Illustrator CS3 Scratch Disks

[swwack91]

Where exactly does Illustrator put its scratch disk files after the scratch disk is set?

I'm not sure which drive to set as my scratch (either my only internal drive or one of my externals) and I'd like to check how how much space it's using.

On that note, how much space does it usually use up?

 

[speedfreek]

As far as setting your scratch disc, IMO i think its best if you put it on your main hdd the computer works from so in this case the internal one.

With how much space it takes up, it all depends at the time what you're working on. The larger the working file size the more it uses

 

[snickelfritz]

Placing the scratch disk on a separate HDD will allow the computer read/write to system disk and scratch disk simultaneously. (faster, for obvious reasons)
If the scratch disk is on the same HDD as the system files, read/write access will be shared. (slower, for obvious reasons)

Use a high-speed SATA or PATA secondary disk (or striped array) for scratch files.
USB2 and Firewire400 external drives are probably not fast enough.

 

[swwack91]

alright well granted that i'm working on a MBP - i'll take your advice into consideration and set the internal drive as my scratch disk.

just out of curiosity - in which directory does Illustrator store this files? And do they erase themselves as soon as Illustrator quits?