I loaded a tif of a scanned drawing apprx 30" x 42" in real world dimensions. There is a lot of info on the tiff. I want to vectorize. However, when I tried the vectorize tool Inkscape crashed. I assume it is because of the size of the tiff file. I had the same problem with the jpg source. If so, what is the maximum size allowable? Should I break down the file into smaller sections? I could not find any information on maximum file size here or any other source related to Inkscape.
Thanks

Real world dimensions doesn't really tell us how big it is unless you include the resolution. But it's obviously big enough that Inkscape crumbles under the load. Changing the format won't make difference, and chopping it up will probably make your life difficult. I would scale the image down--the only reason not to is if you feel you'll loose critical detail. You might like to try anyway and review the result.

Thank you for your response.
Sorry for the delay in mine. Other responsibilities took over the agenda.
What scale factor would you suggest? Is Inkscape focused on small formats with small resolutions?
Obviously, I have limited working understanding of the relationship of scale, page size, and resolution, at least in the computer world. Give me a pencil and paper and I am comfortable or Autocad, Sketchup, Blender.
Regards timbroc

Sorry for the delayed reply. I'm a bit behind. I would half the size and run it through tracer. If it crumbles agian, half it again. If traces it ok, but you don't get as much detail as you like, I would increase it by 150% and try again. Go back and forth until you find a compromise between quality and being able to trace it.