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Speed up save and open dialog boxes System
I was having to wait up to a minute every time I saved a file in an application when using Tiger. I looked high and low for a reason, and finally discovered that having my iDisk sync set to Automatic was the problem.

So I went to the .Mac System Preferences panel, clicked the iDisk tab, and clicked on the Stop button in the iDisk Syncing section. Once you have done this, it should show Start to indicate that syncing is now off.

Once I'd done that, the computer appeared to be generally more responsive ... and when saving files, it takes only about a second to load up the dialog box. Much nicer!

[robg adds: A friend confirms that when he used auto iDisk sync, he also experienced slow Open/Save dialogs. I'm not sure if leaving it enabled but setting it to manual would avoid the issue or not...]
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Speed up save and open dialog boxes | 20 comments | Create New Account
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Speed up save and open dialog boxes
Authored by: Watchful on Dec 07, '05 07:42:18AM

Interesting, I have recently set my syncing to automatic and did not notice a difference. It would be a major bummer if it is true because I really like auto sync.



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Speed up save and open dialog boxes
Authored by: davidbwolff on Dec 07, '05 08:55:22AM

I have had this problem on all of my macs (G5 desktop, G4 laptop and G5 Imac). I continued to have the problem until I turned OFF IDisk synching completely.



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NASA GSFC, Code 613.1
Greenbelt, MD 20771



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Speed up save and open dialog boxes
Authored by: jmdevaney on Dec 07, '05 07:43:04AM

I can verify this with all my machines running Tiger with auto iDisk sync (Mac Mini 1.42Ghz, PowerMac Dual G4 1.42Ghz, PowerBook 1Ghz).

Has anyone filed a bug report? If not I will this afternoon.

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Jdevaney



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Speed up save and open dialog boxes
Authored by: rbrough on Dec 07, '05 07:48:24AM

I've had my iDisk sync set to manual for ages, and the save dialog was really quite slow too. I have just turned off local copy of iDisk, and the save dialog seems unbelievably fast now (all be it on a very small sample of attempts!)



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Speed up save and open dialog boxes
Authored by: jmdevaney on Dec 07, '05 07:49:01AM

Quick update: this only seems to be an issue with apps like Office 2004. iWork, Omni Apps, etc... all give me a save as dialog instantly.

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Jdevaney



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Speed up save and open dialog boxes
Authored by: mnyman on Dec 07, '05 07:58:16AM

Thank you so much for finding this out. It has been very annoying to me for quite some time. For me, the delay only ocurred the first time trying to Save As in any individual app. Subsequent Save As attempts would happen right away. Quitting and reopening would once again give me the delay the first time around.

Turning off the local idisk worked for me. The delay happened with both automatic and manual syncs.



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Speed up save and open dialog boxes
Authored by: alset on Dec 07, '05 08:07:41AM

Could anyone experiencing this problem please post the speed of the internet connection in use?

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standing on the shoulders of giants



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Speed up save and open dialog boxes
Authored by: friedmaj on Dec 07, '05 08:13:21AM

I have this problem and my internet speed is 7 megabits/sec. The trouble is, I really like automatic iDisk syncing, so I'd hate to have to turn it off.



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Speed up save and open dialog boxes
Authored by: dfbills on Dec 07, '05 08:13:28AM

I've seen this problem since the introduction of automatic sync. It has gone from annoying to unusable to simply annoying depending on the various system updates. I'm on a cable modem connection.

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-d



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Speed up save and open dialog boxes
Authored by: Spanbauer on Dec 07, '05 08:38:46AM

It's exactly like the OS 9 days where if you had any removable media mounted, you'd get a delay bringing up open/save dialog boxes as the application forced the computer to spin up or scan the media.

I too have been experiencing the open/save dialog delays ever since I got my new 20" iMac last spring. I knew it was a result of the iDisk, but since I hadn't heard anyone else discussing it I thought maybe something of mind had gotten corrupted in the process of transferring my user account from my old iMac. The Adobe Creative Suite is where I notice this issue, and it is only the first time you open or save a document. I have cable internet from Comcast.

If turning off automatic syncing is the only solution, that's a bummer. But I don't think my iDisk was ever smart enough to sync on it's own anyway (I always get impatient and click the iDisk refresh button in the Finder).



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Speed up save and open dialog boxes
Authored by: mm2270 on Dec 07, '05 09:20:20AM

Yeah, I've experienced this too. On my previous Mac, a dual G4, I had the local copy of my iDisk turned on with auto syncing enabled. Like others here, every time I would save or open in an application the first time, there was a ridiculously long delay. I eventually figured out it was my iDisk, but I didn't disable it. When I replaced that Mac with an iMac recently, local iDisk copy and syncing was one of the things I made sure NOT to turn on. The problem has not appeared since.

If I need to copy something to my iDisk I just mount it manually and do what I need, then quickly dismount it to avoid any slowness problems.

A similar effect can happen with things like a CD/DVD or even slow FW/USB disks mounted, though not as extreme.



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Speed up save and open dialog boxes
Authored by: gdelfino on Dec 07, '05 11:19:17AM

I was having this problem. Thank you so much for the hint. I am using a Power Mac Dual 2.5 GHz. And my internet connection is pretty fast.



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Speed up save and open dialog boxes
Authored by: jiclark on Dec 07, '05 01:26:12PM
Sorry to say it, but I'm not surprised about this at all. Apple should be embarrassed that their implementation of the iDisk with the Finder is still as slow as it is. Downright glacial. An interesting workaround is to use an FTP client (like Transmit) that can use WebDAV. It actually makes using one's iDisk almost pleasant! Much faster than the Finder, that's for sure. No comparison really...

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Speed up save and open dialog boxes
Authored by: balthisar on Dec 07, '05 03:47:48PM

Yup -- that just instantly fixed my dang slow Save... dialogues. This only started happening with 10.4; I'd never had a problem before.

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--Jim (me)



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Speed up save and open dialog boxes
Authored by: jpgetty on Dec 07, '05 04:09:01PM

I only see this effect with some Microsoft applications - not Word, Powerpoint, or Excel, but with Remote Desktop Connection. Turning off iDisk syncing fixes it. So I don't know if this is an Apple problem or a Microsoft problem. RDC is several years old.



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Speed up save and open dialog boxes
Authored by: sjmills on Dec 07, '05 05:21:56PM

Apple is aware of this problem and will hopefully fix it soon. It's been brought up on one or more developer mailing lists and Apple engineers have replied, saying to just go to the Finder and hit the little sync button next to your iDisk in the sidebar. (A much better solution than turning auto syncing off.) Something about Nav Services waiting for the iDisk to sync or something like that.



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Speed up save and open dialog boxes
Authored by: recottle2001 on Dec 08, '05 05:34:28PM

I too have had this problem since the upgrade to Tiger. It seems to be a problem in all applications including AppleWorks and Photoshop Elements, as well as others. A call to Apple early on indicated an issues with MS apps, and it was corrected briefly when I trashed MS preferences, but then again began to reappear.

Once you have accessed the open/save dialog in an app, subsequent open and saves are normal speed, but the first access can be very, very slow. Turning off or chaning away form automatic iDisk sync seems to solve the issue. Obviously an Apple OSX Tiger problem since it seems to center around the sycn to the iDisk.

I have four machines, all running Tiger, all different Macs and all have the identical behavior.


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recpnc



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Speed up save and open dialog boxes
Authored by: swatharow on Dec 10, '05 04:37:42AM

Hey, exactly the same problem. I was having to wait literally minutes with a File SaveAs dialog. It was embarrassing as I'm a recent switcher and I've been trying to show off my G5 to some Windows users and this sort of think obviously isn't doing Apple any good.

Anyway, I've taken everyone's advice and turned off iDisk syncing and it's working perfectly now. ANd to think I never even used iDisk and it's given me all this grief!!

THanks for your help everyone.
Sean



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Speed up save and open dialog boxes
Authored by: Timmargh on Dec 09, '05 04:47:31AM

I was having this trouble with Word, Excel etc. and things like Photoshop - this hint has fixed it (and made me happy!).

For reference, I'm using a 2Mbps ADSL connection with 256Kbps upstream.



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Speed up save and open dialog boxes
Authored by: Guntis on Mar 17, '06 01:31:25PM

I also had this problem in Tiger. It seems to be a problem in all applications including Safari, MS Office, as well as others. Once you have accessed the open/save dialog in an app, subsequent open and saves are (almost) normal speed, but the first access can be very, very slow. Sometimes up to 2 minutes! Turning off automatic iDisk sync seems to solve the issue. Obviously it's an Apple OSX Tiger problem since it seems to center around the sycing to the iDisk. Why they can't fix it, and kick in iDisk only when I explicitly click oon it?
Thanks for the tip!!!

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"In a world without fences and walls, who needs Gates and Windows?"



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