I am using Inkscape 0.91 r13725 and I keep getting an error message that is followed by a forced shut down. I'm never doing the same thing when it happens. I haven't been able to tie it to a specific action. I could only have one file going in Inkscape and that could be the only program open on the computer.

The error message reads:
This application has requested the Runtime to terminate it in an unusual way.
Please contact the application's support team for more.

Any thoughts on what this might mean?

Hi.

That's usually the sign of an overload of the computer -either by huge file size or cross references.
Like extensive use of cloning can trigger crashes too.
Still if it's the only program running you could track the cpu usage -bet it went high before the crash.

I'd try the clean up document option in the file menu in a crashed file, unused defs can be one cause of crashing.

So far, the clean up document has prevented further errors! Thanks! What exactly does it do?

This is a drawing that I did on tracing paper and scanned in b/w then opened up in Inkscape. Then vectorized it and deleted the old pixel version. Am I missing something that should be done to prevent crashes in the future? How often should I be doing the clean up document?

Thanks for your help!

You are welcome!

The clean up document option removes unused defs like unused pattern fills, gradients, custom markers, custom dasharray definitions, unused clip objects etc. Not sure about how could you end up with many of those by working with a raster image though.
In 0.48 I got alot of crashes due to unused gradient definitions, because of a (since fixed) bug each time you moved a gradient step a few hundred new gradient definitions were made.

Probably it's a good idea to link the raster images for a smaller/more stabile file.

I'm not sure what you mean by this:
"link the raster images for a smaller/more stabile file"

Well, poop.

It is still doing it.

There are lots of different reasons for crashes in 0.91, and some appear arbitrary (like clicking and holding some key down at the same time). Many of them have been fixed in Inkscape 0.92.

If you don't use a lot of text in your pictures, you can try if the current 0.92 solves the issue for you.

I'll give .92 a try. Does .92 not like a lot of text for some reason?

Texts created with previous versions render differently.

related post

-"Multiline text" (?) issue.-

Yes, the problems affect texts that go over multiple lines. For the rest, the line height is probably irrelevant.

How large is the file size and how much RAM on your computer?

A large amount of text isn't particularly known for causing performance issues. But you mentioned scanning a drawing in to your computer, and then "vectorized" it. If it was a lot of handwritten, or even typewritten text, that was scanned and converted, it could potentially contain thousands of nodes. And large number of nodes IS known to cause performance issues.

How did you vectorize it? Path menu > Trace Bitmap? After you finish the auto-trace, you should be able to use Path menu > Simplify, to greatly reduce the number of nodes, without significantly changing the paths. As long as you just click Simplify once, you probably won't notice any change. But if you click it a 2nd time, you will probably notice changes.

Clean Up Document usually only helps if you have done a large amount of editing, especially with gradients (but also some other things) (or possibly converted from a different format, or imported from a different program).

Here are some tips for working with large file sizes, to help avoid crashes:

https://forum.inkscapecommunity.com/ind ... article=35

I have 4GB of RAM and the file size is 263 KB.

I was watching how much it was using while it was open and it goes to about 315,000 K it crashes. But just by opening the program, no file or anything, and not doing anything with it, it goes to 100,000 K or higher.

What are the system requirements for the program? I have an older laptop, and just had the hard drive wiped, but every other program on it seems to work fine.

Is this with 0.91 or 0.92? (you said you'd try 0.92, that's why I'm unsure)

I uninstalled .91 and installed .92. They both did the same thing.

That's too bad... Can you start Inkscape via the terminal (should be just 'inkscape') and tell us what it says there? The error message that is displayed via dialog is too generic.

Not sure what you mean by "start Inkscape via the terminal (should be just 'inkscape')"

Oh, okay. I mean you should start whatever kind of command line application you have on your system, and enter the word 'inkscape' then hit Enter.
(and please also tell us what your operating system is, I thought it had been mentioned here, but can't find it)

I have windows 7, 32 bit

With opening it from the terminal, when I check the processes in Windows Task Manager, it keeps using a higher and higher amount of memory. Right now it is at 128,948 K. That is with nothing happening in the program. I only opened it. However, when using it, it seems to crash when it gets to around 300,000 K.

Something in the file is unwell... Maybe a tag is not closed?


If you can share the file using dropbox or google drive, that might give us a chance to look closer.

How can I tell if there is a tag that is not closed?

It does it on all files. Even if I open a fresh one and start drawing Bezier paths. I say Bezier paths since that is what I'm doing in the other files...trying to clean up a hand drawn sketch.

What I was asking for is the terminal output when the crash happens.
Can you copy-paste that here? It will make searching for a corresponding bug report easier.

(Currently, this sounds a bit like this bug (which was reported for XP, 32bit, so might not be the same):
https://bugs.launchpad.net/inkscape/+bug/1246508
it was never resolved, because some people said it was their hardware)

The problem most probably does not have to do with any svg files being broken.

"What I was asking for is the terminal output when the crash happens. "
Can you tell me how to get this for you?

Start whatever kind of command line application you have on your system, and enter the word 'inkscape' then hit Enter.
Then wait until it crashes, or do whatever you need to do to get a crash.
Then look into the command line application, and copy the text it shows into a txt file, and append that here, or paste into a comment.

Sorry for all of the questions.

When you say 'command line application' you are referring to something other than the start menu search bar. It opens Inkscape but I don't think it would give me the crash report. Is there certain program I should be looking for?

Thanks for all of your help.

I'm not on Windows, so I'm not sure what it's called there. When I used Windows, it was something called 'DOS prompt', I think. Can anyone else help with the concrete application to use? Or maybe this will help:
http://www.wikihow.com/Run-a-Program-on-Command-Prompt