Looking for advice on what I can do to make DT not run so slow.
For example, the first time I left click on an item, instead of a menu I get a beach ball for a minute or two. Also, if I start typing in the search box, often it takes tens of seconds or more to type each letter.
This happens on a 2017 iMac with 3.2 GHz Intel Core i5 (Skylake), 8GB RAM, and 1TB Fusion Drive, as well as a 2013 iMac with 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5, 16GB RAM, and 1TB, Fusion Drive, both running DT 3.8.3.
I usually have about 5 to 7 databases open, with a combined size of roughly 33GB.
How should I address the speed issue? Will moving to SSDs resolve it? Moving to 32GB RAM? An M1, M1 Pro, or M1 Max? I could perhaps close a couple databases, but my work requires at least 4 or 5 open, and sometimes more.
There are certainly ppl running DT on similar devices here on the forum; I had DT running in a generally similar configuration on a MacBook not long ago; the major difference was that I had an SSD - I never experienced delays of the kind you are describing. The only information I see missing from your post is the approximate number of records in the databases; 33 GB of database could be 2 video files or hundreds of millions of small text files - and that makes a significant difference.
I’m not quite sure the problem here is DT, or that it will be improved by any of the steps you describe; I actually think it may be worth opening a support ticket. I’m going to guess DT may ask you to sample the process and provide them with the sample for evaluation.
However, a couple of points may also help others here help:
which macOS version are you using?
how many records are involved?
are you running antivirus software?
how full is your fusion drive?
are you running other software at the same time as running DT?
where are the databases located?
are you experiencing similar delays with any other software?
Thanks for the detailed response, really appreciate it.
which macOS version are you using?
One machine runs Catalina, the other Monterey. Both up to date.
how many records are involved?
One DB has about 26,000, another about 8,000, and the other three or four about 2,000 - 4,000 each.
are you running antivirus software?
No.
how full is your fusion drive?
One machine has about 400GB free out of 1.12TB.
are you running other software at the same time as running DT?
Usually Time Machine, iCloud, sync software, cloud backup, Safari, Word, Spotify, etc.
where are the databases located?
Internal drive.
are you experiencing similar delays with any other software?
On one machine, I sometimes get skips on Spotify because it’s running a real-time audio calibration software (SoundId Reference). However, this would not explain the problem on the other machine, and the problem pre-dates the audio software.
Thanks Is there any apparent difference in the behaviour immediately after rebooting the Mac? Are the delays affected by the number of open databases (so do you see the same with one and with all databases open)?
The number of records involved is pretty small; DT can handle those kind of numbers easily. @cgrunenberg might a sample of the process be useful in this case?
A sample and a screenshot might be useful too. E.g. an always visible Concordance inspector can cause delays, depending on the selection. Just like lots of smart groups having complex queries.
Therefore please launch Apple’s Activity Monitor application (see Applications > Utilities), select the frozen DEVONthink 3 in the list of processes, choose the menu item View > Sample Process and send the result plus a screenshot to cgrunenberg - at - devon-technologies.com. Thanks in advance!
Is there any apparent difference in the behaviour immediately after rebooting the Mac? Are the delays affected by the number of open databases (so do you see the same with one and with all databases open)?