"save as" results in huge increase in file size

[BKFC]

I've been using Affinity Publisher (in place of Adobe InDesign) for a few years to create photo albums.  I usually begin a new album "save as..." with a previous album, so I can keep some of the formatting.  The most recent time I did this, the original .afpub file ballooned from 25 MB to over 2 GB.  I have a Mac Mini with 16 GB memory, and this file causes it to hang up, so I have to force-quit Affinity and lose all my edits.  In this case I was about halfway through placing photos when the .afpub file became unmanageable.  I may have to start over, but already the file sizes are large again.

I place all my photos using links.

I do not know how to get out of this circle.

 

[thomaso]

42 minutes ago, BKFC said:

I place all my photos using links.

There are some threads that mention as a possible solution to turn all "linked" items in the Resource Manger to "embedded" and then switch back. Unfortunately I don't remember at what stage another "Save As…" is required to make this workaround work as desired. If you don't want to "just try it" you might find more info about this procedure with a forum's search.

[BKFC]

Many thanks for that suggestion!  I went from all linked to all embedded and back again, then saved, and the file is now 2 MB instead of 2 GB.  Seems like a bug if the app says all images are linked when in fact they are likely embedded.

[BKFC]

addendum: I placed a few more images into the document, and the file size inflated to 1/2 GB!  I went through the same link-embed-link procedure again, and file size dropped to 70 MB.  This is indeed a workaround, but it's tedious.

[thomaso]

Your recent experiences make me wonder whether the issue is influenced by the fact that worked repeatedly with a Save-As copy that you then filled with different images. So perhaps it makes a difference if you create a new empty document in the wanted size and colour + then use the command menu Document > Add Pages From File… to get the existing layout in this new document.

[BKFC]

That's possible, though I've never had any trouble before.  One difference is that this is my first use of AP since I upgraded my Mac Mini with MacOS Ventura.  Not only does it have large file sizes that I have to counter with the linked-embedded procedure, but oddly, it puts a date stamp on the file that is 5-10 minutes ahead of the system clock.  I'm wondering if AP is not playing well with Ventura and the M2 chip.

[thomaso]

Your recent experiences make me wonder whether the issue is influenced by the fact that you worked repeatedly with a Save-As copy which you then filled with different images. So perhaps it makes a difference if you create a new empty document in the wanted size and colour + then use the command menu Document > Add Pages From File… to get the existing layout into this new document + to get rid of redundant data trash possibly contained in the source document.