Slow lag in typing within tables

[macuser]

I find that when I create a table in Word 2008, it doesn't take much typing (fewer than 20 lines or 500 words of text) before a serious lag develops between my typing and the appearance of characters in the document. There is a similar delay in the deleting and backspacing keys. This problem did not exist in prior versions of Word. I use tables A LOT so this is a REALLY frustrating development! Please help!!!

 

[John McGhie]

That's not happening for me, so it has to be a corrupt table.

Please tell me more about the structure of your table and how you made it,
and I can tell you how to fix it.

Cheers

I find that when I create a table in Word 2008, it doesn't take much typing
(fewer than 20 lines or 500 words of text) before a serious lag develops
between my typing and the appearance of characters in the document. There is
a similar delay in the deleting and backspacing keys. This problem did not
exist in prior versions of Word. I use tables A LOT so this is a REALLY
frustrating development! Please help!!!

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[macuser]

It happens with every table I try to use in Word '08. I first noticed it when I opened a file with a large amount of text in a 3x2 table that I had been using in an earlier version of Word with no difficulties. I tried several tests of that document to try to isolate the problem, but to no avail. I then tried opening an entirely new table (3x3 cells that I created using the Table button in the tool bar) in Word '08 and starting typing in that table, and that's what made me aware of the problem I described above...

 

[macuser]

To clarify... I tried saving the old file as .docx and that didn't help. I've encountered this same problem on both my machines - a pre-Intel PowerMac G5 and an Intel-based MacBook Pro. I've also check the processor activity monitor, and it's not a processor load issue.

Thanks for your help!

 

[little_creature]

Or corrupted document, when you said:

I then tried opening an entirely new table (3x3 cells that I created using the Table button in the tool bar) in Word '08 and starting typing in that table,

Have you created a new word document or have tried to create a new
table in current document?

 

[John McGhie]

OK, that has to be a corrupt Normal template.

Daiya has an article here http://word.mvps.org/mac/MacWordNormal.html on
how to replace it with a clean new one.

After that, new documents you create will hopefully not have the problem.

Hope this helps

To clarify... I tried saving the old file as .docx and that didn't help. I've
encountered this same problem on both my machines - a pre-Intel PowerMac G5
and an Intel-based MacBook Pro. I've also check the processor activity
monitor, and it's not a processor load issue.

Thanks for your help!

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[macuser]

Unfortunately that did not fix the problem (but thanks for the attempt). Is there something that be corrupting the new Normal template immediately upon its creation???

 

[John McGhie]

Yes.

When Word creates its Normal template, it first looks to see if a Normal
template exists from Word X or Word 2004.

If it does, it attempts to import the settings from it. And in doing so,
creates this kind of problem.

Delete every instances of "Normal" template on the computer, empty the
trash, then reboot. Now Start Word 2008 again.

That will create a clean un-customised Normal template.

Now try again.

If it still doesn't work, then we have to dig a bit deeper to find out what
the problem is.

Hope this helps

Unfortunately that did not fix the problem (but thanks for the attempt). Is
there something that be corrupting the new Normal template immediately upon
its creation???

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory, Australia
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[Benjamin Herndon]

I tried this, also to no avail. I think we need to dig a bit deeper!

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Benjamin:

Damn! We coulda got lucky...

* Let me just check: you ALSO deleted Normal.dotm?

* And you emptied the trash?

* And you tried this in a brand-new document?

If "Yes" to all of the above, then we need to go on a hunt for Haxies on
your system

Shut down, and do a Shift/Startup to disable all the startup items and bring
the OS up in its most basic mode.

Then try again, just creating a new document, save it in "Microsoft Word
(.docx)" format, and try creating a new table again. You may get error
messages and such: nothing runs "well" in Safe Mode. I just want to know
whether the typing speed improves.

If that brings it right, we need to investigate your system further.

Word 2008 does not usually do this. It doesn't do it on my system.
However: Typing in tables places a very high power demand on the system and
Word. Not a problem if the System has plenty of power to spare. Big
problem if something else is sucking all the power out of the computer
before Word gets to type in its table.

By starting up in Safe Mode, we shut down everything else that could be
sucking power. If Word then comes right, we need to go on a hunt for the
greedy-guts and shoot it

It may not be CPU demand that is doing it. Various haxies (e.g. TypeIt For
Me) sit between the keyboard and Word, examining every keystroke that
whistles past. That can grind Word to a halt if it is trying to suck power
at the time

Hope this helps

I tried this, also to no avail. I think we need to dig a bit deeper!

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory, Australia
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[Benjamin Herndon]

I tried restarting in Safe Mode and it didn't have any effect on the problem. Also, I realized I left out an important point about reproducing the problem - you have to type AT LEAST 100+ words with many intervening carriage returns within a single table cell at a rapid rate of typing in order to reproduce the problem.

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Benjamin:

Hmmmm.... Still won't do it here (I have about a thousand words in one
cell...)

Mind you, as I am sure you know perfectly well, we "shouldn't" use paragraph
marks within a table cell :_)

Paragraph marks contain complex formatting, which makes Word work a lot
harder trying to figure out which formatting properties to apply and which
to ignore in a table cell.

However, it shouldn't do what you are seeing.

So now, we need to find out where all the power is going.

Here's a thought: Produce the problem, then quite Entourage. Entourage/OS
10.5.1 have a memory leak that hogs up to 100 per cent of the processor and
memory if you leave Entourage running for a few hours with the progress
window displayed.

OK, let's bring up Activity Monitor and see what the various processes are
doing.

I am particularly interested in the CPU and memory figures for Word, of
course.

Talk tomorrow...

I tried restarting in Safe Mode and it didn't have any effect on the problem.
Also, I realized I left out an important point about reproducing the problem -
you have to type AT LEAST 100+ words with many intervening carriage returns
within a single table cell at a rapid rate of typing in order to reproduce the
problem.

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory, Australia
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[Benjamin Herndon]

Here's what I observed on Activity Monitor... With just Word and Firefox open (and doing nothing), there are just under 30 processes reported. CPU usage registers around 7% user / 7% system / 85% idle. Word's process reports a CPU number of .5 (is that a percentage?).

When I start typing in the table, Word's CPU number goes to 95 and CPU usage for the user goes above 50%, spiking as high as 95%.

Hope this helps!!!

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Benjamin:

Damn! That's what I thought you might see.

OK, that proves definitively that it is Word that is doing this.

Would you please email me a sample of a document that does it, and I will
put this through to the developers for analysis.

I also need to get the exact detail of your system. Please start the System
Profiler (from the Apple Menu, About this Mac, More Detail....)

On the View profile, set it to Full Profile, then click "Refresh". Be
prepared to wait, that will take several minutes

Then, on the file menu, click Save As, and give the file a name.

Now, create an Archive of each file separately. You MUST do this step, or
the files will be too big to make it through my email filter

Then send them to me, in separate emails. I'll pack them off to Microsoft.

Microsoft will use the output of your System Profiler to replicate your
computer, and thus they will hopefully be able to reproduce (and thus fix!)
the problem

Hope this helps

Here's what I observed on Activity Monitor... With just Word and Firefox open
(and doing nothing), there are just under 30 processes reported. CPU usage
registers around 7% user / 7% system / 85% idle. Word's process reports a CPU
number of .5 (is that a percentage?).

When I start typing in the table, Word's CPU number goes to 95 and CPU usage
for the user goes above 50%, spiking as high as 95%.

Hope this helps!!!

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory, Australia
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]