Making Logos/Verbum 8 Faster - Brief Guide - 2019 Dec edition
Lots of people remark, correctly, that Logos/Verbum runs slowly on their computers, whether laptop or desktop. Many people request help in speeding things up on the forums. There are lots of things that one can (potentially) do to speed it up to some extent, whether great or small.
Here's a list of things that I hope will prove handy. How exactly to do these things (and why) has already been discussed in other threads easily found via Google.
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1. Replace your hard drive with an SSD. This solves most speed-related problems instantly and permanently.
2. Make sure you're using Logos/Verbum 8 and that it's fully updated. Run the Update Now command to be sure of program updates and the Update Resources command to make sure that all of your resources are fully updated.
3. Use selective downloading and/or hiding resources to limit the resource on your computer / visible in your library to stuff you might actually use. After doing this or if you have decided not to trim your visible/downloaded library, run the Delete Unlicensed Resources command.
4. Delete unnecessary Visual Filters.
5. Reduce the number of Collections that you have; you can replace them with MyTags.
6. Restart Logos/Verbum and let it finish indexing.
7. Restart your computer at least once per week. Do not just always have it hibernate or sleep.
8. Add more RAM if your device has less than ~8 GB of it or so. This will have more of an effect if you already have an SSD; if you don't, lack of RAM probably isn't the major limiting factor.
9. Prune programs running in the background, etc., that are eating up system resources unnecessarily. In Windows 10, Task Manager is your friend. Pay special attention to your anti-virus software.
10. If you use Logos/Verbum relatively rarely and find that it always needs to update or index when you need to do time-sensitive work, consider booting it up occasionally between those times so that it can update and index in your spare time.
11. If you've had this installation on your computer for years, perhaps updating it from Logos/Verbum 7 or even earlier, consider using the Rebuild Index command and letting it run on its own, potentially for a long time, before trying to do anything else on that device.
12. If using Windows, use the Set Use Ngen to Yes command. To speed up the program's launch on a Mac, try setting Logos/Verbum to open directly to a blank layout, rather than to the home page or any kind of populated layout.
13. If Guides are loading slowly, consider minimizing all or nearly all of their sections before closing in order to cause them to launch faster next time.
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Veterans, did I miss anything worth briefly noting?
NB: The above list has been edited repeatedly due to feedback given below.
“The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others and no one thinks about reforming himself.” St. Peter of Alcántara
Comments
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SineNomine said:
5. Reduce the number of Collections that you have; you can replace them with MyTags.
Curious about this one. Why would this one matter?
Myke Harbuck
Lead Pastor, www.ByronCity.Church
Adjunct Professor, Georgia Military College0 -
Myke Harbuck said:
Curious about this one. Why would this one matter?
Collections are built at startup-time. If you have diagnostic logging turned on, you can look into the logos.log file and will see the time it takes to build all of them.
Have joy in the Lord!
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If someone was going to run Rebuild Index, it might be beneficial to first run Delete Unlicensed Resources.
Thanks to FL for including Carta and a Hebrew audio bible in Logos 9!
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Myke Harbuck said:SineNomine said:
5. Reduce the number of Collections that you have; you can replace them with MyTags.
Curious about this one. Why would this one matter?
Dynamic collections can be slow. They're all recalculated when loading and every time the library catalog updates. Using the new syntax helps a lot, so my advice would be to delete dynamic collections you don't need and make sure other complex collections use the new syntax. Static collections (ones that just use 'plus/minus these resources') aren't slow.
This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!
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Starting to a blank layout has vastly improved my startup time. Just be mindful of making sure you have your layout saved if you are working on something. I like the convenience of opening to a last layout, but having a blank desktop lets me research things on the fly or starting something new without making an idol of an ongoing work as if I must finish it before doing something else. That Logos is up faster is more agile.
The mind of man is the mill of God, not to grind chaff, but wheat. Thomas Manton | Study hard, for the well is deep, and our brains are shallow. Richard Baxter
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SineNomine said:
2. Make sure you're using Logos/Verbum 8 and that it's fully updated. Run the Update Resources command to be sure.
If memory serves me correctly, this should be Update Now - not Update Resources - if we want to check for software updates. It's less intensive than the Update Resources command.
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Scott E. Mahle said:SineNomine said:
2. Make sure you're using Logos/Verbum 8 and that it's fully updated. Run the Update Resources command to be sure.
If memory serves me correctly, this should be Update Now - not Update Resources - if we want to check for software updates. It's less intensive than the Update Resources command.
One of the things you want to check for is resources/resource updates that haven't yet been downloaded, even if just to get the indexing all done in one go. Update Resources does a thorough check of everything; Update Now does not. I prioritized being thorough over being quick, but Update Now is a valid option.
EDIT: As pointed out below and double-checked in the present Logos Help documentation, Update Resources does a thorough check speciifcally for resource updates. As such, one should seemingly run both commands.
“The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others and no one thinks about reforming himself.” St. Peter of Alcántara
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PetahChristian said:
If someone was going to run Rebuild Index, it might be beneficial to first run Delete Unlicensed Resources.
Delete Unlicensed Resources could very well be beneficial, although it doesn't really matter which order these two commands are run in (as the rebuilding index will ignore unlicensed resources). I have, however, now added Delete Unlicensed Resources to Tip #3, so someone trying all of these things more or less in order will have done it before getting to Rebuild Index. Thank you for the reminder! [:)]
“The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others and no one thinks about reforming himself.” St. Peter of Alcántara
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mab said:
Starting to a blank layout has vastly improved my startup time. Just be mindful of making sure you have your layout saved if you are working on something. I like the convenience of opening to a last layout, but having a blank desktop lets me research things on the fly or starting something new without making an idol of an ongoing work as if I must finish it before doing something else. That Logos is up faster is more agile.
That's a good point. I have Verbum load to the home page, so I forgot about that. I'll add it to the original post.
“The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others and no one thinks about reforming himself.” St. Peter of Alcántara
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SineNomine said:
One of the things you want to check for is resources/resource updates that haven't yet been downloaded, even if just to get the indexing all done in one go. Update Resources does a thorough check of everything;
Update Now is the command for software and resource updates that haven't yet been downloaded.
Update Resources performs a thorough check of your license for any missing resources. This is not the command to use in the context of being up to date.
Dave
===Windows 11 & Android 13
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Dave Hooton said:SineNomine said:
One of the things you want to check for is resources/resource updates that haven't yet been downloaded, even if just to get the indexing all done in one go. Update Resources does a thorough check of everything;
Update Now is the command for software and resource updates that haven't yet been downloaded.
Update Resources performs a thorough check of your license for any missing resources. This is not the command to use in the context of being up to date.
You are correct, per the Logos 8 Help documentation. I have edited my original post.
Although I note that I've been running the Update Resources almost exclusively for some years and it has always seemed to find whatever program update was available.
“The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others and no one thinks about reforming himself.” St. Peter of Alcántara
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SineNomine said:
Veterans, did I miss anything worth briefly noting?
I read once that closing sections of a Guide (PG, or EG) will allow Logos to restore the layout quicker, then open (triangle points down instead of to the right) the section as you need it.
- If the section (say "all commentaries") is expanded then the layout finds the reference in each resource as part of the opening process. If you have several commentary collections then the program is finding the passage in each commentary in each collection.
- This save start-up time, but introduces a few seconds wait each time a new section is opened. For me I'd rather wait a couple seconds for each section rather than several minutes every time I open a guide.
- I find this "closed sections" of a layout is a good compromise between "blank layout" and a "fully expanded" layout with several guides.
Making Disciples! Logos Ecosystem = LogosMax on Microsoft Surface Pro 7 (Win11), Android app on tablet, FSB on iPhone & iPad mini, Proclaim (Proclaim Remote on Fire Tablet).
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Myke Harbuck said:
Curious about this one. Why would this one matter?
I found this to be one of the great headaches with Logos. One of its most important and best features has to be minimized for it to run optimally.
At one point, I had several hundred collections. I had to pare the down to a few dozen (and it did make a difference in speed).
Kind of a bummer.
Eating a steady diet of government cheese, and living in a van down by the river.
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SineNomine said:
4. Disable/delete unnecessary Visual Filters.
You have to delete VF's for performance.
SineNomine said:6. Restart Logos/Verbum and let it finish indexing.
7. Restart your computer at least once per week. Do not just always have it hibernate or sleep.
Logos performs an Update Now when restarted, and there are sufficient requests for a restart when certain resource updates have been downloaded. So I would disregard this and restart the computer once per week for performance.
SineNomine said:9. Prune programs running in the background, etc., that are eating up system resources unnecessarily. In Windows 10, Task Manager is your friend. Pay special attention to your anti-virus software.
Your anti-virus software is the place to prune unnecessary functions e.g. web protection could be performed by your browser and anti-virus.
SineNomine said:12. To speed up the program's launch, try setting Logos/Verbum to open directly to a blank layout,
In Windows, use the command Set Use Ngen to Yes for that purpose, without resorting to a blank layout. It is effective until you set it to No.
Dave
===Windows 11 & Android 13
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Doc B said:
At one point, I had several hundred collections. I had to pare the down to a few dozen (and it did make a difference in speed).
Kind of a bummer.
Will this work??
A) keep the original rules for the dynamic collection by saving them to a text document outside of Logos / Verbum. [Logos collection rules.docx ??]
tag the collection with something meaningful. Use the tags in place of the dynamic collection. C) then it is safe to remove the dynamic collection. [but save the defining rules some place safe]
D) every once in a while check if you have new members that should be in the collection by rebuilding the dynamic collection by using the rule you saved in the text document. Add tags to any missing members. Delete the newly rebuild but no longer needed collection (your using tags instead)
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Dave Hooton said:SineNomine said:
4. Disable/delete unnecessary Visual Filters.
You have to delete VF's for performance.
I've gotten away with changing them to a Bible I never use and to a single book in that Bible. I don't know if I would have gotten even greater performance boost by deleting them but I was happy with my improvement.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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Dave Hooton said:SineNomine said:
4. Disable/delete unnecessary Visual Filters.
You have to delete VF's for performance.
Thank you.
Dave Hooton said:SineNomine said:9. Prune programs running in the background, etc., that are eating up system resources unnecessarily. In Windows 10, Task Manager is your friend. Pay special attention to your anti-virus software.
Your anti-virus software is the place to prune unnecessary functions e.g. web protection could be performed by your browser and anti-virus.
Anti-virus software is definitely a place to prune unnecessary functions, but it is certainly not the only one.
Dave Hooton said:SineNomine said:12. To speed up the program's launch, try setting Logos/Verbum to open directly to a blank layout,
In Windows, use the command Set Use Ngen to Yes for that purpose, without resorting to a blank layout. It is effective until you set it to No.
I didn't realize that Set Use Ngen to Yes duplicated that effect.
“The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others and no one thinks about reforming himself.” St. Peter of Alcántara
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David Thomas said:SineNomine said:
Veterans, did I miss anything worth briefly noting?
I read once that closing sections of a Guide (PG, or EG) will allow Logos to restore the layout quicker, then open (triangle points down instead of to the right) the section as you need it.
- If the section (say "all commentaries") is expanded then the layout finds the reference in each resource as part of the opening process. If you have several commentary collections then the program is finding the passage in each commentary in each collection.
- This save start-up time, but introduces a few seconds wait each time a new section is opened. For me I'd rather wait a couple seconds for each section rather than several minutes every time I open a guide.
- I find this "closed sections" of a layout is a good compromise between "blank layout" and a "fully expanded" layout with several guides.
I do this myself. Added to original post. Thanks!
“The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others and no one thinks about reforming himself.” St. Peter of Alcántara
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David Ames said:Doc B said:
At one point, I had several hundred collections. I had to pare the down to a few dozen (and it did make a difference in speed).
Kind of a bummer.
Will this work??
A) keep the original rules for the dynamic collection by saving them to a text document outside of Logos / Verbum. [Logos collection rules.docx ??]
tag the collection with something meaningful. Use the tags in place of the dynamic collection. C) then it is safe to remove the dynamic collection. [but save the defining rules some place safe]
D) every once in a while check if you have new members that should be in the collection by rebuilding the dynamic collection by using the rule you saved in the text document. Add tags to any missing members. Delete the newly rebuild but no longer needed collection (your using tags instead)
Will it work? Yes. And your suggestion may be very helpful to some users who see this thread.
Are tags as useful or dynamic as collections? Not even close. How would I use tags in other tools where collections show up as a search choice? I suspect FL knows this, or they wouldn't have developed collections in the first place. Its usability simply can't be matched by tagging resources.
Eating a steady diet of government cheese, and living in a van down by the river.
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But where do I find the place to "Set Use Ngen to Yes"?
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Type/paste (without quotes) into the GO/Command box
Dave
===Windows 11 & Android 13
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Many thanks, Dave. (Inept me - I thought I'd tried that to no effect. But it's done now[:D])
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Doc B said:
How would I use tags in other tools where collections show up as a search choice?
Most resource picker drop-downs have individual resources, then Collections, then Tags and Ratings, then Series. Anything you've tagged should automatically show up under "Tags and Ratings", and be findable by typing part of the tag name to filter down to that tag.
Can you give examples of where collections appear, but tags don't?
Doc B said:I suspect FL knows this, or they wouldn't have developed collections in the first place.
It was a design choice in Logos 4 that "auto collections" (i.e., tags and ratings) would show up wherever custom collections did. If they're not, I'd classify that as a bug.
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Good advice, but it's sad that it's necessary. Logos should perform better off the shelf.
As one of the have-nots when it comes to SSDs, I don't mind some performance issues with Logos. I don't mind if startup is slow or that indexing takes time--I don't even mind searches being slow as I don't do all that many of them. I'm more bothered by seemingly simple tasks that should not require accessing a large number of files simultaneously or the index show considerable lag:
-I do mind that that it takes 30 seconds to switch from my layout to the homepage.
-I do mind that clicking on a resource shortcut takes several seconds to open the book. Even web pages load faster.
-I don't know why Logos should hang briefly with a Windows (not responding) error every time I change layouts.
-Drop-down boxes time to populate--oh dear. Really bad.
I don't think any of your tips will help with these except #1--and if a standard HDD is really getting challenged by them I doubt an SSD is being used optimally either.
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Sean said:
Good advice, but it's sad that it's necessary. Logos should perform better off the shelf.
Sure. But it doesn't. So I created this thread to house a concise crowd-sourced guide to maximize the speed of Logos/Verbum.
In addition to item 1, items 2 and 7-9 in the list can help some users to some degree with one or more of the specific deficits you mentioned.
“The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others and no one thinks about reforming himself.” St. Peter of Alcántara
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If you have a lot of Notes (10,000 plus), use the Visual Filters icon (three bullets in a triangle) to turn off notes and highlights in all open Bibles except your preferred one. Also turn off notes (only, not highlights) in open commentaries. This saves a LOT of processing time when you scroll through resources that are linked together.
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Doc B said:
Are tags as useful or dynamic as collections? Not even close. How would I use tags in other tools where collections show up as a search choice? I suspect FL knows this, or they wouldn't have developed collections in the first place. Its usability simply can't be matched by tagging resources.
Someone needs to time the startup time when:
A) using a collection that is all complex rules [Expect to be slow]
using a collection that uses tags that were created from a collection using complex rules [will take time but should be quicker]OR
C) only creating this super complex collection for the rare sessions where you really need it. [Time is real fast when you don't need this and very slow when you need it. [but you know why it is slow] ] Then delete it until next it is needed instead of having the collection there just because you might need it in the study you are planning to do in six months. [saving the definition in a text file or document outside of Logos]
[[real dynamic collections: only active when needed - fully at your control]]
There was talk of having 100 collections. How many were used every day / week / month?
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David Ames said:
Someone needs to time the startup time when:
B will be faster than A. Times will vary radically by device.
For speed, on any device where collections can or do cause difficulties, any highly complex collection that is going to be used for more than a couple searches should be built, immediately given a new MyTag, and promptly deleted, with the MyTag then used as needed in place of the Collection. This procedure will be faster than C. The only MyTag disadvantage is that Collections update automatically when new resources are added while MyTags are hand-curated by the user.
“The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others and no one thinks about reforming himself.” St. Peter of Alcántara
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SineNomine said:
For speed, on any device where collections can or do cause difficulties, any highly complex collection that is going to be used for more than a couple searches should be built, immediately given a new MyTag, and promptly deleted, with the MyTag then used as needed in place of the Collection. This procedure will be faster than C. The only MyTag disadvantage is that Collections update automatically when new resources are added while MyTags are hand-curated by the user.
This is only true for the old collection syntax. The new collection syntax is as quick as tags.
But even for the old collection syntax, the slow down is only on startup and when preparing your library. For me, the extra few seconds waiting is worth it for the convenience (although if I didn't have an SSD I might not think that).
This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!
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It's not a common problem, but I have run into it several times. And it's not just Logos.
You are trying to update Logos and it's absolutely in the toilet as to updating. Maybe your Windows or Mac is trying to update at the same time. You can't win this battle. Let your machine update your OS. In fact, you should do this before looking to update any app. Go and check your App Store/Software Update/Update and Security to get your machine up to date before running Logos.
Updates to the OS are relatively frequent on Windows. Usually every month. So don't neglect this before running Logos.
The mind of man is the mill of God, not to grind chaff, but wheat. Thomas Manton | Study hard, for the well is deep, and our brains are shallow. Richard Baxter
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