Symptom

Creating bar chart or column charts in the Layout Designer module and then changing content properties frequently can result in a user experiencing their computer becoming unresponsive or Moxie Studio experiencing a memory allocation error and become unresponsive.

Cause

Bar charts and column charts are graphically sophisticated, data-driven content that is illustrated in real time. Whenever a bar or column property is changed, Layout Designer redraws the chart. Frequent property changes can cause Moxie Studio to experience a memory allocation exception because Layout Designer is attempting to redraw the chart reflecting the latest display property change. These changes can be queued if too many changes need to be illustrated and this increases the risk of a memory allocation error, its accompanying exception and renders the application unresponsive.

Solution

Some best-practices and hints to avoid or minimize memory exceptions when working with bar or column charts:

• Type property values directly, when possible, rather than clicking controls multiple times in order to increment values. When clicking controls, the Layout Designer module is attempting to redraw the chart after each click. A redraw queue increases the risk of a memory allocation exception.
• Only bar charts and column charts experience this issue.
• On some computers, the Layout Designer module may become sluggish before becoming unresponsive. Closing a layout instantly alleviates the memory consumption issue. The layout can then be reopened and you can continue working with it.
• This issue only exists with the Layout Designer module and does not affect content sent to a Moxie Player for display that contains a bar or column chart.