DesignMerge FAQs

Processing Speed

Q. How can I speed up jobs?

A. Please refer to the updated document, Speeding up DesignMerge

Q. QuarkXPress is very slow and sometimes stops working all-together.

A. If you are running QuarkXPress on Macintosh OS 9.2.2 or on OS X in Classic mode, check to see if you have assigned enough memory to QuarkXPress. The Minimum amount should be at least equal to the amount Suggested by QuarkXPress. Adding DesignMerge to the QuarkXPress environment may increase its memory needs. We recommend that you assign at least 100000 as the Preferred amount of assigned memory. The more memory you can assign, the faster QuarkXPress and DesignMerge will be able to perform.

Q. DesignMerge Warning Message "...build/merge process appears to be running slowly..."

A. If you are running one of the DesignMerge print drivers (VIPP Native Mode, Creo VPS, PPML, Xeikon PrintStreamer or PostScript), you may have seen this warning message:

This message indicates that there is not enough memory allocated to your QuarkXPress application in order to efficiently build the temporary document required by the DesignMerge merge process.

The first thing you should do in this case is allocate more memory to the QuarkXPress application and try the merge again. If the problem persists, then follow the steps outlined below (note: the example presented below shows a screen capture for the VIPP Native Mode driver, but a similar Preference item exists for all DesignMerge print drivers).

  1. Start the Merge/Print session by choosing Merge from the DesignMerge menu, or by clicking the Merge button on the palette.
  2. When the Print Driver dialog window is displayed, there should be a button called Prefs.
  3. Important: Hold down the Command Key (Apple Key), and then press the Prefs button.
  4. The Preferences dialog window will open, and a hidden option called “Max temp doc pages”, or something similar will be displayed at the bottom of the dialog window, as shown below.



    The number entered here will probably be set at 250, which is the default number. Change this number to 30 by keying the new number into the box.
  5. Click the OK button to close the Preference dialog and save the changes. You will be returned to the Print Driver dialog window.
  6. Continue with the DesignMerge merge/print session.

The change you just made will reduce the size of the temporary document that DesignMerge creates and should increase performance. This change is permanent and will be applied to all subsequent merge sessions for the specified print driver.

If you continue to receive the error message, or if DesignMerge continues to run slowly, please contact our technical support department for assistance.

HINT: If you are running QuarkXPress 5.0, you might want to consider using QuarkXPress 4.11 instead. Our tests indicate that DesignMerge operates as much as 35% faster using QuarkXPress 4.11.

Q. How can I speed up my Creo VPS merge jobs?

A. Choosing to create External files instead of Internal files will greatly improve the performance. This option can be set for the Fixed, Text, and Image Layers in the VPS window that is displayed when you start a VPS merge. For more information, please see the Creo VPS manual in the DesignMerge documentation folder in your installation files.