file size (97)

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I have a database which has been about 24Mb for several years now. Two weeks ago it bloated to 41Mb.

I tried the usual decompile / compact / repair routine several time but it has resisted returning to the original size. I’ve examined it and see nothing unusual.

Are there any tools which can be used to identify the source of the bloat?

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Not really. The other thing you can try is to create a new database and import all the objects from the old one. That eliminates any of the behind the scenes objects that might be causeing problems and might give you an idea of where to focus. What has changed in your database? They don’t just suddenly bloat without some activity in them.

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I apologize for being so long in replying. I was on vacation.

I tried the clean database trick and it grew another 17,212 which so close to the 17.278 that it grew the first time. This can’t just be a coincidence, can it?

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The most common (albeit tedious) way to do this is to copy the database, and in the copy, start deleting items one by one to identify the trigger. Does it consistently grow (every use?) or is it somewhat sporadic?

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There are sveral hundreds of elements in this database. This option will have to be a last resort.
It has been in service for about five years and has never done this till about a month ago. Now it appears to grow by the same amount each time. I just tried the procedure again and it grw 17,228, once again the same amount within a few bytes.

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In that case, what kind of changes have you made to the database? Oh, and does the database allow storing of images or OLE objects? That is a guarantee of huge bloat.

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The database has only had some minor tinkering done for sveral months now, mostly just rearranging forms. There are no pictures or other external objects.

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I was talking about embedded object, not external objects, since external links dont’ cause bloat like that. Are the machines that are using this using a runtime Access 97 or are they using a full version of 97 or later?

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I mentioned in my second post but failed to emphasize that it appears to be the process of importing into a clean database that is the problem. I should say now that this has been a regular occurrence with this particular database as it gets corrupted far more often than is reasonable. As nearly as I can tell the first time it grew was a couple of months ago.

I’ve been trying to duplicate the result today (I did it yesterday) but each time I do Access crashes halfway through the forms. I’ll have to do the import a couple of dozen at a time. This too has been a somewhat regular occurrence.

However I may have a clue. Each time I’ve tried to import and well before it crashes I get an ‘error loading an active x component’ message. I’ve identified the form and if I open it to edit I always get the ‘save changes’ dialogue even though I’ve not so much as moved the cursor over the form. The fact that this particular form has never been modified nor is it even used just adds to the mystery.
Is it possible that there is something missing in the 2002 Excel or Word libraries that would have been in 97? Should I just save it and hope?

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Now I’m confused. What do the 2002 versio of Excel and Word have to do with this? If you’re trying to mix versions you could very well run into problems, since 97 was based on VB/VBA5 and Office 2000 and later are based on VB/VBA6. Are you trying to automate Excel or Word from Access 97?

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Yes and it works just fine, thank you. Neither are very complex, essentially filling in tables.
I mentioned them only because the problem may have started after I upgraded to Office 2002. I can’t be sure as I don’t know exactly when I did that.

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Was 24 MB the size of the Access 97 database and is 41 MB the size of the database converted to Access 2000 or 2002 format? That would be perfectly normal.

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No. It’s still in Access 97 (there’s too much old code to migrate to even 2000). We carefully load everything but Access from either the 2000 or 2002 package.

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The missing piece of information is that you are now using Access 2002 – and it has a well-documented tendency to bloat under most circumstances. One solution we used in some instances was to make the front-end database read-only. As long as you don’t let the users make any kind of design changes to the front-end, that might solve your problem. Otherwise I suspect you may be stuck with a bloated front-end.

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What are the specifics about the situation? Is this the frontend or backend (or is it both)? Used by more than one person at a time? If a frontend, does everyone have their own copy?

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This application started out life as YesICan from Cary Prague (now Business Professional from Database Creations). There are a dozen users on a mix of W98 XP Home and XP Pro each running his/her own copy with data residing on a Novell server. The problem also surfaces on my network which is XP-Pro peer to peer.

The program has been modified to work on laptops and switch automatically from server to local data source but that mod happened quite a while ago.

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So is it the BE that is bloating or the FE?

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Front end. The back end bloats to 5 to 8 times in about a week but has always returned to normal. We have weekly maintenance scheduled for it.

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Rick

There are numerous reasons for a Front End to bloat. This maybe for several reasons and very difficult to diagnose I found this very useful site that has a list of reasons for FE bloat and links to the MS knowledge base. I hope this helps.

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Thanks for the link. I’m sure I’ll spend some time there.

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Is it growing by the same amount for every user? If so, it would seem to indicate something like a temporary being created, or something related to importing of data perhaps? I think Charlotte already mentioned the problems caused by importing pictures.

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I think I’ll find a pointy hat and go sit in the corner for a while. When copying files into a new database it’s necessary to delete the duplicate MS____ files. Duh! The file has returned to normal size. Thank you all for the suggestions.

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If MSys tables are copied, you are probably showing system objects. It’s wise to turn this off System Objects in the View tab of Tools | Options…

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