I found the thread I was remembering,
http://forum.itoosoft.com/index.php?topic=1452.msg6034 this is what I'm experiencing, not directly Max but somehow related to the Java redraw of UIs or something weird like that?? I guess I'm wondering what other apps people may have noticed contribute to this issue, or if there are any other ideas. Here are the results fo the exercise I just ran through, starting with my pc in a 'middle of working' state with tons of stuff open, complex scene, etc. I'll do further testing on a fresh reboot later. The script I ran multiple times in between each process close: (with a forest object pre-selected)
(
max create mode
start = timestamp()
max modify mode
end = timestamp()
format "Modify swap took % seconds\n" ((end - start) / 1000.0)
)
Here are my results, with comments on what I did in between each run of the above script:
Modify swap took 13.092 seconds
OK
Modify swap took 13.509 seconds
OK
Modify swap took 13.007 seconds
OK
--closed layer manager and slate material editor
Modify swap took 12.503 seconds
OK
Modify swap took 13.118 seconds
OK
--closed maxscript help chm, process explorer
Modify swap took 12.026 seconds
OK
Modify swap took 12.083 seconds
OK
--closed oneNote, windows photo viewer, outlook
Modify swap took 10.612 seconds
OK
Modify swap took 10.803 seconds
OK
--closed backburner monitor, notepad, Ditto system tray
Modify swap took 12.557 seconds
OK
--closed a bunch of tabs in chrome
Modify swap took 10.009 seconds
OK
Modify swap took 9.159 seconds
OK
--closed Skype, Sysinternals ZoomIt, other tabs in script editor
Modify swap took 8.028 seconds
OK
Modify swap took 8.217 seconds
OK
Modify swap took 8.345 seconds
OK
--completely closed chrome
Modify swap took 5.981 seconds
OK
Modify swap took 5.22 seconds
OK
Modify swap took 4.835 seconds
OK
--closed ie (had two tabs)
Modify swap took 4.805 seconds
OK
Modify swap took 4.867 seconds
OK
--exited snagit systray, a360, adsk app manager, turn off flicks
Modify swap took 4.538 seconds
OK
Modify swap took 4.534 seconds
OK
--file > reset (blank scene)
Modify swap took 0.039 seconds
OK
Modify swap took 0.009 seconds
OK
--created a forest pro object with a single tree
Modify swap took 4.637 seconds
OK
Modify swap took 4.661 seconds
OK
--all rollouts minimzed
Modify swap took 4.58 seconds
OK
--command panel hidden
Modify swap took 4.603 seconds
OK
Modify swap took 5.015 seconds
OK
So it looks like there's really no one major offender, it's the culmination of everything that gets us to 13+ seconds? But if it is just strictly redraw, the 4 seconds without any UI is interesting... Could that portion be the time it takes to checkout the license from our network license manager? (or does the "build ui code" still run somehow even if command panel is hidden?)