Size of .cpd in RoboHelp 7?

[hurdl1]

Hi,

I just recently upgraded to RH7 from RH5. I use RH HTML to generate WebHelp
output. My Help sets tend to be smaller, 150-250 topics. In RH5, when my .cpd
file got larger than 1 MB, my projects tended to become unstable and I started
experiencing problems. In RH 7, I notice that same-size projects w/ .cpd files
of 1.3 MB and 1.5 MB seem to work just fine. Does RH 7 accommodate a larger
.cpd ,or is this just a case of projects that haven't crashed ... yet?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[lmarden]

An enlarged CPD (sounds like a medical problem...) typically indicates a
corrupt CPD file. As a point of reference, my WebHelp Knowledge Base (in RH7)
has over 2000 topics in it, and just shy of a gig of stuff supported by it. My
CPD file is 3MB and working just fine. If you start seeing slow project access,
or even get error messages about the CPD, it's time to rebuild it - which
happens occasionally. But if it ain't broke, I would say don't fix it.
I learned the hard way that I had to rebuild a corrupt CPD BEFORE I moved to
RH6, which just had all sorts of problems trying to rebuild it. So luckily you
have made it successfully to RH7, which is much more cooperative.

[Colum McAndrew]

Just to add to lmarden's advice. Should you need to delete the CPD file, take a
look at http://www.grainge.org/pages/authoring/opening/opening_projects.htm and
in particular the "What will be lost" section.

[Linux Rules]

Here is how I handle this situation...

Note: The .cpd file is an MS Access 97 file.

1. Have a (legal) installation of MS Access (or access to Access), any version
from Access 97 onward.

2. Copy the project .cpd file to your desktop then rename the file in the
Project folder (it becomes your backup).

3. Open the desktop file in Access (note: Windows will ask what program to use
to open the file - select MS Access).

4. Access will complaint about converting to a current version - DON'T DO IT -
just open the file. It will also complain about security problems and default
to not allowing/opening stuff - IGNOR the warnings and just say "open it
already!".

5. Select Tools>DataBase Utilites>Compact and Repair Database...

6. Same drill with the security warnings.

7. When done, exit Access.

8. Copy or move the compacted desktop file into your back into Project folder.

Here is the result of compacting our current project:
Pre-compact size - 1.6MB
Post-compact - 676KB

Regards,
GEWB

[hurdl1]

Many thanks to all who replied. Very helpful info!