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Illustrator CS3: How do I assign RAM?
I can assign RAM in photoshop CS3 in the preferences section, but i can't find where it is in the illustrator section? (for can i find the answer on google as results are always talking about ram requirements..) I am on Windows XP.
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Yes, I've run into that wall many times myself. Extremely frustrating.
Here's what is going on behind the scenes.
In Photoshop, let's say you are working with an image that is 100 pixels x 100 pixels. That's a 1000 pixel image. Photoshop needs roughly 4 times this much space to swap pixels back and forth to do calculations etc.
Then, when you ad a layer, depending on how much of the layer is filled wit stuff, you are storing the equivalent of another 1000 pixel image in memory.
If you make global changes to a layer such as a blur (even a tiny blur) then a 1000 pixel snapshot of the image is stored in the memory (for the history pallet)
As you can see, the memory gets filled up very fast by layers and undos, etc. This is why Photoshop has a scratch disk space to swap data back and fort from the computer's memory to the hard disk.
Illustrator works differently. It doesn't care what your canvas size is. A 100 x 100 pixel image takes the same space in memory as a 100,000 x 100,000 pixel image. Illustrator only cares about the anchor points and the connecting lines, etc. Any placed images just float around like extra baggage as far as the memory goes.
What happens with a vector image is this. When you tell illustrator to print a file, the program then takes the canvas data and plots out a raster canvas the desired size. Then, starting from the background objects , it determines how each of those pixels should look, changing them as it works itself forward to the front most objects.
This is called Raster Image Processing, or RIP for short and is referred to as ripping the image. From the beginning, Illustrator was a program designed for output to Post Script image processors with huge memories. The idea of using the program to produce art for the web is still sort of a "tacked on" feature. Artists started using it that way, and the Adobe marketing department convinced them to push the program that way, but it was never fully embraced by the Illustrator team.
So, back to your problem. When Illustrator tries to export a file as a raster image, it is trying to do it's own ripping inside of your computer without the aid of a swap file.
The entire multi-layered canvas plus processing overhead is depending on the entire available memory of your computer. Because of it's very efficient memory swapping algorithms, this is a "no sweat" job for Photoshop, but in Illustrator it can be a killer.
Here's what is going on behind the scenes.
In Photoshop, let's say you are working with an image that is 100 pixels x 100 pixels. That's a 1000 pixel image. Photoshop needs roughly 4 times this much space to swap pixels back and forth to do calculations etc.
Then, when you ad a layer, depending on how much of the layer is filled wit stuff, you are storing the equivalent of another 1000 pixel image in memory.
If you make global changes to a layer such as a blur (even a tiny blur) then a 1000 pixel snapshot of the image is stored in the memory (for the history pallet)
As you can see, the memory gets filled up very fast by layers and undos, etc. This is why Photoshop has a scratch disk space to swap data back and fort from the computer's memory to the hard disk.
Illustrator works differently. It doesn't care what your canvas size is. A 100 x 100 pixel image takes the same space in memory as a 100,000 x 100,000 pixel image. Illustrator only cares about the anchor points and the connecting lines, etc. Any placed images just float around like extra baggage as far as the memory goes.
What happens with a vector image is this. When you tell illustrator to print a file, the program then takes the canvas data and plots out a raster canvas the desired size. Then, starting from the background objects , it determines how each of those pixels should look, changing them as it works itself forward to the front most objects.
This is called Raster Image Processing, or RIP for short and is referred to as ripping the image. From the beginning, Illustrator was a program designed for output to Post Script image processors with huge memories. The idea of using the program to produce art for the web is still sort of a "tacked on" feature. Artists started using it that way, and the Adobe marketing department convinced them to push the program that way, but it was never fully embraced by the Illustrator team.
So, back to your problem. When Illustrator tries to export a file as a raster image, it is trying to do it's own ripping inside of your computer without the aid of a swap file.
The entire multi-layered canvas plus processing overhead is depending on the entire available memory of your computer. Because of it's very efficient memory swapping algorithms, this is a "no sweat" job for Photoshop, but in Illustrator it can be a killer.
ASKER
Thanks for that insighful clarification! All that said, I guess it can be summed up as: illustrator basically doesnt deal well with rasters AT ALL. I guess I learned my lesson the long way. its too bad it doesnt tell you exaclty how much memory you were lacking as far as its aware. What a crazy program overall, photoshop also (i love how they are very simular in interface, but very different at the same time - different shortcuts for the same functions etc).
> What a crazy program overall, photoshop also (i love how they are very similar in interface, but very different at the same time - different shortcuts for the same functions etc).
Starting with version 7, Adobe announced that it would start trying to bring all of their programs closer to a common methodology. In the old days, they didn't even handle color the same way. Colors always shifted moving from one program to another. They did fix that, and they changed some shortcuts.
Then they bought Macromedia with all of their programs and THAT became a full time job just trying to make those programs work together, much less use the same commands and shortcuts.
What is the most frustrating is the move to the Creative Suites. This means that Illustrator has to be ready to release a new version at the same time Photoshop and Dreamweaver and InDesign do. IMHO this makes for rushed and tacked on features with little regard to improving the core program.
Starting with version 7, Adobe announced that it would start trying to bring all of their programs closer to a common methodology. In the old days, they didn't even handle color the same way. Colors always shifted moving from one program to another. They did fix that, and they changed some shortcuts.
Then they bought Macromedia with all of their programs and THAT became a full time job just trying to make those programs work together, much less use the same commands and shortcuts.
What is the most frustrating is the move to the Creative Suites. This means that Illustrator has to be ready to release a new version at the same time Photoshop and Dreamweaver and InDesign do. IMHO this makes for rushed and tacked on features with little regard to improving the core program.
>What is the most frustrating is the move to the Creative Suites. This means that Illustrator has to be ready to release a new version at the same time Photoshop and Dreamweaver and InDesign do. IMHO this makes for rushed and tacked on features with little regard to improving the core program.
AMEN brother!!
AMEN brother!!
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