Speed up PDF Annotator?

[neurohax]

Hey all,
Anyone have any suggestions for speeding up PDF Annotator? I just purchased it, hoping to replace Acrobat, but it is DOG SLOW.

In larger PDFs (100+ pages), searching can take minutes and stalls every ~75 pages. The interface is a laggy, probably due to the crazy amount of customizing and nonstandard window elements. Any time I try to use it, the fan on my SP3 i7 ramps up to at least half speed. I use scientific analysis programs and IDEs that don't stress the CPU as much. And more CPU stress = much lower battery life. My SP3 doesn't even hiccup at Acrobat, launches it in 1 second flat, is instantly responsive, and has zero interface lag. PDF Annotator takes almost 10 seconds to launch, takes 5 seconds to change tabs, and immediately and persistently actives the fan.

It is, without a doubt, the slowest and laggiest program on my computer. I want to like it. The options are great, as is the customizability. I'm wondering if anyone has found any options to mess with or features to disable that would make PDF Annotator actually usable.

(I also have Drawboard, which is a bit unstable, but much more reasonable in regards to CPU overhead. But, I'd like to have a "Drawboard-like" PDF program for the desktop, so I could move windows around, etc.)
Thanks much!

edit: minor spelling errors

 

[goodintentions]

I've been using drawboard. It is unstable. I even know exactly what circumstances would cause it to crash.

I've exchanged emails back and forth with the 2 guys that created and maintain drawboard. I think they have a good thing going with their plans. I just wish they'd track down the problems that cause the random crashes.

My app used to have random crashes also. It took me months, but I finally tracked down the specific causes and fixed them.

With apps that are bigger than making fart noises and are intended for more than a single purpose, I think crash bugs are ultimately unavoidable.

 

[neurohax]

My app used to have random crashes also. It took me months, but I finally tracked down the specific causes and fixed them.

With apps that are bigger than making fart noises and are intended for more than a single purpose, I think crash bugs are ultimately unavoidable.

I'm totally aware that the complexity of 'real' programs like PDF Annotator will be more stressful on the system. But, it shouldn't be more stressful that Acrobat+Excel+Word+Matlab+RStudio combined. I'm hoping that messing with the more nonstandard interface elements will help (part of it seems to be from excessive screen draws, probably due to the crazy complexity of keeping the interface state accurate when you get rid of the standard Windows GUI objects).

Most of my problems with Drawboard went away when I stopped using Flux, but there are still minor issues. I would be happy to use Drawboard full time, but I spend about half my SP3 time with it docked and driving 2 monitors. So, having an annotation program that can be moved around in a normal window would be more ideal. Maybe I'll spring for ModernMix or Actual Multimonitor. Both let you'windowify' Modern apps. Hrmm....

PDF Annotator is sooooo customizable that it's almost overwhelming. They really need a more streamlined version/option set that uses standard Windows components. Maybe a "PDF Annotator Express" or a "Lite mode". It's amazing for actually annotating, but the optimization and interface part could really use some fresh eyes.

 

[Jedi]

Hey all,
Anyone have any suggestions for speeding up PDF Annotator? I just purchased it, hoping to replace Acrobat, but it is DOG SLOW.

In larger PDFs (100+ pages), searching can take minutes and stalls every ~75 pages. The interface is a laggy, probably due to the crazy amount of customizing and nonstandard window elements. Any time I try to use it, the fan on my SP3 i7 ramps up to at least half speed. I use scientific analysis programs and IDEs that don't stress the CPU as much. And more CPU stress = much lower battery life. My SP3 doesn't even hiccup at Acrobat, launches it in 1 second flat, is instantly responsive, and has zero interface lag. PDF Annotator takes almost 10 seconds to launch, takes 5 seconds to change tabs, and immediately and persistently actives the fan.

It is, without a doubt, the slowest and laggiest program on my computer. I want to like it. The options are great, as is the customizability. I'm wondering if anyone has found any options to mess with or features to disable that would make PDF Annotator actually usable.

(I also have Drawboard, which is a bit unstable, but much more reasonable in regards to CPU overhead. But, I'd like to have a "Drawboard-like" PDF program for the desktop, so I could move windows around, etc.)
Thanks much!

edit: minor spelling errors

I've had the exact same experience with PDF annotator. It has been working stable, but is lagging something fierce. I'm also running an i7 SP3. I like the layout, functionality, but its intolerably slow!!

What sort of instabilities have you seen w/ Drawboard? I've been looking at this as a possible alternative, but I'd hate to loose a file after annotating for several hours- Yikes!

 

[neurohax]

I think most of the speed problems with PDF Annotator come from the crazy million-tabbed interface. I wish they'd just go with a more standard interface because you can practically feel the screen redraws bogging it down.

Drawboard had a period of being pretty unstable, but since the massive rewrite they did, it has improved greatly. I haven't had a problem in months and totally recommend it.