Publisher File sizes

[Bryce]

We create a 12 page weekly newspaper and Publisher works very well. I really like the work put in on V2.1

Each week before we start the layout pages we clean off the previous weeks ads (mostly created in Designer and exported as PDF), update the dates on the headers and masthead. We leave a few small things on the pasteboard such as writer pictures that recur. Then save as to "clean up" the file like we did in Indesign before we switched in 2021 and it would reduce the file size. The only thing that are embedded are a few writer pictures which are about 100kb or less.

In V. 2.1 the file sizes don't get smaller, or not much. It currently sits at about 500+ MB with nothing on the pages. All files are dropped in from Finder when we start the layout and all are linked from pictures to the ads.

Just for reference a layout file in Indesign would be 15-40MB when completed

AFpub 1 would be 200-300 MB range

AFpub 2 is over 450-500 MB range and growing for each paper.

The PDF files produced from Affinity are 35-50MB which is similar to Indesign

Is there a "cache" in the files themselves that can cleared out? Anything I might be missing?

[_Th]

Hopefully someone will have a good answer for you; those file sizes do seem to indicate AFpub is hanging on to something!

I imagine you've tried it, but an old trick that used to be required for Adobe files was simply to do a "Save As..." and overwrite the file with the same name. At one point, the Adobe files would swell to enormous sizes and the "Save As" would fix it.

[MikeTO]

I recommend starting with the Resource Manager. Look for images that are embedded and examine how large they are. Click Make Linked for any large ones that don't need to be embedded in the file.

A document like a newspaper template with no embedded images and just some basic text and shapes should be <1MB. My book project is 150,000 words and >500 linked TIFF images yet the file is only about 10MB.

[Bryce]

@_Th - yes that old trick always worked for ID. I still do it for Affinity and it seems to help but not much.

@MikeTO - exactly. I started there and embedded files don't total more than 5MB. Here is what that looks like: 

I've tried importing the document into a new file using "Document/Add Pages from file..." and it still saves as over 120MB

Not sure where else to try considering the files just ballon so much. Other than that, everything runs great.

[Andreas CH]

Arbeitest du mit Assets, welche du in das Dokument einbettest?

Ich hatte bei einer Kollegin ein ähnliches Problem.
Sie verwendet sehr oft die Assets als Zwischenablage oder Ablage.
Das betroffene Asset wurde mit dem Dokument gespeichert und dadurch wurde ihr Dokument immer grösser.

Do you work with assets that you embed in the document?

I had a similar problem with a colleague.
She very often uses the assets as a clipboard or file.
The asset in question was saved with the document and her document became bigger and bigger.

 

[Old Bruce]

18 hours ago, Bryce said:

Each week before we start the layout pages we clean off the previous weeks ads (mostly created in Designer and exported as PDF), update the dates on the headers and masthead. We leave a few small things on the pasteboard such as writer pictures that recur. Then save as to "clean up" the file like we did in Indesign before we switched in 2021 and it would reduce the file size. The only thing that are embedded are a few writer pictures which are about 100kb or less.

You really should use Templates for this sort of work. Get to your Blank Slate stage with a Document and use File > Export as Template... I keep my Template files together in a Directory named Affinity Templates, with directories named for each application. Note that as they are the same file format only one application can open the file by using a double click. You are best served by using the New Document Panel or File > Open and navigating to the appropriate folder.

[Bryce]

4 hours ago, Andreas CH said:

Do you work with assets that you embed in the document?

 

No. We don't use any assets at all in the file.

[MikeTO]

Check for things like multiple copies of embedded files - I'm not sure but multiple copies of an embedded image might not reference the same embedded data. That WB Stamp one is 1MB and if there were 20 copies that could be 20MB. But that's all I can think of.

[_Th]

41 minutes ago, MikeTO said:

multiple copies of embedded files

That could certainly do it. And wondering @Bryce (or anyone who knows), why have any embedded files to begin with? In my experience with any publishing software, embedded files were always asking for trouble. Maybe I missed a day in class, I was known to cut every now and then.

[Pšenda]

17 hours ago, MikeTO said:

I'm not sure but multiple copies of an embedded image might not reference the same embedded data.

Nor must they refer to the same data (that's what Symbols are here for), as each copy may need to be specifically edited and changed.

[Warpspace]

I accidentally embedded a large image once, and even though I removed it, the file size never went down. My file is now permanently 100x what it should be. Searching the V1 board, I found out that Affinity files keep all the old data, just adding changes, until it reaches a certain point, at which time it does a clean-up. I don't think I'll ever reach that point, as I link all my images now.

There should really be an option somewhere to clean up old data in your file (garbage collect). It's so frustrating having to live with large files that don't get cleaned up because the original mistake was so egregious. My file is currently 200MB, with no embedded images at all.

[carl123]

Try doing a Save as... to a new file name. That is supposed to get rid of redundant data in the document

[Warpspace]

Oh, you're right! Cheers!