I’ve been having huge performance issues in Layout 2025. I’m working with a very lightweight SU model at 25 MB and 440K faces, no environments. I get a a hang and the spinning color ball just trying to select a viewport or a simple text box. I have experimental graphics engine turned on and display resolution viewports are set to low and images set to medium. I get the spinning ball for 3-5 minutes when trying to save the file and sometimes have to force quit because it just hangs forever trying to save. Sometimes the layout file will save at 20 MB and sometimes it gets bloated up to 150 MB with no changes at all. I’m getting the same issues working on my iMac Pro and on my MacBook Pro. I have the same problem working in floor plan files, section files, or elevation files, and it’s becoming a serious productivity problem. I’m also getting crashes when I try to update pattern fill files that show as old. Any ideas @trent @colin ? Here is a link to the files: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/o1122ix78od6hzco63xul/AHzRSSN0tOiIlnvdWcnqZW0?rlkey=2d3i3577rqqm361ctrrdl6345&dl=0
Update: I just deleted every sketchup viewport and purged the layout file and when I saved the Layout file jumped to 215 MB. What is happening?
If I do a purge and save with the file you gave, it changes from 20,937,129 bytes to 20,880,631. Don’t know why it increased by 195 MB for you.
Can I try the 215 MB file?
Here’s the link to the 215 MB file
Thanks. The file has 6,826 styles in it, 6,647 of which were made today. Not sure what would trigger those files to be made. I will check with @Barry and @trent .
That’s a good lead but the other file that I was having performance issues with doesn’t have any .style files in the ref folder so I’m not sure that’s the main issue that’s bogging layout down so bad
Even without the skp model, if I open Document Setup, unlink all the files (just use those embedded in the doc), then purge, it hangs. (The skp model is still embedded in the LayOut doc you sent because it wasn’t purged).
How about if we start with the original doc with the viewports? Can you share that?
And @colin I can’t answer why those styles (6826 of them) got duplicated: I compared a bunch of them and they’re the same. 954 were HATCHES, 4103 were LINE DRAWING, 106 were related to Site Plan, 319 Fixtures, etc… -
my guess is you vector or hybrid rendered?
Yes I usually use hybrid and vector rendering for my layout drawings
That works find for me - (M1 Mac on Sequoia).
Your images and skp came from Dropbox? (see File->Document Setup->References). Don’t do that! Sync there rarely when you need to, but don’t work from there.
Here’s what Gemini tells me: typical SSD speeds 500MB/s - 3500MB/s+.
Dropbox typically allows users to upload and download files at speeds around 1800 KB/s. Wow, no wonder.
It may work sometimes, when we open a cached version and work with that, but when it has to check a reference and go out to Dropbox, you’re probably screwed.
I also use Raster in development, then set File->Document Setup->Rendering to Output Override (for raster rendered viewports only) and set to vector or hybrid when I’m done, and then check final output for the quality I expect.
I guess those years writing Service Bureau software comes in handy sometimes…
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@Barry I’ve been storing and syncing sketchup and layout files to Dropbox for years with no problems. As far as I am aware, dropbox saves the files locally on the HD before syncing them to DB. I often work on my desktop computer but need to access the sketchup files on my laptop when I am out in the field checking things or presenting to clients at a different location. If I save to my HD, I’d be constantly moving files around. Why do you recommend not using Dropbox? From Dropbox: Dropbox is not a cloud-base storage system where you have a “virtual” folder or drive. It’s a file synchronization service, meant to keep the files in your local Dropbox folder in-sync with the files in your account online and other linked devices. The local Dropbox folder is a folder like any other on your system, and anything stored in the folder takes up local drive space.
I know less about Dropbox than I do the early days of Google Drive client app that I worked on, but depending on when something’s changed in the cloud, the local version HAS to change, and depending on how efficiently that’s done can affect things. Hopefully, you’re right, but you’ll see all over our forums people having issues because their fast computer is suddenly talking to a very slow drive.
Other things to check, since it works for me with no issues and besides the other things I mentioned:
- Perhaps try clearing out the cached directory in (Mac) ~/Library/Application\ Support/SketchUp\ 2025/LayOut/Working/ (your specific file will be in a directory there, unzipped). You can also see which directory by hovering over a reference that might be local instead of on Dropbox.
- Control when your viewports render by turning off Auto render in the SketchUp Model Panel.
- When your file is in good shape, try purging unused references in Document Setup.
And there’s probably more…
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