OneNote 2007 B2TR Huge File Size Issues

[Rommie2k6]

While I am generally quite happy with the B2TR release for OneNote
2007, I realised that the B2TR has (without my consent) combined my
..one files with my .wma recordings. Now my .one files are in excess of
100MB big.

Since I run a backup programs that save multiple copies of "previous
versions" of the file, my backup partition is now almost full.
Previously, this wasn't a problem as I specifically did not backup .wma
files, but now that everything is integrated... swell.

Is there any way to revert back to the old format? I need my .wma
recordings to be in a separate folder.

 

[Patrick Schmid]

You can't have them in a separate file. This is an internal OneNote
mechanism that you can't influence as user. OneNote didn't need your
consent to do this. This is how OneNote will handle files on a local
drive and network shares and this handling is needed to make the
synchronization mechanism of OneNote work reliably.
Sorry, but you'll have to live with this and figure out what to do about
it now.

Patrick Schmid

 

[D]

I've not had much experience using the voice recording feature of one note
yet but I could imagine that for a student and some others it would be
preferable to have the voice recordings seperate so they could listen to the
lecture/meeting notes on personal music players when they happen to be away
from their desktop/laptop/tablet and not able to access Onenote. With the
files being combined does it not remove this useful feature? Is there anyway
that it might be brought back?

 

[Patrick Schmid]

The files are separate in the ON cache, which will be present on every
computer that has OneNote installed. To find out where your cache is
stored, check Tools, Options, Save, Cache file location.
Unfortunately the cache doesn't help with the backup issue the OP
indicated, as all .one files are combined into one big file in the
cache.

Patrick Schmid

 

[Grant Robertson]

... it would be
preferable to have the voice recordings seperate so they could listen to the
lecture/meeting notes on personal music players when they happen to be away
from their desktop/laptop/tablet and not able to access Onenote. With the
files being combined does it not remove this useful feature? Is there anyway
that it might be brought back?

You can right-click on the .WMA icon on the page where you started the
recording, choose 'Save As', and save the file anywhere you want. Keep in
mind that this will be a separate copy and any modifications will be
ignored by OneNote.

This reminds me. In the past I had mentioned a trick for reducing the
file sizes of the audio files. The trick was to open the audio file in
sound file editing software and convert all the unnecessary parts to
silence without changing the duration of anything. Now people can't do
this either if they wanted to. I don't know if I would have gone to all
the trouble myself anyway but now the option is gone. I tried opening the
original audio file by right clicking on the icon but it wouldn't let me
do that.

I sure am glad I just bought a new 7200RPM 100GB laptop hard drive!

 

[Patrick Schmid]

I sure am glad I just bought a new 7200RPM 100GB laptop hard drive!

I hear you! I have been thankful for my new laptop 100 GB hard drive and
my 400 GB desktop hard drive ever since I bought them a while ago.
Just as a reminder for everyone reading this: If you have a desktop and
a laptop, the best thing to do is to have the .one files on the desktop
and open the notebooks from the laptop. That way, you only have the
cached copy on the laptop.

Patrick Schmid

 

[me]

Patrick would you mind explaining a bit more about the cache. What is a
cache? And can you explain the laptop / desktop thing and how to get that the
right way around. I use both a laptop and desktop, though I first installed
onenote on the laptop and the desktop syncs to it.
thanks
Paul

 

[Patrick Schmid]

The short explanation is that OneNote doesn't work directly on your .one
files. Instead, it copies all .one files of your open notebooks into one
big file, the cache. In addition, it separates the files embedded into
the .one files out and stores them in a OneNoteOfflineCache_Files folder
below the folder containing the main cache.
By default, the cache is at \Documents and Settings\username\Local
Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\OneNote\12.0
OneNote works on that cache and synchronizes any changes you make from
the cache to the .one files periodically. The cache is what enables
OneNote to have such a powerful synchronization method in 2007.
This means that on the computer that physically stores the .one files,
you are going to have an additional full copy of all your notes and
embedded files. So you should place the actual .one files on your
computer with the most available hard drive space, which is generally a
desktop. Very importantly, don't place the .one files in a folder that
is managed by Windows Offline Files (e.g. a redirected My Documents
folder). Windows Offline Files and OneNote don't work well together and
OneNote actually switches off its synching mechanism if it detects
Windows Offline Files. You rather want the ON mechanism, because the
Windows mechanism is primitive compared to the one ON offers.
Then on the laptop, you simply open the notebooks via a network share
offered by the desktop. This way, your laptop hard drive only has one
copy of your notes on it, which is the most efficient use of its hard
drive. Your desktop should generally be able to handle two copies of
your notes (and if not, hard drives for desktops are way cheaper than
hds for laptops).
Does that explain it?

Patrick Schmid

 

[Amos Soma]

Your problem is not ON 2007. Your problem is your backup methodology. You
can purchase a 2G USB memory stick for $50. You can also purchase a 200G USB
hard disk for about $150. I suggest you consider doing this.

 

[chiefplt]

Patrick,

Does that mean that you'll actually have three copies of the audio files if
you don't use the synchronization? One original .one file; one cached .one
file; and one extracted .wma file in a subdirectory?

Thanks.

chiepflt

 

[Patrick Schmid]

Two. One original .one file and one extracted .wma file. The cache
stores .one files and audio file separately.

Patrick Schmid
--------------
http://pschmid.net

Patrick,

Does that mean that you'll actually have three copies of the audio files if
you don't use the synchronization? One original .one file; one cached .one
file; and one extracted .wma file in a subdirectory?

Thanks.

chiepflt