Have you started working with Storybook Creator Plus 4.0 yet?
It's a neat new way to work with your Storybook pages and projects. But, as with any updated software, there are some tips that will make it … cooperate … with you a little better.  Here are a few of the tips that Creative Memories has published that may help you get things moving a little more smoothly.
Below are the tips as published by CM. I'll indicate my comments in italics.
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If you are experiencing slowness with StoryBook Creator 4.0, or are seeing errors about memory issues, here are some tips to help improve performance:
· Restart your computer daily. This deletes temporary files that may be taking up unnecessary space and memory on your computer.
This is always a good idea. You will notice an improvement in most all of your computer usage if you reboot regularly. Â
· Close other unnecessary applications and services when running StoryBook Creator 4.0.
This, again, is a basic premise. Other programs, even if you are not actively using them, are utilizing system resources in the background. Give your computer a break and don't ask it to multi-task when you're using a heavy memory program.Â
· If editing a project created in StoryBook Creator 3.0, use File > Save As to save the project in 4.0 format. Pages will load considerably faster when saved in 4.0 format.
You can do this relatively simply. The program will not allow you to save the 4.0 file in the same place as the 3.0 file if you do not change the name. My recommendation would be to save your 4.0 projects in a separate file, such as the new default folder called Storybook Creator Projects that 4.0 inserts in the Documents folder when you upgrade.
· Check for system and software updates, and make sure everything on your computer (including but not limited to StoryBook Creator 4.0) is currently up to date.
This is, again, another basic aspect of computer usage. It's a good rule of thumb to tuck into your pocket for future use, no matter what program you are running.
· Schedule your anti-virus scans and system/software updates to run at times you are not commonly using StoryBook Creator.
Depending on the anti-virus software you are running, a scan can suck all the juice you'll need to run your software. Make sure you don't turn off the scanning features … you still want those to regularly check your system. But schedule them for times when you aren't using SBC4.0. You'll be much happier for it.
· For computers running 32-bit versions of Windows with 2 GB of RAM or less, we recommend turning on the aggressive memory management feature. The checkbox for aggressive memory management can be found under Help > Options > Page Editing. Enabling this feature may also help users with more RAM. Some memory issues you experience may display a message suggesting you turn on this feature.
Aggressive memory management allows StoryBook Creator 4.0 to do some of the memory management itself, eliminating issues that may result from fragmented memory. Turning on aggressive memory management may or may not make the software noticeably slower, depending on what you are doing. The impact on performance would normally occur when the software needs to compact memory to allocate more, so it won’t happen for everything you do.
· After you have completed the primary design of a page – especially finalizing the size of your elements and photos – opt to reduce memory usage on elements on the page.
To do this, right-click on an element on the page and choose Properties > Memory usage. Then choose Reduce memory usage for all elements on this page. Please note that if you enlarge an element by more than 120% after enabling this feature, the resolution of the element may be compromised. That’s why this feature should only be used after you have determined the final size of the element. However, on a page with many elements, using this feature can make a huge difference in the memory requirements.
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I have a few more tips of my own that I'll share next. Until then, Enjoy!