File Sizes ?

[Anonymous]

I started ArchiCAD with version 11 - and file sizes seemed to be in the order of 10 - 20Mb. By the time some drawings were annotated and dimensioned etc these were about 30 - 50Mb. I have seen a sudden increase in file sizes as versions 12, 13 and 14 arrived.

Working in ArchiCAD 14 (PC winXP2) - I now have a new project, (a few walls, simple roof and a few slabs) ie a very simple (house) model and the file size is just over 191Mb (.pln yes!) - when saved as an archive .pla the size only increases to about 198Mb.

I do link to my own Library I have created with my own drawing symbols and some 3d objects I have made - it is about 340Mb in size but I thought AC just uses these to link to during the working process.

Are these large file sizes usual for a two level home design? The time it takes to do autosaves etc is very disrupting and even normal file saves take a while.

Would appreciate knowing what typical file sizes are the norm for a 2 storey home of about 400sqFt plus garages or whether any of the above could be the result of something else being out of whack.

[Anonymous]

(last line should read 4000sqFt house...)

Would appreciate knowing what typical file sizes are the norm for a 2 storey home of about 4000sqFt plus garages or whether any of the above could be the result of something else being out of whack.

[Laszlo Nagy]

Are you using File Compression?
In the Save Dialog, there is an Options button and there you can enable File Compression which will reduce file size drastically.

If you have large bitmaps placed onto your Floor Plan, those can increase the file size considerably.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Laszlo,
1. yes - I am using file compression.
2. no bitmaps but worth noting.

Have since found this link

http://www.archicadwiki.com/File%20size

which I am working through as I think my files have become corrupted at a very early stage...

[Greg Kmethy]

We at support find that in case of "unusually large" files it's typical that drawings (on layouts) account to up to 80-90% of the file size. If the "Store drawing in the project file" option is checked in Drawing's settings, then all the individual lines and fills that make up the drawing is stored in the file, which can be big, depending on what you actually have in those drawings. Keep this checkbox off, if you don't mind waiting a few seconds while the drawings rebuild themselves when opening the layout. That may reduce the file size significantly.


Also, delete unnecessary "working" sections and elevations if you don't need anymore. That also boosts files size.

Thirdly, watch out for "dense" DWG content imported in your projects. Any 2D data (thousands of individual lines) can make your file big.

Fourthly, if there are embedded objects in the file, watch out for their size and remove any unnecessary objects.

[Anonymous]

Gergely
Thank you for your informative reply. All your points helped - each in their own small way but #4 identified the problem - EMBEDDED objects - I have to admit I have never really understood why embedded objects were introduced (AC13?). Seems I have been carrying embedded objects around from the past 2 years.

My file size after deleting these reduced from 181Mb to 2.2Mb. Its amazing how fast my computer has suddenly become.

Thanks again to the ArchiCAD Forum for your ongoing assistance.

[Greg Kmethy]

Embedded library is very useful to store parts that are specific to the file (typical example:stairs). This way, you don't loose them. Any custom object you create yourself in ArchiCAD will automatically be saved into the embedded library. But you should not keep objects in the embedded library that:
- belong to the standard ArchiCAD Library
- are used in multiple files
- that are not used at all.