HOWTO: Speed Up OpenOffice.org Startup

[angrylittleman]

This is something that I usually do as a post install tweak. I have 512+ plus RAM systems that work well with this, although I have noticed *speedier* results with 256 mb RAM.

Applications-->OpenOffice.org Writer-->Tools-->Options

Under the OpenOffice.org heading, select Memory

Under Graphics Cache change the "Use for OpenOffice.org" to 30 MB
Change "Memory per Object" to 2.0 MB

Close OpenOffice.org

Restart OpenOffice and marvel at the speed!!!

Your mileage may vary, consult your doctor before begining any physical exercise program.

Please note this is my first howto. I have tried to follow the howto format as best I can. Please give me any feedback you see fit.

[Hikaru79]

Not bad My speed about doubled, and I've only got 128 MB of RAM. Impressive ^__^

[wallijonn]

angrylittleman,

Thanks for the tip. I was trying to remember what the setting is for WXP (setting the prefetch flag on the app. command line in file launcher properties) and knew that there had to be something like it in Linux.

I did see a speed up of about 50%, or 3 seconds to startup on my PC.

[angrylittleman]

Glad you found it useful!

[thepoch]

Running on a Thinkpad T30 (P4 1.8ghz, 256mb RAM, 40gb HDD), this has sped up OOo loading tremendously. Although it is quite late where I am, so I have no idea if my perception is accurate.

On my aging Dell Optiplex GX1 (P3 500mhz, 320mb RAM, 80gb HDD), it now loads up in 4 seconds instead of the old 8 seconds.

If there was a rating system for howtos, this would be "Howto of the Year". Forgive me for being corny... it's late.

dex

[LB06]

Startup time decreased from 10s to 2s. But that could also be because OO.org got cached during/after the first startup (most progs start faster upon second boot due to cache). I'll try to remember that I have to measure OO.org startup time after my next reboot

[badriram]

Originally Posted by angrylittleman This is something that I usually do as a post install tweak. I have 512+ plus RAM systems that work well with this, although I have noticed *speedier* results with 256 mb RAM. ..........

Wow... that was great. I cannot believe the difference in speed. Is there a reason why the default settings are soooo slow compared to these?
Either way thanks for the tip.... (does this also work in windows OO)

[angrylittleman]

When OO is cached, it will start up much faster that after a fresh restart. That is the same reason that IE seems to start much faster than Firefox for some people in Windows. I have found that even after restarting, the startup time for OO will still be a lot faster.

I don't know if this tweak will work in XP. I have never had an oppertunity to test it in an XP enviroment. But if it does, hey, great!

Glad this helps a lot of people.

[Jesus Franco]

Not to sound mean....but I have 1024 mbs and it is exactly the same speed. Loading at least. I haven't used it to see if its any faster. Maybe this only works on lower end machines.

[hardcandy]

There is also ooqstart-gnome and oooqs-kde found in the universe repository which are applets that keep OO preloaded to start fast.
After you install it, right click on the bottom panel and "add" the applet. After it shows up, right click on the applet and then preferences. Enable it and make sure the path to OO is correct.
Then right click and choose which OO application to start.