reduce drawing file size

[JD]

When I create a new drawing in Visio 2003 without adding any shapes, the file
size is about 16KB.

I have some drawing files that are about 370,000KB after I deleted
everything I can find in the drawings including stencils. Can anyone tell me
why the file size is so large and how to reduce it if possible? In AutoCAD
there is a purge command. I assume removing unreferenced layers is similar in
Visio 2003. I did this.

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[Mark Nelson [MS]]

Go to File > Properties and turn off the Preview to see if that makes a
difference.

Then go to File > Shapes > Show Document Stencil and delete any master
shapes you do not need.

 

[Doug P]

I followed your suggestions. The save preview picture was not checked. I
did delete all of the masters, and the file size is 192 KB. This helps a
lot. Thanks! I still wonder why the file size is 192KB instead of 16KB.

Also, I deleted the master shapes one at a time. It took a long time. Is
there a way to delete all of the master shapes at once?

If I am working on a drawing with a lot of shapes, how can I tell easily
which shapes in the document stencil I can delete? Especially if someone
started with a lot of unneeded shapes or made lots of editing without
deleting the old ones, it seems to me it is hard to keep up with which
master shapes in the document stencil are OK to delete.

JD

 

[Doug P]

I followed your suggestions. The save preview picture was not checked. I
did delete all of the masters, and the file size is 192 KB. This helps a
lot. Thanks! I still wonder why the file size is 192KB instead of 16KB.

Also, I deleted the master shapes one at a time. It took a long time. Is
there a way to delete all of the master shapes at once?

If I am working on a drawing with a lot of shapes, how can I tell easily
which shapes in the document stencil I can delete? Especially if someone
started with a lot of unneeded shapes or made lots of editing without
deleting the old ones, it seems to me it is hard to keep up with which
master shapes in the document stencil are OK to delete.

 

[Mark Nelson [MS]]

The only way to do it quicker is with automation code. However, it takes a
bit of work to create a program that would accurately know when it can
delete a master.

If you are curious about what is still taking up space, save the file as XML
and open it in a text editor. There may be a VBA project in the document or
some embedded COM object.

 

[Chandiran Palanisamy]

Mark,

Great! I had a much bigger problem...and turning of preview helped. I
inserted a tiff image (46kB) into my Visio 2002 SP2 and the .vsd file swell
from 188 to 3600KB. After trying several options (in the help menu) I came to
the discussion groups. Man it works! You saved my day! Keep up the good work!
I think Microsoft should add a file size trouble shooter in the help menu.

 

[Chandiran Palanisamy]

Mark,

However, when I move my tiff image it shows a black box and not the image.
So, I have difficulty in aliging the image with my line drawings.

I would appreciate a workaround.

Mark,

Great! I had a much bigger problem...and turning of preview helped. I
inserted a tiff image (46kB) into my Visio 2002 SP2 and the .vsd file swell
from 188 to 3600KB. After trying several options (in the help menu) I came to
the discussion groups. Man it works! You saved my day! Keep up the good work!
I think Microsoft should add a file size trouble shooter in the help menu.

The only way to do it quicker is with automation code. However, it takes a
bit of work to create a program that would accurately know when it can
delete a master.

If you are curious about what is still taking up space, save the file as XML
and open it in a text editor. There may be a VBA project in the document or
some embedded COM object.

--
Mark Nelson
Microsoft Corporation

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

I followed your suggestions. The save preview picture was not checked. I
did delete all of the masters, and the file size is 192 KB. This helps a
lot. Thanks! I still wonder why the file size is 192KB instead of 16KB.

Also, I deleted the master shapes one at a time. It took a long time. Is
there a way to delete all of the master shapes at once?

If I am working on a drawing with a lot of shapes, how can I tell easily
which shapes in the document stencil I can delete? Especially if someone
started with a lot of unneeded shapes or made lots of editing without
deleting the old ones, it seems to me it is hard to keep up with which
master shapes in the document stencil are OK to delete.





Mark Nelson [MS] wrote:
Go to File > Properties and turn off the Preview to see if that makes a
difference.

Then go to File > Shapes > Show Document Stencil and delete any master
shapes you do not need.