[GreenLorax]

I was just wondering if anyone else finds OF very slow to open and once loaded very slow to open the settings?

Takes ~17 sec to open OF on iPhone. (this is straight after starting the phone)
Takes ~ 24 sec to open settings once OF is open.

Is this normal? Is there a way to speed it up or could this be a problem with the iPhone?

From searching around I have tried a couple of things. My database is not very big at the moment (70 actions), I have moved old data to archive and switched off auto-sync.

Cheers,
Steve


(sorry if this has been covered, I couldn't find a specific answer when I searched).

[Editor's note: see post 8 below for the resolution of this performance issue: load times were reduced to 3 seconds.]

[whpalmer4]

That does sound pokey, but just how pokey it might be depends on a number of factors that you didn't mention. How many zip files in your database (this is mentioned in the same place where the action count is)? Do you embed files in your database, or lengthy notes with lots of formatting? How large is the database file? Does it take this long if you reboot the iPhone (hold down the button up top until you get the "slide to power off" slider, then do so)? Which model of iPhone do you have?

[GreenLorax]

Originally Posted by whpalmer4

That does sound pokey, but just how pokey it might be depends on a number of factors that you didn't mention. How many zip files in your database (this is mentioned in the same place where the action count is)? Do you embed files in your database, or lengthy notes with lots of formatting? How large is the database file? Does it take this long if you reboot the iPhone (hold down the button up top until you get the "slide to power off" slider, then do so)? Which model of iPhone do you have?

Thanks for the reply.

Other information:

- 14 projects, 70 actions, 2116 zip files (that does seem like a lot of zip files!)
- I don't embed things in my database (at least I don't recall doing that).
- Yes, it takes that long after rebooting the phone (those times were from straight after rebooting).
- Using iPhone 3G

Sorry, I am not sure how to find the size of my database - will try and find out in the meantime.

Steve

[whpalmer4]

Okay, that zip file count is most likely your problem. Here's how you fix it. Sync your iPhone. Sync your desktop. Go do something else for 61 minutes. Sync your iPhone again. Sync your desktop again. Sync the iPhone one more time and have a look at the zip file count -- it should be a much smaller number!

Do you typically not having OmniFocus running on your Mac when you are using the iPhone, and vice versa? The auto-compaction code runs when it sees that all the clients have been in sync for an hour (this is protection against a client having a hard time writing out the sync data in a timely fashion, such as an iPhone in a place where reception is marginal). If you always have only one or the other active, there will be fewer occasions when that set of conditions is met, and the zip file count will continue to build up. Each one represents some sort of change to the database, and that history needs to be kept until all the clients using can agree that they are all in sync and none of it might have to be unwound.

You can find the size of your database by looking at the OmniFocus.ofocus file in your Library/Application Support/OmniFocus folder in your home directory. It might just be called OmniFocus depending on your Finder settings. For some more interesting stats, install and run Toadling's excellent Count Database Items script found here.

[GreenLorax]

Great, will give that a go. I have synced both Mac and iPhone, will see what happens in 1hr+.

My database size is only 32kb at the moment. Just wondering - If I have auto-sync off, when I open OF on the iPhone, will the number of zip files affect the time the program takes to open, or is it just when it is trying to sync at startup that it will slow things down? ie. does it just need to open the 32kb database file, or is it more than that?

[whpalmer4]

Hmm, perhaps you need to look at the size of the OmniFocus file on your iDisk instead (defaults to the Documents folder there).

There will be less of an impact if it isn't doing a sync at startup, but there still is an impact because among other things it has to build a representation of all of those transactions in case you do a sync. Performance will be much better once both clients can put all that past history behind them :)

[JKT]

The other thing to do is to check what clients are registered for synching in the OmniFocus (desktop) Preferences>Sync>Show clients panel. If it is more than what you are expecting, you need to get rid of any stale clients.

[GreenLorax]

Originally Posted by whpalmer4

Okay, that zip file count is most likely your problem. Here's how you fix it. Sync your iPhone. Sync your desktop. Go do something else for 61 minutes. Sync your iPhone again. Sync your desktop again. Sync the iPhone one more time and have a look at the zip file count -- it should be a much smaller number!

Do you typically not having OmniFocus running on your Mac when you are using the iPhone, and vice versa? The auto-compaction code runs when it sees that all the clients have been in sync for an hour (this is protection against a client having a hard time writing out the sync data in a timely fashion, such as an iPhone in a place where reception is marginal). If you always have only one or the other active, there will be fewer occasions when that set of conditions is met, and the zip file count will continue to build up. Each one represents some sort of change to the database, and that history needs to be kept until all the clients using can agree that they are all in sync and none of it might have to be unwound.

You can find the size of your database by looking at the OmniFocus.ofocus file in your Library/Application Support/OmniFocus folder in your home directory. It might just be called OmniFocus depending on your Finder settings. For some more interesting stats, install and run Toadling's excellent Count Database Items script found here.

Wow, it worked! Now only have 5 zip files. Loading OF now takes ~ 3s, and going to the Settings is ~1s.

Thanks heaps for your help. Didn't realise how much impact the zip files would have on loading the program. I assumed it would just be the syncing time. It is now very usable.

Cheers,
Steve

[whpalmer4]

Glad to hear it worked! You might want to experiment with having Auto-sync ON now that you've gotten the database compacted. Doing so might make it less likely for you to build up such a big transaction history again.

[jasonclarke]

I have a similar problem, but the app comes up quickly. It's synchronizations that take a long time - sometimes up to a minute. I only have about 180 zip files, and I leave OmniFocus on my Mac on all day every day, and regularly sync my iPhone. Is there something more I need to do to make synchronizing quicker?