> something of that level of complexity might need to be done in separate pieces just in order to not run out of memory.

Could a large file be parsed in hard drive memory? ...this is the kind of question a non-programmer like myself thinks up. ;-)

I have an idea!

What if MoI, sensing that the output operation has taken more than a minute, puts a second progress bar on the screen. So if the current model means business... well.

Not one based on estimated (or guesstimated) time, but simply info on objects-by-objects, say: "PROGRESS: 2,340/10,000 boundaries processed."

The same way the little script that makes the frame rates pop up in the corner... non-obtrusive.

The user would probably feel less stressed seeing any type of progress instead of wondering if MoI stalled on something.