Memory Recommendations for Inkscape

[drlarrye]

I'm working on a bitmap tracing that has about a bezillion nodes and Inkscape is hanging up.  I can't seem to find the minimum or recommended memory requirements for Inkscape.  I have 4 GB RAM installed and was wondering if anyone knows what is recommended?

EDIT: My old laptop at work is not hanging up while working on the same file (with the same memory and a slower CPU).  This is the second time I have had an issue with Inkscape on my desktop at home so any issues in the future I'll try on a different computer.

[Moini]

Can you share an example file, and info about your Inkscape version number (see Help > About) and the respective Windows versions?

[brynn]

When you're comparing the 2 computers' performance, are you performing the same tasks with Inkscape?  There are ways you can use Inkscape, to either help avoid the performance issues, or keep you working in a large file.  So if you're not doing the same steps, it might not necessarily be a fair comparison.

Inkscape does run faster on Linux systems, as far as I understand.

Here's an article/tutorial I wrote, which tells about some things you can do, to keep working in a very large file.

https://forum.inkscapecommunity.com/index.php?action=articles;sa=view;article=35

To more directly answer your question, I've never seen any minimum requirements for using Inkscape.  If I ever get up my nerve someday, I might even make a formal request for minimum requirements to be set.  Just because it annoys me, and I had the very same question 10 years ago, when I first started to learn how to use Inkscape.

Just based on experience, I would say 2 gb ram would be the very bare minimum, but only if you only work on very small files.  I would say these days, 4 gb might be close to the minimum, considering any size file.

If you can't share the file itself, at least tell us how big it is (MBs).

[drlarrye]

Same operating system (Windows 7 64 bit), same memory (4GB), same Inkscape (0.92), same tasks and the laptop that works better has a slower CPU.  In an earlier post I asked about a file that I cut and pasted that would be all distorted, and when Brynn said she had no issues on her computer, I took the file to work and it worked fine.  This time I am doing simple tasks (deleting or moving nodes or moving node handles) and Inkscape, but not the rest of the computer, will not respond for up to2 minutes, especially when trying to zoom.  I figure if I only have issues on 1 computer I'm not going to worry about it.

[TMadisson]

Just a thought - have you gone into the XML editor and seen if the image you traced is actually still in the file only the visibility has been turned off?

The only reason i ask is because the same thing happened to me not too long back and it was kindly suggested on here to check out that option.

[brynn]

Yes, I do seem to remember  you having an issue with 2 similar computers behaving differently with Inkscape.  But I can't remember this.  Do other people use Inkscape on one of the computers, but not the other?

Well, even if you're the only Inkscape user, there could still be different preferences (Inkscape) which could be affecting performance, or other settings as well.

Well, if you someday decide to investigate what accounts for the difference in performance, just let us know 

[drlarrye]

I think I will have you look at this file.  It is a puzzle that I did a trace bitmap on and I am now cleaning it up.  It started with ~18,000 nodes and I am now down to around 15,000.  If you look at the file you will see what I meant by duplicate paths in an earlier post.  The original jpeg (attached) is all single lines but some of the paths have ended up loops that I need to delete half of the loop.  The questions you have answered previously have helped tremendously and as you can see by the number of nodes already eliminated I'm moving right along.

Unfortunately I am having 2 issues.

  First, when I work on this file for any length of time, now even the computer at work begins to slow down.  For example, when switching from the node tool to the zoom it can take 20-30 seconds to change but then the zoom tool will work perfectly.  The computer at home has become almost useless FOR THIS FILE ONLY.  Other files that I work on in Inkscape are fine.

Second, there are some paths that I can not see.  For example, the penguin (upper left) has a open shape inside of the body (see the attached jpeg).  I thought it just didn't trace but if you hover over where it should be you can see it sometimes (it sort of flashes).

I appreciate you being so helpful.  While I might "create" eventually,   modifying these types of files is the main reason I am learning Inkscape.

[Moini]

What you want is centerline tracing... Not Inkscape's tracing, which creates areas, not lines.

I'd either use https://github.com/fablabnbg/inkscape-centerline-trace
or
I'd do the tracing manually. It's not so huge a drawing.
That will give you a much cleaner result than how you're trying to do it.

[Moini]

You can use this image (used Gimp's Edge detection, then some threshold and curves and contrast manipulation):

[Moini]

(you may want to clean up the borders before you do any tracing, using gimp or some other raster editor)

[Moini]

Works surprisingly well.

[Moini]

Back to your original question: 18000 nodes in a single path is just quite a lot. Inkscape can handle that amount of nodes in a drawing quite well, but not in a single path, without getting slow.

[drlarrye]

So it seems that if I had asked a few questions earlier I would've save myself a lot of work/trouble but I have learned a lot about manipulating images in Inkscape.  I did not know that Trace Bitmap would output a single path and that explains a lot.  I am going to try Centerline but I have a question before I start.  At the top of the installation directions it lists Windows 8 & 10.  Do you know if it works for Windows 7?  If not, is there a previous version that does.  I know I'm taking the long way round, but I am enjoying learning new things.

[Moini]

Trace bitmap can output a single path or multiple paths, that's not the difference. The difference is that Trace Bitmap creates areas, enclosed by a path, so if you have a straight black line, you will get a long black rectangle as the result of the tracing.

I've got no idea if it works for Win7, sorry. I'd try, though, the autotrace executable is very old, probably older than Win7.

[drlarrye]

Please bear with me...more questions.

The jpg of the puzzle you uploaded was manipulated in Gimp to eliminate the background colors, correct?  Should be easy enough to learn.  There are lots of tutorials out there.

Then you used Centerline in Inkscape to create the svg?  It is perfect but I need to learn to do it.  I can't get Centerline to work because I can't get Python Pillow installed.  (I got the rest installed)  Any idea where to send a beginner for help installing Pillow?

Fixed my issues.....More or less copied what you did in Gimp and got nearly the same results and reinstalled Inkscape and installed Centerline etc from scratch.  Still could not get pillow installed, but Centerline worked without it.

[Moini]

Yes, in Inkscape 0.92.3, Pillow is included (not only in 0.92.2, as the README file for the centerline tracer currently says).

[drlarrye]

So I'm still working on the puzzle and it seems to be turning out nicely.  The file is attached.  I'm planning on cutting it out with a Shaper, a hand held kind on CNC machine.  When I load the file into the Shaper I get a bunch of horizontal lines that I can't see in Inkscape no matter what I do.  Pictures are attached.  I have asked on the Shaper forum but the only suggestion so far is some corruption in the svg file.  Could you please take a look and tell me what you think.


Someone on the Shaper forum said this:

"Took your image and loaded onto SO. Same same. Big lines. I went back to the 'puter and opened it in Affinity, since that is what I use, and just like you said it looked just fine. OK cool, I expanded the stroke just a bit to make it easier for me to see then exported it.  That one loaded no issue onto SO with no lines so I imagine its an export setting in Inkscape maybe? I would open them both side by side in a text editor and have a peek what the differences are."

After that he had a picture that showed it correct on the machine

Here is the correct acting file

I am going to look at it later, but I wouldn't know what to look for in the text file.

[Moini]

Your drawing contains clones and an ellipse, plus some Inkscape cruft, while the other file is a clean svg file with just a path in it. Not sure if that's what the shaper cannot deal with.

I'd try this:
Select all (Ctrl+A)
Edit > Clones > Unlink clones
Path > Object to Path

then

Save as... >
Plain SVG or
Optimized SVG

Not sure if that will solve the issue, but it will give you an SVG file with just basic features, nothing too fancy like ellipses or clones, and also eliminates some things that a low-quality SVG reader might not be able to interpret properly.

[drlarrye]

Please define cruft.  The elipses and clones were added doing work after the issue had been discovered so I'm not sure they are invloved.

[Moini]

All things specific to Inkscape, things it uses for saving info that is not related to the drawing, but to how the drawing is made. From the color of the page frame, to the guide lines and the grids you use, to rotation centers of objects and other settings that are saved with the SVG file. That data can be stripped without the SVG looking any different, but it might confuse other software that doesn't parse it correctly.
It's just a guess, try it

[drlarrye]

Cruft (I'm not sure why, but I love that word) seems to be the issue.  I loaded the file in AI and saved it again and the problem was solved. That is about all I know how to do in AI!

[Moini]

Can you also try if just using a different save as... option in Inkscape can solve the problem? Others with the same issue might not have AI.

[brynn]

I'm not sure if "cruft" is the issue.  Or maybe not the only issue.  At least for the 2 extra paths which I can see clearly on the photo of the screen, it looks like the Shaper software might be trying to close some open paths.  I don't actually know if it would be capable of that, but the placement of (2 of) the extra horizontal lines matches exactly the ends of some open paths.

The issue which I was concerned about, when I first looked at your file, is that you have not only the cutting paths in the file, but you have all sorts of other paths, which have no other purpose than appearances.  For example, short paths which create the appearance of toes on some of the animals.  Eyes, lines to define legs and knees, etc.

So I would probably make a 2nd layer in the SVG file.  On one layer would be only the cutting paths.  And the other layer would contain all the extra paths which are needed only for the appearance.    Hide that "extras" layer when you send the file to the cutting software, so that it can only "see" the cutting paths.

Because, how does the cutting software know which paths you want to be cut out?  Isn't it going to try to cut them all?

To do that, you'll have to use Path menu > Break Apart, to break that large compound path up into its individual pieces.  You might even have to break paths at certain nodes, to accomplish that completely.  It will probably take some work.  Let us know if you need details for that part.

Oh yikes!  I just noticed that you have anti-aliasing disabled.  Is there a reason for that?  I don't know if it will affect the cutting of the paths....I guess probably not.  But you'll have a better quality experience visually, if you enable it.  File menu > Document Properties > Page tab, near the bottom, Use Anti-Aliasing.  You'll have to dock the dialog to be able to see it (if it's not already docked).

(Actually it probably is already docked, because that option is always enabled by default, so you must have disabled it, at some point, on purpose.)

(I wonder if aliasing would be considered "cruft"?)

[drlarrye]

I think I disabled anti-liasing as a random effort to fix the issue.  When I finish the file, every line will be a cut line...the toes and eyes and legs are all going to be cut or engraved.  The differences for that are handled on the machine.  The picture that you see is what I am looking for.  It's possible that when I get to the cutting I may have more issues, but so far this is what I am trying to get.

[drlarrye]

I probably should've started a new thread since it is a new issue but since it's for the same file I thought I'd just continue here.  I took your advice and moved the cut lines and the engraving lines to different layers.  It is not necessary for what I am doing but as I thought about it, it would make it much easier.

My new issue is probably some setting I accidentally changed.  I now can not snap to anything in layer 2 (the black lines).  I can snap to anything in,layer 1 (the blue lines).  It doesn't matter if the object I am trying to snap is in layer 1 or 2.  I could snap to anything until the last time I opened the file.  It must be document specific because it doesn't affect an earlier version of this file opened in the same copy of Inkscape.  I tried opening both files and looking for differences in the settings but can not find any.


Thanks