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Thread ID: 50147 2004-10-11 22:15:00 Word Doc so sloooooowwwww k8smum (6062) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
280354 2004-10-11 22:15:00 Good Morning
I have to update a mailing list on a monthly basis, from which I produce labels. Originally it was an Excel document, but following numerous corruptions and associated hassles with returned mail, etc., I decided to try and recreate the database in Word. That was easy enough (copy/paste), but now my PC is running like a donkey every time I try to make edits. The doc is about 41 landscape pages, and is 11 columns wide. It is not a particularly complex layout and I do not need to manipulate the data beyond a basic postcode sort. The PC is a P4 2.66GHz with 512 MB RAM. Any suggestions on how I can speed things up, or am I wasting my time (in more ways than one!) trying to use Word in this way? Cheers.
P.S: I did a dummy mail merge and it produces the labels perfectly, although slowly.
k8smum (6062)
280355 2004-10-11 22:34:00 A P4 with hyperthreading would probably help as would another 512mb of RAM but they arent exactly free and may not be possible. How is the swap file setup? Are you running any other programs at the same time as Word? What version of Word are you running? Ive got Word 2003 here at work with only 256mb and blatantly refuse to use it. Perhaps you could try a less resource hogging peice of software such as OpenOffice? (its free :D) Pete O'Neil (250)
280356 2004-10-11 22:36:00 Is it slow when trying to sort or just change an address?
How many records do you keep in your database?
Rob99 (151)
280357 2004-10-11 22:42:00 Have a look at these two pages you might find a fix hope fully.
here (word.mvps.org)
here (support.microsoft.com)
hth
johnboy (217)
280358 2004-10-11 22:43:00 > A P4 with hyperthreading would probably help as would
> another 512mb of RAM but they arent exactly free and
> may not be possible. How is the swap file setup? Are
> you running any other programs at the same time as
> Word? What version of Word are you running? Ive got
> Word 2003 here at work with only 256mb and blatantly
> refuse to use it. Perhaps you could try a less
> resource hogging peice of software such as
> OpenOffice? (its free :D)

Swap file??? Using Word 2002. Not running any other programs. Can't do too much on the technical side as this is a work machine and I don't have administrator's rights.
k8smum (6062)
280359 2004-10-11 22:46:00 > Is it slow when trying to sort or just change an
> address?
> How many records do you keep in your database?

Any type of edit is slow. Copying, pasting, inserting, moving - you name it. There are approximately 1600 records in the database - which was probably why it was done in Excel in the first place.
k8smum (6062)
280360 2004-10-11 22:53:00 > Have a look at these two pages you might find a fix
> hope fully.
>
Thanks, but I don't have problems opening or printing the document, only editing. For example, when I create a blank line in the table (and that can take a fair few seconds) my typing seems to be at about 1 keystroke/10 seconds. I don't wish to "skite" but my actual typing speed is closer to 120 wpm - no kidding! I've been doing it for a long, long, long time...
k8smum (6062)
280361 2004-10-11 22:56:00 You could try from a fresh restart, if that dosent work I'd suggest you see the administrator and get them to speed your computer up, or tell your boss they are paying you for sitting around and doing nothing while watching this slow pig they call a computer. Rob99 (151)
280362 2004-10-11 23:03:00 This is the best site on the web for help with Word, and Word documents.
theofficeexperts.com
godfather (25)
280363 2004-10-11 23:07:00 If its a work machine perahaps you should talk to your administrator about the problem?

If its Windows XP then right click on My Computer>Properties>Advanced>Performance Settings>Advanced>Change
This should allow you to specify the size of the windows swap file. When the system runs out of RAM, it starts using the sway file on the harddrive. By default windows manages the swap file but sometime you need to manually set its size.
Pete O'Neil (250)
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