[scribus] Can't select objects [1.3.5svn]

[Matt Gushee]

Hi, all--

I am attempting to lay out a book using Scribus 1.3.5 (build ID 
C-C-T-F-C1.6.4) on Linux, and have encountered a serious problem as the 
document grows.

The book, I suppose, would be considered a large document (about 160 
pages right now), but it is fairly simple: a novel with no 
illustrations, so there are just text frames, including the main body, 
chapter titles, and page headings; I haven't added a TOC yet.

Anyway, I have found that beyond a certain point in the document, I 
cannot select objects (text frames or pages) with the mouse. Here are 
some details I have observed:

  * As far as I can tell, the problem is not related to how long Scribus
    has been running or the file has been open.

  * It is very much related to the order that the objects appear in the
    document (which is roughly the same as the order in which they were
    added to the document). To be specific, right now it takes about 1
    second to select a frame on page 3, where the body text begins. It
    gradually gets a little slower up to page 101, where it takes about 3
    seconds--slow, but not intolerably so. From page 102 onward, mouse
    clicks have no effect at all, even if I wait several minutes.

  * The above-mentioned threshold appears to be constant from one Scribus
    session to the next, though I haven't investigated this thoroughly.

  * I can select objects on any page via the Outline dialog, with
    reasonable response time.

  * This was not happening when I first laid out the book. I didn't use
    auto text frames, and I was able to insert all the frames with little
    trouble. After I had done that, however, I decided to change the page
    size and revise the master pages. The trouble started at that time or
    a bit afterwards.

Fortunately, this is a semi-serious project with no deadline, but since 
I have gotten a good deal of work done, I'd like to finish it.

Anyway, is this a known issue? If so, are there any known solutions or 
workarounds? I'd appreciate any tips you may have.

-- 
Matt Gushee