Publisher Crash on Export

[thetasig]

I could not find this particular crash type in the forum. It is a repeatable bug that causes Publisher to crash instantly. AFPUB 1.10.8, MacOS 13.5.2.

When you load a large file (or any file) AFPUB get very busy with high CPU usage. After some time, the usage drops drastically toward "idling" With 268 pages of photos, this can take 4-5 minutes or so on my MacBook Pro. It seems that, visually, AFPUB is "loading" photos from object links in the Resource Manager.

If one attempts to export (just the menu option alone) before the CPU usage has dropped (I suppose after AFPUB has loaded and passed through all pages), then a crash ensues.

If one waits until the CPU usage has dropped down, then the export is possible.

I mention this in case it has not been addressed in V2.

[Dan C]

Thanks for your report @thetasig!

As you've mentioned, the time taken for Publisher to 'refresh' the placed content when opening your file can vary greatly based on the size of the file, the resources available to the app, the placed files policy (ie embedded or linked) and even the physical files location (if using linked) can all have an affect on this.

I've tried to replicate this crash in 1.10.8 on macOS using both Linked and Embedded resources - I added over 100 PNG images to a 20 page file, which created a 400mb .afpub file (when using embedded).

I then closed Publisher V1, and relaunched the app, opening this created file.
Whilst the document was loading, I used CMD+ALT+SHIFT+S to open the export dialog.

In both cases the app did not crash - even though for the embedded file the app had not fully 'refreshed' the Pages preview and with the linked file, the placed images still appeared 'blurry' on the canvas.

Are you able to provide a screen recording of this on your system so I can better understand your exact workflow?

What location are your .afpub files and linked resources (if in use) stored in? for example your 'Downloads' folder, an iCloud synced folder, an external drive etc?

Many thanks in advance

[thetasig]

I'll see if I can record this. The situation is not exactly as I described. Even if the Activity Monitor shows very low CPU usage by AFPUB, the dialogue might crash if one chooses File/Export (not the shortcut keys). Even after an hour or so after, while perusing the pages, asking for an export might crash. My resource files  (linked) are on the same laptop SSD disk as the application and the primary AFPUB file. All links are external and linked - hundreds of photos and objects. - probably close to 1000+ objects. And, even after those items are no longer "blurry" while loading the document, the crash might occur. Admittedly, I am not on V2 yet (for good reason it seems) so that might have an impact.

Screen Recording. I started QuickTime recording for the entire laptop screen. Then I Opened AFPUB and open the document file I'm working with. The problem did not occur. Allowed me to export with no crash.

Here is the scoop - if Quicktime is recording, then AFPUB does not crash. If Quicktime is NOT recording, AFPUB crashes when chosing File/export....Catch-22...Handily repeated.

Not sure how to "prove" the application is crashing if I cannot recording the occurrence....

 

[Dan C]

12 hours ago, thetasig said:

Here is the scoop - if Quicktime is recording, then AFPUB does not crash. If Quicktime is NOT recording, AFPUB crashes when chosing File/export....Catch-22...Handily repeated.

That's certainly interesting behaviour, it sounds as though if your GPU is already active during the screen recording, then the Affinity app doesn't crash - but that isn't something I've seen reported previously... 

12 hours ago, thetasig said:

Not sure how to "prove" the application is crashing if I cannot recording the occurrence....

The app should be creating crash reports, which may indicate a reason for this to occur - please see the below FAQ for information on how to locate these reports:

Can you please attach a copy of the latest 2-3 crash reports here for me, as well as a screenshot of your settings under Affinity Publisher > Preferences > Performance?