Optimizing PubGizmo Speed

Speed issues working in on PubGizmo can be frustrating, we want to help.

and these can be broken down into three distinct areas:

Your Computer and Internet Connection Speeds

To interact with PubGizmo, data must travel through the internet between your computer and our servers, and then your computer must process that data.

Both these factors have an enormous impact on the quality of your experience, and they are fully under your control and purview – only you can take steps to improve them. Here are steps to ensure you've done everything you can to optimize your experience.

Test Your Speed

The first step to determine if your setup is responsible for poor performance is to test it. You can do this by visiting the Home screen and clicking the About PubGizmo tab. At the bottom of the screen you'll see Connection Speed and a coloured indicator.

• green: great speed, things will be smooth and quick
• amber: okay speed, could be better
• red: poor speed, working will be less than optimal

Speed is tested when you login, but you can do an instant test by clicking the indicator. This allows you to change your circumstances and re-test to determine if that had an effect.

Causes and Potential Fixes

Poor Network Connection

If your internet is slow, access to PubGizmo will be slow. You can check your speed by going to speedtest.net and running a test. Faster is better, but at a minimum your up and down speeds should exceed 10 Mbps. Either or both of your internet provider speed or your network connectioncan impede network traffic. And "ping" matters too; a high ping number (30+) indicates high latency.

Things to try to improve internet speed:

1. Get closer to the WiFi: This one's pretty easy: if your WiFi unit sits in the basement and you're on the third floor, get closer! The further your WiFi signal has to travel, the more walls and floors it must penetrate, the more devices (phones, other computers, TVs, microwave ovens, etc., which introduce radio wave interference), between your computer and the WiFi, the slower your connection.
2. Wire up: If you have the option of connecting directly to your network using an ethernet cable, use that; cable is always going to be the fastest connection.
3. Talk to your internet supplier: If your speed is no where near what you are paying for (e.g., you pay for 1GB speed and you are only getting 10% of that), there may be a problem with your internet. They can help troubleshoot.

Slow Computer

Is your computer generally slow at other tasks? If yes, then one issue lies with your computer, either the hardware or your operating system. A number of factors can impede computer speed:

Software/Operating System

Issues with your operating system (Windows or macOS) can slow down your computer. This kind of issue accrues over time as your computer receives updates and as you install and remove programs. Windows is especially prone to this kind of issue, more so than macOS. The best bet with either is a complete wipe and reinstall of your computer; it's not a trivial task, but it can yield significant improvements (some say it's like getting a new computer), not just in terms of speed, but also stability.

You can find on various tech sites information on how to perform a wipe and reinstall. The most important step is to back up your data, since the "wipe" part involves deleting everything on your computer.

Hardware

If your problems survive a wipe/reinstall, it could be an issue with your computer hardware, for example, bad memory, a failing hard disk, overheating. This is best diagnosed by a professional.

And of course an old computer can be slow too.

New Computer

We recognize that a new computer represents significant expense, but it can really help if your current hardware is old and slow.

What Kind of Computer Should I Get?

While PubGizmo works fine on both PCs and Macs, it runs best on Macs. Not only are newer Macs faster in terms of price/performance than PCs, they are also much more reliable in terms of operating system integrity (see above) and hardware quality. They may cost more, but they are more rugged and last longer than PCs.

FileMaker Pro, the software that runs PubGizmo, also performs better on Macs. We're not sure why. Even a base model MacBook Neo handles PubGizmo well (provided your internet speed is good too).

The Internet

Computer Problem

Do other programs also crash? If yes, then the problem lies with your computer, either the hardware or your operating system. Windows is more prone to this kind of issue that macOS. The best bet with either is a complete wipe and reinstall of your computer; it's not a trivial task, but it can yield significant improvements, not just in terms of stability, but also computer performance. You can find on various tech sites information on how to perform a wipe and reinstall. The most important step is to back up your data, since the "wipe" part involves deleting everything on your computer.

If your problems survive a wipe/reinstall, it could be an issue with your computer hardware, for example, bad memory, a failing hard disk, overheating. This is best diagnosed by a professional.

FileMaker Pro Application Problem

If only FileMaker crashes, uninstall it, and reinstall. This will ensure that your installation of FileMaker is not corrupt.

Freezes

All Records, Operations

If you experience freezes (PubGizmo eventually responds), and it doesn't seem to matter what you're looking at (e.g., just a basic Contact record), something is impeding the exchange of information between your computer and the data on the server. This could be:

Poor Network Connection

If your internet is slow, access to PubGizmo will be slow. You can check your speed by going to speedtest.net and running a test. Faster is better, but at a minimum your up and down speeds should exceed 10 Mbps. Either or both of your internet provider speed or your network connection (e.g., on WiFi, but weak signal – get closer to the WiFi router!) can impede network traffic. If you rectify these issues, things may improve.

Are You Far Away?

Wait, are you away, connecting from somewhere other than your press's location? Your speed/freeze issue may be due to network latency caused by distance. The physical server that hosts your solution is optimized for your press's physical location; we have two servers currently, and they are both in North America (Toronto and Vancouver), so if you're in Frankfurt, you are far away, and it takes longer for data to travel between your location and the server.

Slow Computer

An old computer or a computer problem (corrupt OS, see above under "Computer Problem") can impede access to PubGizmo.