)? Try to keep your cursor off canvas as much as possible and use shortcuts to see if that time increases.

Or, is it the kind of lag that seems to only occur with regular canvas interaction (hovering, clicking, working with objects direct to canvas)? Try to think when it is actually sluggish.

If it's the processing time of things that require longer wait, that is quite informative. On the other hand, if processing time is the same on lengthier than average operations. Say a filter that used to take 15 seconds to process takes 4 minutes. If it's the same processing time, and it's only when applying changes to the canvas, then it could suggest issues with the "preview" or "display" hitting a bottleneck someplace.
 

I can't speak for others, but canvas interaction seems to be where the vast majority of my lag will come from. More Layers seem to slow preview. Especially Pixel Layers. Fast movement for brushstrokes is out of the question. The accuracy of the line is lost and introduces more sharp turns. It's not usable for fast movement when it is like this.

It happens just selecting a single basic element like a circle or square. Happens with ALL the objects, happens with every action in the viewer, like moving the canvas, zooming, and it's getting worse, from little annoying and after a while making the software unusable and a nightmare. And I'm telling you as a branding designer who makes just single vector elements in different art boards, but happens with every single file.

And the time has passed (like 5 o6 months) and still happened as the same day. This, for a software which is aspiring to fight illustrator, doesn't make any sense at all.
Serif don't fix the problem. I tried the MSI or EXE installation, in two computers (really different, laptop and desktop, Win10 and Win11...) and the problem still there.
I bought the V2 because of the fantastic work of Affinity with the V1 version, but I'm starting to think that if the problem is on Windows, They don't move a single hand to fix because they don't care about us, so I'll the same as a Windows and Android user. (That's a different topic, but Nomad Sculpt has given a slap of reality about the excuse of "it's very hard to develop a design app on Android")

Edited May 4, 2023 by DSGNDM
Adding quote

[DSGNDM]

On 4/28/2023 at 5:12 AM, thegary said:

its the same in BETA as well.

check it out. They still haven't fixed it.

Fantastic, so they don0t really care about a HUGE problem with the stability and performance of their software suite.
Never more Serif. I'll switch again to Adobe again, and that was your last chance.
Enjoy with the Mac users that you only care about.

[nitro912gr]

they said they are aware and are actively trying to fix it in the beta right now. How they don't care exactly?

[DSGNDM]

Well... 6 months to fix a HUGE performance problem and still with the same problem as the last user said in the BETA... Don't make me feel really confident about they really care about the problem. Believe me, if the problem had appeared in Mac, it would have solved months ago.

[nitro912gr]

we waited 7 years in illustrator bugs forum to get at least some response and finally get the thread changed to "active in development", for multithread support. 6 months? I can wait six months alright.

[Michu]

DSGNDM - Just because there is still a problem doesn't mean nothing is being done about it. Perhaps this is such a serious and complicated matter that it requires more work. This problem annoys me a lot, but let's not get extreme emotions. 

[DSGNDM]

19 hours ago, Michu said:

DSGNDM - Just because there is still a problem doesn't mean nothing is being done about it. Perhaps this is such a serious and complicated matter that it requires more work. This problem annoys me a lot, but let's not get extreme emotions. 

I have to insist on the point of TIME. Maybe for some users, more than 6 months is something good (If you compare with Illustrator).
For me, working every day with Designer and Photo has become a little nightmare and many times of closing, waiting, opening again, and just interrupting my creative process all the time. 6 months after the release is non-acceptable. Sorry, I'm just saying how I feel.

I don't know how big is the Affinity team, but if they are more than 20 people, that kind of core performance and stability problem, should be their highest priority, because it makes the software unusable.

[nitro912gr]

20 minutes ago, MC909 said:

I think this is really, really, annoying, but not unusable.  The temporary workaround gets lost in this big thread, but as someone said, on Windows if you restart the app after 20-25 mins, it almost always never gets to the extreme laggy stage. 

It has became habit for me to save my work and restart the app often and as a result I hardly experience any lag anymore. It seems to work for a lot of people.

I wish Affinity would have been open and advised people of this temporary workaround, it would have saved months of frustration and I am sure people would have appreciated and understood it.

isn't this default behavior for anyone how have used windows in the past 15-20 years?

The only think I did differently it was that I though at first it was a windows 11 thing and restarted the whole system.

[Cristian Dragos]

Has anyone tried the latest Beta or have any news on this issue? For me I have to close AD v2 every 10 minutes or so because it becomes unusable just as other people also pointed out... just selecting/unselecting a simple shape on in a simple document takes seconds after using it for more than 10-15 minutes then ultimately becomes so laggy that I can barely close the app. And the interesting thing is that the AD process sticks around in Task Manager so I need to either kill the process or wait a few minutes before I'm able to open it again. This process really creates a lot of frustration and screws up my work flow. This was happening as well in v1 but there I could work about 1-2 hours before I've started noticing any slow down.

I really hope they'll be able to solve this soon because I can't go back to v1 since the files are not compatible anymore.

Specs: Ryzen 7 3800X, 32GB RAM, RTX 2700S, Windows 11.

[Wil JF]

5 minutes ago, Cristian Dragos said:

Has anyone tried the latest Beta or have any news on this issue? For me I have to close AD v2 every 10 minutes or so because it becomes unusable just as other people also pointed out... just selecting/unselecting a simple shape on in a simple document takes seconds after using it for more than 10-15 minutes then ultimately becomes so laggy that I can barely close the app. And the interesting thing is that the AD process sticks around in Task Manager so I need to either kill the process or wait a few minutes before I'm able to open it again. This process really creates a lot of frustration and screws up my work flow. This was happening as well in v1 but there I could work about 1-2 hours before I've started noticing any slow down.

I really hope they'll be able to solve this soon because I can't go back to v1 since the files are not compatible anymore.

Specs: Ryzen 7 3800X, 32GB RAM, RTX 2700S, Windows 11.

I tried beta versions before the latest and the performance is better, but still failed at some point. You can try it for yourself and see if it solves your problem, maybe my graphics card is not suitable for V2. It's possible to copy all V2 layers in a new document in V1, since you're not using V2 exclusive features.

[JPBERUTTI910]

 

On 5/4/2023 at 6:07 AM, nitro912gr said:

they said they are aware and are actively trying to fix it in the beta right now. How they don't care exactly?

Where did they say that?

[nitro912gr]

3 minutes ago, JPBERUTTI910 said:

 

Where did they say that?

there are more answer below that that clarify that affinity team is on it.

[JPBERUTTI910]

Well, V2.1 is out, so if anyone already tried out let me know how the performance is. I doubt they fix anything , tho.

[AutumnPioneer]

24 minutes ago, JPBERUTTI910 said:

Well, V2.1 is out, so if anyone already tried out let me know how the performance is. I doubt they fix anything , tho.

Testing it today! Just checked the 2.1.0 Release notes and it mentions:

"Performance improvements for problems encountered when using the application for a long time."

So.. Fingers crossed!!!

[thegary]

Still the same in 2.1.

dissapointing. 7 months and still broken.

posted videos.

Gary

 

[JPBERUTTI910]

yikes

[listeninggarden]

i'm now experiencing unbearable lag *on a fresh open* having upgraded to 2.1 on windows that was not there previously. even simple tasks like closing an image causes lag both with the actual closing of the tab (the button remains depressed and the tab stays on the bar for upwards of 2 seconds before finally disappearing) and the redraw of images being switched to takes even longer than it did before the update. is there a way for me to downgrade? the software has become unusable to me like this