PDF Document Library takes 5 -10 seconds per record to load

[R_Collins]

My database has become bogged down with a table and a layout for a PDF document library, which is part of a larger FM solution that I'm building.  Each record in the PDF library takes 5 - 15 seconds to load, and editing layouts that reference this table are equally slow.  Any interaction with PDFs becomes a large waste of time.

 

A few relevant details:

• Both PDFs and my FM file are stored externally on the same external hard drive (7500 RPM drive) plugged directly to my laptop (fast SSD drive).  No servers or multiple users.
• The container field is specified to store the files externally (open storage) in the corresponding base container folder I created.
• The container layout object is set for interactive content and I have Acrobat Pro 9.
• There are about 2000 records in this table.
• Each PDF is its own record, and 75% have been entered from the menu   File ->  Import Records  ->  Folder  ->  "Picture and Movie Files"  and "Import only a reference..." was NOT checked.  I did this because I did not want to leave the documents in their original locations and I saw no option for importing a folder of PDFs.
• The remaining 25% of the records were entered in a variety of other ways (drag and drop, import file, scripts to import PDF etc.) as I have been experimenting to find the best workflow.

 

I'm confused by the seemingly redundant and conflicting options and terminology for choosing how and where to input and store files, and am similarly confused by why externally stored (but imported as referenced?) records have bogged down my database.

 

I'm guessing that a solution lies in creating a second container field, exporting the existing records, and re-importing with a more well thought out strategy.  My previous attempt at simply moving files from one base container folder to a new one did not seem to change the speed.

 

My eventual, and larger, goal for my pdf library includes:

• entering all of my pdfs into this library
• entering a few key bits of relevant data
• renaming all the files according to a convention
• automating file optimization and OCR outside of FM, most likely via Applescript and Acrobat

 

One additional question...

 

I did a test edit on one of the pdfs stored in this referenced container field, and observed that making any edit, without renaming or moving the file, broke the relationship.  Are there workarounds for this?  

 

 

Thanks for any thoughts or help.