mlondon

Q: Preview.app very slow to load PDFs in El Capitan

Hi,

Running OS 10.11.3 on a 2014 MacBookPro (16GB RAM/250GB SSD)


The machine is generally very fast, but PDFs of all sizes take a very long time to load in Preview. The same PDFs load normally in Acrobat.

 

Having read thru the forums, I tried trashing the Preview plist files (both in ~/Library/Preferences and ~/Library/Containers, but this did NOT help.


Not sure if this is relevant, but console is spitting out a huge number of the following error lines:

"2/14/16 5:58:13.593 PM bird[373]: GSLibraryResolveDocumentId(49); error 4 (Interrupted system call)"

 

Grateful for any suggestions. Thank you.

Matthew

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.3), 2014-13"-240GB-16GB RAM

Posted on Feb 29, 2016 6:21 PM

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Q: Preview.app very slow to load PDFs in El Capitan

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  • by alex_h1,

    alex_h1 alex_h1 Mar 2, 2016 6:28 AM in response to mlondon
    Community Specialists
    Mar 2, 2016 6:28 AM in response to mlondon

    Hello Matthew,

    Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.

     

    I see that you're having issues with loading any PDF files in Preview on your Mac.  Since you've already pulled plist files, I'd like you to please check if this happens in a new user.  Please follow the directions below and report back with your findings.

     

    Before trying another user account

    If you're seeing unexpected behavior on your Mac try these steps first:

    Try searching Apple's knowledge base for the specific symptom or alert message you're seeing.There might be simpler steps you can take to resolve the issue.

    Try starting your Mac in Safe Mode. Restart your computer. Hold the Shift key when you hear the startup sound. Release the Shift key when you see the Apple logo appear. This starts your Mac in Safe Mode. Safe mode performs a directory check of your startup disk, and removes some cache data. After your Mac finishes starting up, restart your Mac normally (without holding the Shift key) and see if the issue is resolved.

    Make sure your software is up to date. The issue you're seeing might be addressed by installing available updates.

    Check to see where the issue happens. If an issue appears before you see your desktop, it's less likely that it's related to a user account or setting. If an issue happens with a website, see if pages from other websites load correctly first. There might be an issue with the site and not your Mac.

      How to test with another user account

      You can figure out if unexpected behavior is related to user file or setting by trying to reproduce the issue from another user account. This process includes creating a new user account, logging in to it, and testing for the issue.

      Create a test user account

      1. From the Apple menu, choose System Preferences.
      2. Click the Users & Groups icon in the System Preferences window.
      3. Click the lock icon, then enter an administrator name and password.
      4. Click the Add button (+) below the list of users.
      5. Choose a type of user from the New Account pop-up menu.
      6. Give the user a full name, account name, and password.
      7. Click OK.
      8. Close the System Preferences window.

      If there are documents from your original user account that you want to test with, place a copy of these items in the Shared folder in the Users folder. Press the Option key while dragging a file to this folder to create a copy.

      Log in to the test user account

      Log out of your current user account by choosing Log Out from the Apple menu, then log in to the new account you created. If you're prompted to sign in with your iCloud account or Apple ID when you log in, skip this step.

      Try reproducing the issue

      Try the same steps that caused the unexpected behavior to appear before. For example, if you were unable to print, try printing from this user account. If you were unable to connect to the Internet, try browsing a website from this user account.

      If you were using any specific settings that testing depends on (such as using a specific email account or iCloud account) set up the same account in the test user. For email and most other settings you can use the Internet Accounts pane in System Preferences to set up these kinds of accounts. If files from your home folder are needed for testing, copy them to Shared folder in the Users folder (/Users/Shared). After logging in as the test user, copy these items to the same location in the test user's home folder to test with.

      How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac

       

      Take care,
      Alex H.

    • by mlondon,

      mlondon mlondon Mar 10, 2016 2:53 PM in response to mlondon
      Level 1 (10 points)
      Mac OS X
      Mar 10, 2016 2:53 PM in response to mlondon

      Hi Alex,

       

      Tried opening in a fresh user account and PDF's still take a long time to load.

      FYI, the Preview.app itself loads very quickly, but the PDFs do not.

       

      Grateful for further suggestions.

       

      Thank you,

      Matthew

    • by alex_h1,

      alex_h1 alex_h1 Mar 10, 2016 2:58 PM in response to mlondon
      Community Specialists
      Mar 10, 2016 2:58 PM in response to mlondon

      Hi Matthew,

       

      Given this is still happening in another user, and also with any PDF documents you take, then you may find more information by using another one of Apple's support resources - https://getsupport.apple.com/GetproductgroupList.action

       

      Take care.