[scribus] Can't select objects [1.3.5svn]

[Gregory Pittman]

Matt Gushee wrote:
> Hi, all--
>
> I am attempting to lay out a book using Scribus 1.3.5 (build ID 
> C-C-T-F-C1.6.4) on Linux, and have encountered a serious problem as 
> the document grows.
>
> The book, I suppose, would be considered a large document (about 160 
> pages right now), but it is fairly simple: a novel with no 
> illustrations, so there are just text frames, including the main body, 
> chapter titles, and page headings; I haven't added a TOC yet.
>
> Anyway, I have found that beyond a certain point in the document, I 
> cannot select objects (text frames or pages) with the mouse. Here are 
> some details I have observed:
>
>  * As far as I can tell, the problem is not related to how long Scribus
>    has been running or the file has been open.
>
>  * It is very much related to the order that the objects appear in the
>    document (which is roughly the same as the order in which they were
>    added to the document). To be specific, right now it takes about 1
>    second to select a frame on page 3, where the body text begins. It
>    gradually gets a little slower up to page 101, where it takes about 3
>    seconds--slow, but not intolerably so. From page 102 onward, mouse
>    clicks have no effect at all, even if I wait several minutes.
>
>  * The above-mentioned threshold appears to be constant from one Scribus
>    session to the next, though I haven't investigated this thoroughly.
>
>  * I can select objects on any page via the Outline dialog, with
>    reasonable response time.
>
>  * This was not happening when I first laid out the book. I didn't use
>    auto text frames, and I was able to insert all the frames with little
>    trouble. After I had done that, however, I decided to change the page
>    size and revise the master pages. The trouble started at that time or
>    a bit afterwards.
>
> Fortunately, this is a semi-serious project with no deadline, but 
> since I have gotten a good deal of work done, I'd like to finish it.
>
> Anyway, is this a known issue? If so, are there any known solutions or 
> workarounds? I'd appreciate any tips you may have.
>
Some generic comments:
1.3.5svn is known to be slow, and this will worsen as a project gets 
quite large, whether images, text and images, or even just text.

Even in earlier versions, it is recommended to break up a large project 
to smaller ones of no more than (about) 30 pages each.


Others may be able to address more specific issues.

Greg