Export very slow

Nutello · **Posted:** Mon Aug 18, 2025 8:25 am **(#1)**

GIMP Version: 3.0.4
Operating System: Windows
GIMP Experience: Experienced User

I have a folder containing 12000 images, in total 50 GB. When I open an image and try to export the image, it takes 40 seconds to open the export screen.
I installed a new Gimp but the problem remains.
What could be wrong? Is there a solution?
Gimp seems to have a problem with a folder containing this many files. I think the problem has gotten worse with the folder getting bigger.

Wallace · **Posted:** Mon Aug 18, 2025 9:04 am **(#2)**

I don't think the slowdown is a GIMP bug.
It’s probably because you’re working inside a single folder with 12,000 files.
Splitting that folder,
or changing the export location might fix this.
GIMP’s export dialog use your system’s file chooser,
which has to enumerate the entire folder before it can show you the file list.
When there are 12,000 files in one folder,
things can becomes painfully slow.

Nutello · **Posted:** Mon Aug 18, 2025 12:27 pm **(#3)**

Other programs nor Windows itself have any problems with this folder.

Wallace · **Posted:** Mon Aug 18, 2025 1:23 pm **(#4)**

Nutello wrote:

Other programs nor Windows itself have any problems with this folder.

It seems more of a GIMP GTK file chooser issue to me.
You could try and export to a smaller folder to see if there is any change.
This simple test might confirm,
that the slowdown is caused by the GTK file chooser struggling with the large folder.

Nutello · **Posted:** Mon Aug 18, 2025 7:04 pm **(#5)**

When I'm working in this folder I right-click a file and click "Open with Gimp".
And then when I want to export Gimp wants to open that folder and show it's contents - or so - and I can do nothing for 40 seconds.
So your suggestion; exporting to a smaller folder is possible, but only after 40 seconds.
Thanks for your help by the way, I appreciate it :tyspin

gasMask · **Posted:** Tue Aug 19, 2025 5:31 am **(#6)**

GIMP slows down for me too. IMHO, the background image collection thread has a higher priority than it should have. In any case, file dialogs in GIMP often slow to a crawl like a turtle on ice. I like the others have found a work-around, I save images to the documents folder (moving them later with Explorer) and open images by dragging them from Window's Explorer onto to GIMP's toolbox.

Nutello · **Posted:** Tue Aug 19, 2025 12:36 pm **(#7)**

Those are a lot of extra steps. I might as well wait 40 seconds.
For my part this is a bug. Where can I ............................

Oh, I see that it's a known issue: https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gimp/-/issues/8648

Wallace · **Posted:** Tue Aug 19, 2025 4:20 pm **(#8)**

There seems to be little waiting using the ' drag-and-drop" method,
which is what I use most of the time to load files into GIMP.
I export all my images to a projects folder.
Once exported to my projects folder.
It's then placed into the appropriate folder within this project folder.

Nutello · **Posted:** Thu Aug 21, 2025 7:12 am **(#9)**

I work with a collection of programs of which Gimp is only one. For example I need to quickly rotate a map because I see that north is not up. I right-click the map to open it in Gimp. This brings me into trouble.
There are probably many workarounds but the real problem is Gimp's file handling.
It's a bug and it should be fixed. I know that programmers are rare so I'll wait.

Wallace · **Posted:** Sun Aug 24, 2025 6:59 pm **(#10)**

Nutello wrote:

I work with a collection of programs of which Gimp is only one.
For example I need to quickly rotate a map because I see that north is not up.
I right-click the map to open it in Gimp. This brings me into trouble.
There are probably many workarounds but the real problem is Gimp's file handling.
It's a bug and it should be fixed. I know that programmers are rare so I'll wait.

As a quick alternative for rotating/flipping images.
Some image viewing application,
such as XnView.
Allow you to rotate and flip images on the fly,
as you view them and save images very quickly as well.
I'm not sure if this process is lossless though.

Nutello · **Posted:** Mon Aug 25, 2025 9:44 am **(#11)**

I use XnView all the time for lossless rotating and the removal of metadata.
Rotating is lossless BUT the image will first be cropped to multiples of 16 pixels, starting from top-left.
Many historical maps or aerial photo's are scanned and will have enough pixels to the right and the bottom of the photo so that cropping won't cause loss of data.

An other thing is that historical maps may have north "somewhere". Sometimes for me it's necessary to rotate 80 degrees or 250 or so. XnView can't do that. Gimp can.

Wallace · **Posted:** Mon Aug 25, 2025 10:43 am **(#12)**

Nutello wrote:

I use XnView all the time for lossless rotating and the removal of metadata.
Rotating is lossless BUT the image will first be cropped to multiples of 16 pixels,
starting from top-left.
Many historical maps or aerial photo's are scanned and
will have enough pixels to the right and the bottom of the photo
so that cropping won't cause loss of data.

An other thing is that historical maps may have north "somewhere".
Sometimes for me it's necessary to rotate 80 degrees or 250 or so. XnView can't do that. Gimp can.

I would only suggest this as a quick and dirty on the fly method.

ofnuts · **Joined:** Oct 25, 2010 **Posts:** 4812

Nutello wrote:

GIMP Version: 3.0.4
Operating System: Windows
GIMP Experience: Experienced User

I have a folder containing 12000 images, in total 50 GB. When I open an image and try to export the image, it takes 40 seconds to open the export screen.
I installed a new Gimp but the problem remains.
What could be wrong? Is there a solution?
Gimp seems to have a problem with a folder containing this many files. I think the problem has gotten worse with the folder getting bigger.

Frequent problem. Since the output is orderable by name/date/size, the dialog has to obtain the data for all the files. If it gets and decodes the embedded thumbnails it's even worse. Export to a near empty folder and then move the files. Even if the problem is more visible with Gimp, other apps (including your file explorer) do slow down on such big folders.

Nutello · **Posted:** Wed Aug 27, 2025 10:05 am **(#14)**

ofnuts wrote:

other apps (including your file explorer) do slow down on such big folders.

I barely notice File Explorer or other programs slowing down. If that was the case I wouldn't have started this topic :hoh