My Entourage database keeps growing and growing

[Dcislander]

Hey all,
This may seem basic, but I cannot figure out how to manage teh size o
my database in my Main Identity folder. Right now it is about 1.
gigs. I have deleted all of the e-mails in my "deleted" folder and th
e-mails in my "sent" folder, but the size of the database does not g
down. 1.5 gigs seems huge for teh little data I have stored in th
program. Anybody have any ideas on how I can reduce the file size (
am trying to clear HD space).

Any comments are much appreciated.
Thanks in advance

 

[Paul Berkowitz]

database in my Main Identity folder. Right now it is about 1.5gigs. I
have deleted all of the e-mails in my "deleted" folder and thee-mails in
my "sent" folder, but the size of the database does not godown

It doesn't go down by itself; you have to compress/rebuild it. m.

In Entourage 2004, it's called "Compact". (In X and 2001 it was called
"Typical Rebuild").

Hold down the Option key when you launch Entourage and choose "Compact".

It's not _necessary_ to do this, unless you really need the saved disk
space. If you don't compact, new messages will start filling up the deleted
space in the database and eventually get back to the same size, until you
delete again. This is actually better for your hard disk than doing frequent
Compacts, but doing them once in a while is OK. It also de-fragments the
database file (but you can also do that by just copying it in the Finder).

--
Paul Berkowitz
MVP MacOffice
Entourage FAQ Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org/faq/index.html>
AppleScripts for Entourage: <http://macscripter.net/scriptbuilders/>

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PLEASE always state which version of Microsoft Office you are using -
**2004**, X or 2001. It's often impossible to answer your questions
otherwise.

 

[Steven Day]

I use a script called "Delete Completely" to get rid of old messages. Does
that help keep the size down considerably? I was told it helps.

 

[Pitch]

It also de-fragments the database file (but you can also do that by just copying it in the Finder).

Wait... Paul, are you saying if you open the MUD folder, select the
Identity, hit Command-D, that resulting duplicate file will
automatically be "compressed"? Is it the same thing as using E'rage
2004's Compact function?

If so, that is very cool news.

 

[JE McGimpsey]

Wait... Paul, are you saying if you open the MUD folder, select the
Identity, hit Command-D, that resulting duplicate file will
automatically be "compressed"? Is it the same thing as using E'rage
2004's Compact function?

No, defragmenting is not the same as compacting.

Files are saved by the Operating System (OS) in chunks, the size of
which depends on the OS and perhaps the size of your hard drive. During
the initial save, if a large-enough empty section of the hard disk
exists, the file will usually be written out to that section. Doing so
reduces file access/head seek time since the drive head only needs to
position itself once.

When files are deleted, they leave "holes" of varying sizes. During the
course of appending data to the database file, smaller chunks are
written, so the OS will put them into the holes, rather than copying the
entire database to a new large-enough section. This means that the drive
head will have to be repositioned, eventually perhaps hundreds of times,
when reading the file, causing a slower seek time.

Defragmenting simply means that the file will once again be written out
in a single section, reducing drive head seek time. All the data,
including the invalid data left when you delete items, is retained.

In compacting, only the valid information is retained, and that
information is written out to a new file. By doing so, the new file is
"defragmented" since it's written out in one section.

 

[Mickey Stevens]

It helps keep the size down by having new messages fill the space used by
those old messages rather than expanding the database to accommodate them.
For most users, that's adequate in normal cases.