Lag when clicking and dragging objects in Illustrator (and InDesign) - Here's what I've tried:

[MacDubJ]

Hi there —

A week ago, a few of my Adobe products began lagging when attempting a click-and-drag with the direct selection cursor. I noticed it first in Illustrator, but then noticed it in InDesign as well. I primarily use Illustrator in my day-to-day, so I'm posting here. After a fair amount of Googling, I discovered many people with the same problem over the past few years, all who had different solutions presented to them (to varying amounts of success). I've tried all sorts of things to resolve this issue, but nothing has worked. So I'm hoping to get some additional insight here. I'll outline the steps I've taken below:

The problem: 

Clicking on an object and trying to move it has a relatively huge delay on it. Trying to select multiple objects in quick succession also makes the cursor to "stick" causing some items to suddenly jump around. It happened suddenly and seemingly randomly one day after lunch. It's very frustrating when designing complex boards.

Version:

• Mac OS: Sonoma 14.1.1
• Adobe Illustrator 28.0

The steps I've taken so far: 
First of all, Safe Mode works wonderfully, so I'm convinced it's something loading behind the scenes in normal mode. 

• Reinstalled/updated Illustrator
• Removed cache and other files out of the \~Library folder
• Tried earlier versions of Illustrator
• Disabled GPU preview
• Disabled GPU performance 
• Updated my OS to Sonoma (it wasn't before)
• Verified I have no 3rd party screensharing or mouse pointer software installed 
• Activity monitor is clean 
• Disconnected my bluetooth mouse (it still happens using the trackpad solo) 

I think that's it so far. I'll update with anything else that I try. Does anyone have any other suggestions here? I've been limping along in Safe Mode during my work day, but that's not ideal since I don't have access to my fonts, etc. there. 

Thanks so much in advance! 

[Anshul_Saini]

Hello @MacDubJ!

It seems like you've already performed thorough troubleshooting steps. Since you mentioned that Safe Mode works well, it indicates that the issue might be related to some background process or third-party software interfering with Adobe Illustrator & InDesign.

Here are a few additional steps you can try:

• Close Background Applications: While working in normal mode, try closing other applications running in the background. Sometimes, conflicts with other software can cause performance issues.

• New User Account: Create a new user account on your Mac and install Adobe Illustrator & InDesign there. This can help determine if the issue is specific to your user account or a system-wide problem.

• Activity Monitor: Keep an eye on the Activity Monitor while using Illustrator in normal mode. Look for any specific processes or applications that consume a significant amount of resources.

I hope one of these steps helps resolve the lag issue you're experiencing! Let me know how it goes.

Best,

Anshul Saini

[MacDubJ]

Thanks so much for the reply @Anshul_Saini, I'll give some of these things a try. So far:

• Created a new test admin account — no joy
• Activity monitor doesn't show any spikes or oddities while replicating the issue within Illustrator

I'm continuing to sift through processes using the new account. There will be hopefully be less processes than in my primary account. 

[McLean34141739njz5]

@Anshul_Saini —

I'm still working with this issue, but discovered something interesting:

I recently noticed when dragging artboards around, the "laggy" cursor issue doesn't happen. It's only happening when clicking/dragging objects. I decided to screen record the issue in order to better document it, when I noticed something odd (see my attached screen recording). Not only is the cursor in Illustrator seemingly "lagging," but the screen record wasn't picking up the cursor movement either. You can see how my cursor clicks, then just sits there for a second or two before popping over to the spot on screen where I had dragged the cursor to. However, on my screen, I was moving my cursor around the whole time. Whatever is causing that lag seems to be affecting other programs/elements as well. 

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @McLean34141739njz5,

Thank you for sharing your observations. It's indeed an interesting find, and I appreciate the detailed information.

To further assist you, would you mind sharing some additional details:

• Are you currently using Illustrator version 28.0, or have you updated to 28.1? Also, confirm the macOS version currently installed.
• Have you tried running Illustrator in Safe Mode to see if the issue persists?
• Are you using any third-party applications or extensions with Illustrator?
• What input device are you using? Magic Mouse, trackpad, or any third-party mouse?

Your feedback will help us investigate and narrow down the root cause of the cursor lag issue. Thank you for your cooperation!

Best regards,

Anshul

[McLean34141739njz5]

Thanks for the response @Anshul_Saini - Please revisit my initial post for your answers. Thank you. 

[McLean34141739njz5]

Oh, apologies, I see now that my name has changed for whatever reason - This is MacDubJ (original poster) 

[Yichen@TD]

Having the exact same issue. Have also done most of the touble shooting except updating to Sonoma.

[fatmarker]

I'm having a similar issue with InDesign and Illustrator. Sinmply clicking on an element to select it has a delay. And when it get's selected, it almost always nudges the element as if I performed a click and drag.

I'm curious, are any of you using Microsoft OneDrive. And if so, are your work files in that directory?

[McLean34141739njz5]

Hi @fatmarker - Yes! My design team uses OneDrive for our design files. We will typically work directly from our sync'd OneDrive folders. 

[fatmarker]

Same here. But I've eliminated it as a suspect. Turned out to be the Magnet app. See this post.

[Luke2377953400vb]

This solved the problem for me! Magnet it is. Thank you!!

[Michal235827356jdf]

I love you, had the issue for months, did everything,  as fulltime graphic designer it was really annoying and you solved my problem ❤️ (I'm a bit annoyed that a paid app does this, plus I used to use it really often, but still better to have illustrator without lagging)

[slide_lewy]

Same issue as well, making working with my files a nightmare, finding things have moved and having to double check all my work now. Hopefully can be fixed soon.

[slide_lewy]

Just for reference here, i've installed the latest MacOs update for Sonoma 14.2.1 and the problem is still there

[KDickerson1]

Having the same issue recently, which is really weird. This wasn't happening last week, which made me think it's software related or OS related, but it was happening on both 14.1 and now 14.1.2. Could be something our IT department installed in the background(?) too but didn't see anything in the system report that stood out.

Random lagging when selecting and moving objects. Usually results in moving said object by a couple pixels, which is extremely annoying. Simply moving the mouse around the file within INDD rockets the CPU usage to around 65%, and when the lag/hitch occurs, it goes up to 75%. Not sure if the two things are related but thought it worth mentioning.

Did all of OP's troubleshooting methods to no avail either.

[fatmarker · Accepted solution]

The Solution (That Works for Most People)

If you use the Magnet app, this might be the source of your troubles. After quitting Magnet I no longer experience lagging behavior in InDesign and Illustrator. (Here is a related discussion.)

How to still use Magnet

You can keep Magnet running by "ignoring" Adobe. While Illustrator is in focus, click on the Magnet menu and select Ignore "Illustrator". The same goes for InDesign.

If you do not have Magnet

It may be another app that is conflicting with Adobe. Magnet requires special permission to control your system, and perhaps you gave this permission to another app on your system, which is causing the issue. To find out, go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility. Check the apps one at a time by toggling the switch off and testing the peformance in Adobe.

If you can narrow it down to a particular app, then either exclude Adobe from that app (if such an option exists) or quit that app while running Adobe. If you rely on the conflicting app, you can use macOS Shortcuts to automate closing the app when opening Adobe, and vice versa.

[fatmarker]

[merged comment with accepted answer]

[slide_lewy]

THat's it, I think, I have Magnet app and only recently installed it, so that's what's probably causing the issue. 
THank you! 

[MacDubJ]

Glad someone is seeing results with their troubleshooting! I got all excited reading your post, right before realizing we don't use the magnet app on these machines. Argh. It seems all sorts of things are causing this laggy cursor issue. I wonder if we'll see any kind of Adobe software update that will solve this. Some kind of umbrella patch maybe. 

[Monika Gause]

---

@MacDubJ  schrieb:

Glad someone is seeing results with their troubleshooting! I got all excited reading your post, right before realizing we don't use the magnet app on these machines. Argh. It seems all sorts of things are causing this laggy cursor issue. I wonder if we'll see any kind of Adobe software update that will solve this. Some kind of umbrella patch maybe. 

---

If the issue is caused by third party software, then the Illustrator engineers will not be able to patch it.

Maybe you want to contact Customer Care so they can logion to your system and try to figure it out.  https://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html 

[fatmarker]

Sorry that it wasn't the solution for you. But it could be a hint of what type of 3rd party app is conflicting.

Magnet requires permission to control your system. Check your System Settings > Accessibility to see which apps you have that also require this access. Try quiting them one-by-one while testing Adobe's behavior. Perhaps you will find the culprit.

If several apps are conflicting with Adobe in the same way, then the issue might indeed be on Adobe's end.

[Yichen@TD]

I am using Magnet, my machine is still on Ventura and weirdly enough, I have found that it is not causing the problem. In my case it is instead the BenQ monitor utility app Display Pilot 2. Switching off accessibility access or quitting the app solves the issue. I followed @fatmarker's suggestion to identify the cause. Hope this information could help.

[fatmarker]

Thanks for confirming. This is starting to look more like an Adobe issue. Hope they are listening.

[KDickerson1]

That's it!!! I noticed Magnet got updated recently according to system report and must've changed something that's causing this. Good catch!