Big files: why?

[Anonymous]

I assume it is common knowledge that the more layouts, elevations, sections you have in an ArchiCAD file, the bigger your file size. Even it seems if they are 'blank'.

What is it about the ArchiCAD architecture that means that layouts/sections/elevation markers, even when they don't contain any info, contribute so much to overall file size?

We have done a few experiments on 'large' projects, the data attributed to layouts seems always to outweigh the actual model space information. Why is this?

I suppose I'm hoping for a fairly technical answer, even if it goes over my head to begin with.

[kpaczari]

Sections/Elevations/Interior Elevations store their contents in the plan file even if they are autorebuild type. So the more lines/shapes/etc. they contain, the bigger the plan file.

Layouts also store the contents of the drawings, and also for every drawing they store information about all the library parts that were available at the time the drawing was generated. So even empty drawings generate big plan files depending on the size of the library.

Empty Sections/Elevations/Interior Elevations or Layouts with no drawings should not add to the plan file size. If they do, please report it. (It might have to do with caches which are never used.)

[Anonymous]

Hi,

There is something wrong with Archicad 18 file size

AC 17 file 16 Mo, a quite big building with 10 section/elevations.
Same File AC18 Open -> Close 59 Mo
Working 1 day on the file 580 Mo !
I clean every thing, Do not store dwg and pdf within the file, save me 15 mo.

A Import the File into a new Archicad 20 Mo...

What is new in AC18 ? storing Every single history action?

[Marton Kiss]

robert wrote:
Hi,

There is something wrong with Archicad 18 file size

AC 17 file 16 Mo, a quite big building with 10 section/elevations.
Same File AC18 Open -> Close 59 Mo
Working 1 day on the file 580 Mo !
I clean every thing, Do not store dwg and pdf within the file, save me 15 mo.

A Import the File into a new Archicad 20 Mo...

What is new in AC18 ? storing Every single history action?

Robert,

we are not aware of any changes that would explain that level of file growth. A couple of ideas that might be behind it:
- compression has been disabled somehow: try to save a file again using the 'save as' function, select pln, options - make sure Compression is enabled
- importing detailed IFC files - during this process a high number of new elements are brought in. For those, we cannot create the geometry with AC tools custom objects will be created.
- updating, placing hotlinks.

Please check these and let us know the results.

Marton