Question about Mystery database size increase

[trekgoes2malaysia]

I have a database which I created and was about 10MB large. Then I
linked it to a few (i.e. 6)small size pictures (<100KB each). The
database size jumped to 66MB. I have sinced deleted all the data in
most of my tables and all pictures and links yet my database is still
the same size (66MB). The pictures are held in a windows directory and
embedded in the db. Can anyone explain to me what might be causing the
sudden increase in size and how I can reduce it back to what I think
should not be more than 10-15 MB (since it has very few records in it
so far).

Thanks
Patrick

 

[Douglas J. Steele]

Did you compact the database after deleting the data? Access doesn't return
space after deletions until you do.

 

[John W. Vinson]

I have a database which I created and was about 10MB large. Then I
linked it to a few (i.e. 6)small size pictures (<100KB each). The
database size jumped to 66MB. I have sinced deleted all the data in
most of my tables and all pictures and links yet my database is still
the same size (66MB). The pictures are held in a windows directory and
embedded in the db. Can anyone explain to me what might be causing the
sudden increase in size and how I can reduce it back to what I think
should not be more than 10-15 MB (since it has very few records in it
so far).

Thanks
Patrick

Access - until the newest version 2007 - has always been horrible about
handling pictures. It doesn't matter whether you embed or link the pictures to
a table field; Access bloats tremendously.

If you do in fact have an earlier version, you'll need to use some VBA code to
display the pictures in a Picture control on a form or report (without
embedding the pictures in your database).

You should be able to recover the space - if the pictures have been deleted -
by using Tools... Database Utilities... Compact and Repair.