Slow response / freeze / hang / not responding when editing or playing slideshows
Applicable SongShow Plus Versions:
This article applies to all versions of SongShow Plus 8.5 and Later
* Updates correcting this issue may be available. Ensure that you are using the most current build of SongShow Plus from the Download page before proceeding. *
Symptom:
When editing slideshows in SongShow Plus, the Slideshow Builder is slow to respond when editing, particularly when editing large slideshows with embedded objects.
Possible Cause:
Embedded File Use -- This behavior can occur in slideshows that have a large file size when editing. The large size of the slideshow is mostly caused by using embedded images. The slow response in the edit process is due to additional overhead in the undo/redo buffer mechanism.
Possible Solution:
Eliminate the use of embedded objects in the slideshows. This will both reduce the size of the slideshow files and improve the editing experience. Embedding is not really necessary since the Package To Go process will gather all relevant files when moving the slideshow. You can link rather than embed media by removing and media including backgrounds that are currently embedded and re-selecting them keeping the default link option.
Possible Cause:
Thumbnail View Use -- The slow response or hang-ups/freeze in the edit process may be due to additional overhead or issues in the Thumbnail View mechanism.
Possible Solution:
Disable use of the Thumbnail View feature in the Slide Show Builder. Disabling this feature may eliminate the delay or other issues associated with showing slide show thumbnails.
To disable this feature: Use the main toolbar menu command View and ensure that "Thumbnails" is NOT checked. In most cases this is associated with background videos that are outside of spec. Please refer to this article - Video file types / extensions / specifications supported in SSP - high bit rates in particular can cause issues.
Possible Cause:
Undo/Redo Buffer Use -- The slow response in the edit process may be due to additional overhead in the undo/redo buffer mechanism.
Possible Solution:
Disable use of the Undo/Redo feature in the Slide Show Builder. Disabling this feature will eliminate the delay associated with saving the slide show to the undo buffer.
To disable this feature: Use the menu command Preferences > Edit Window > Undo Buffer Support and select the "Disabled".
Possible Cause:
Individual background slide properties duplication -- This behavior can occur in slideshows where the user has the same settings applied individually to each slide. SSP has to process all settings individually to determine if and how they are applied if they exist. The slow response may be due to additional overhead in the processing of the duplicate slide settings.
Possible Solution:
Eliminate the use of duplicate Slide Show Background settings. IF the goal is to have the background treatment the same on all slides, the easier and most efficient method is to create a single slide property theme and apply it to the entire slideshow.
Possible Cause:
Themes Overuse -- This behavior can occur in slideshows that have a large number of Slide Show Themes included. SSP has to process all themes to determine if and how they are applied if they exist. The slow response may be due to additional overhead in the processing of the theme settings.
Possible Solution:
Eliminate the use of duplicate and unassigned Slide Show Themes in the slideshows. This will both reduce the size of the slideshow files and improve the editing experience by eliminating unnecessary duplication of themes.
- Confirmation of issue:
- Open Slide Builder.
- Open the suspect slide show.
- From the Slide Builder edit tabs select Slide Show Tools.
- From the Design section select Themes.
- Review the Themes listed. If there are numerous themes and/or subthemes or many that appear to be unused (Select each slide to see which Theme is applied) this may be the cause of the issues.
- Deleting Themes/Subthemes - Currently there is no way to delete themes as a group however they can be deleted individually
- Open Slide Builder.
- Open the suspect slide show.
- From the Slide Builder edit tabs select Slide Show Tools.
- From the Design section, open the Themes drop menu.
- Expand the Delete Theme option and select the item to be deleted.
- Repeat these steps until all unused themes are removed.
NOTE: Currently the themes and subthemes are all in a nested tree and only the last in the line can be deleted. Selecting and deleting one from the list will then show the next item in the tree. Repeat the process until all unused themes and subthemes are removed.
- Process to "recover" a misbehaving" slide show - The quick way to fix this is the following:
- Open Slide Builder.
- Open the slide show to "recover".
- Open a second iteration of the Slide Builder.
- Create a new, blank slideshow in the second iteration.
- Select and Copy all the slides from the original.
- Paste the copied slides to the NEW slide show.
- Save the new slide show.
NOTE: This will copy the content and specific settings to the slides themselves. You will need to edit/set the Slide Show settings (like auto run, loop, etc) on the NEW slideshow. Right off the bat you should notice a significant reduction is slide show size and increased responsiveness.
Additional Slide Builder related help and information on known issues can be found by reviewing the self-help resources and training options for SongShow Plus.
Training Videos - A video walk-through of this process may be available. Depending on your current subscription level, you can go to the GoFishMedia website training page and log in with the same Customer ID and password that you use to log in to the SongShow Plus site or activate SongShow Plus. - Review this article for more details.
If you have any questions regarding the use of, or issues with, any of the SongShow Slide Builder features, please contact the Support Team.
(TS146)