OK, so where does all the Access 2003 white space come from??

  • Thread starter Thread starter Robin
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Robin

I've got an Access 2003 client application which I need to distribute, and
would like to minimise the filesize before doing so.

This database has 3 forms (not that complex), about 30 queries, and enough
vb code to fit on about 6 sheets of paper. All the tables are linked rather
than local so don't take up space, yet the file is in excess of 20 MB.

I tried zipping the file and it shrinks to 1.6MB! I've tried compacting the
database to no effect, so where is all this white space and can I get rid??

Yes, I know I could distribute the file zipped - I'm just curious!

Similarly, the backend is only tables, and runs to more than 30MB. However,
if I import these tables (with their content) to another database, the
filesize only increases by 400K. Same question I guess?

Regards,

Robin
 
Did you try compacting:
Tools | Database Utilities | Compact

Any graphics embedded in forms or reports (e.g. logo)? They will bloat the
database quickly.

Same thing happens if you store graphics in an OLE field (workaround: user
hyperlinks to external files.)
 
Robin said:
I've got an Access 2003 client application which I need to
distribute, and would like to minimise the filesize before doing so.

This database has 3 forms (not that complex), about 30 queries, and
enough vb code to fit on about 6 sheets of paper. All the tables are
linked rather than local so don't take up space, yet the file is in
excess of 20 MB.
I tried zipping the file and it shrinks to 1.6MB! I've tried
compacting the database to no effect, so where is all this white
space and can I get rid??
Yes, I know I could distribute the file zipped - I'm just curious!
Click to expand...

You're operating from an incorrect assumption. The fact that a file will
compress to a high degree when Zipped does not mean that it has a lot of "white
space". Compression algorythms work better on files where there are higher
occurrences of repetitive bit sequences. Access files apparently fall into this
category. Zipping a file is not removing white space.
 
In addition to what others have posted.

Have you turned off the Name Autocorrect feature? (Tools: Options: General)

One thing you can try if compact does not work for you, is to create a new blank
database and import all the objects from the current database into the new
database. See if that compacts your database down to a smaller size.
 
Also /decompile the database by creating a shortcut to
msaccess.exe /decompile

Or just import everything into a new empty database.

Also check the size when in 2003 format as well as 2000
format.

I think 20MB is too big for the application you describe.

(david)
 
You're operating from an incorrect assumption. The fact that a file will
compress to a high degree when Zipped does not mean that it has a lot of
"white space". Compression algorythms work better on files where there
are higher occurrences of repetitive bit sequences. Access files
apparently fall into this category. Zipping a file is not removing white
space.
Click to expand...

I agree, and I do understand the difference - was just being a bit flippant!
 
I turned off Name Autocorrect but also imported everything into a new
database at the same time, so I can't be sure which bit helped, but I
suspect the import to a new database made the difference. The new file was
about half the size (9MB), but grew gradually to 14MB over several
open/close cycles. I configured the database to compact on close and things
seem to have settled at around 11MB, so something worked!

It may be worth mentioning that after copying everything to the new
database, I ending up with a number of error messages, which resolved to the
need to add an object library (Outlook). Importing "everything" to a new
database doesn't import Object Libraries, so beware!

Thanks for your help!

Robin

This still seems quite large for the amount of data involved, but I can zip
before distributing (now 800KB).
 
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