Illustrator so slow imac

[default6f5cdw0dfvsc]

I just upgraded to Big Sur and subscription Illustrator from CS6 and High Sierra. Illustrator is so much slower and it's very difficult to work. I do have a lot of textured swatches that I've created but with those same swatches it worked much better before. I've tried turning off layer images and turning off a lot of the preferences in Illustrator. I've read about managing fonts but I'm not that technically adept so I'm not sure how to do that and if it's possible. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Monika Gause]

Please tell us about your system and hardware.

[default6f5cdw0dfvsc]

Imac Retina 5K 27-inch, 2017

Processor 4.2 GHz Quad core Intel core i7

Memory 64 GB 2400 MHz DDR4

Startup disc Mac HD

Graphics Radeon Pro 580 8 GB

running big sur 11.5.2

[Monika Gause]

I'm not sure if the Radeon Pro is compatible. https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/system-requirements.html

Did you use CS6 on that same hardware?

It might be necessary that Customer Care check out your system. They can log into it: https://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html (the chat is in the bottom right)

[default6f5cdw0dfvsc]

Thank you Monika. I used CS6 just 2 weeks ago on the same hardware. I spoke with Adobe and they said my computer should work well. 

[Monika Gause]

Ok, thank you.

How did you do the update?

Maybe you might need to do a clean install. First uninstall, run the Creative Cloud Cleaner tool, then reinstall.

Also: can you try if it helps when you create a new user with Admin privileges on the computer, then launch ionto that and try Illustrator? Your user folder might just be damaged.

Cleaner tool: https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/cc-cleaner-tool-installation-problems.html

New user account: https://9to5mac.com/2019/03/04/create-user-account-mac/

[default6f5cdw0dfvsc · Accepted solution]

Thank you. I updated my OS then downloaded the Illustrator and Photoshop from Adobe. I don't think it's worth doing that because I already had these issues with CS6. They are just more pronounced now. My files have maybe 100-200 swatches each with lots of vector points. I know that is the problem. I was told that everything would run more smoothly when I upgraded. But that is definitely not true. AI files with 20 swatches run well. To eliminate swatches takes forever though because everything just spins around. I think it's the graphics card. I was hoping for some suggestions for what to turn off in the preferences. Or help understanding what font management meant and if I could get rid of fonts. I so rarely use them and could work without them.

[SolarInkGraphics]

Why is this marked as the correct answer?
Anyway, I've found that simply turning off Smart Guides, especially when you have vectors with a ton of anchor points on them.

This along with the other suggestions found on the Illustrator peformance improvements pages by Adobe, like deleting unused swatches, brushes, symbols, etc, and adjusting preferences under performance and file handling etc, should alleviate any slow down issues.

It did for me finally anyway. 

Also messing with the View > View using CPU/GPU toggle may help also. 

But yeah, turning off Smart Guides had the biggest impact on getting AI to run normally again. 

Hope that helps someone. 

[Monika Gause]

Why is this marked as the correct answer?

By @SolarInkGraphics

Because that answer helped the person who posted the question. You might have noticed that they answered their own post and found that this is what helped them.

There are a lot of problems that look the same, but have different solutions. You might be running a different version or system.

[Stackola]

Welcome to the real world 🙂  

Adobe does not care about optimization,
and along with cc there are several bloat-services running in the background.

I quietly hope that adobe will be replaced by other programs (such as figma)

[Monika Gause]

I quietly hope that adobe will be replaced by other programs (such as figma)

By @Stackola

Because Figma can apply patterns so well?

[Stackola]

Not. I am writing about figma as it breaks the monopoly. And as we know, breaking the monopoly translates into greater availability, higher product quality and better customer service. Due to the fact that Adobe has won almost the entire market, it can (and applies) monopolistic practices. High prices, slow response to demand, or relatively low quality.

[Monika Gause]

Not. I am writing about figma as it breaks the monopoly.

By @Stackola

Yeah, nice. But if I then cannot do what I need to do at all, then what's it worth?

Zooming in and out of artwork is just not all a drawing application needs to be able to do.