RE: MS Word Bloat

["Metzger, Lucinda" <cmetzger -at- dukane -dot- com>]

Susan,

If anyone hasn't already suggested this -- next time the doc bloats up
again, do a File|Save As and save it back over itself. Alex Gray (from Corel
User Magazine) explained the reason for the file size increase on the
Ventura list just a couple weeks ago:



"Ventura uses Microsoft's Compound Document Object model. In this, the file
contains many objects (bits of text, pictures and so on), all linked
together by 'pointers' from one item to the next. When you edit an item, say
to delete some text, the original object isn't immediately deleted, but a
revised section is added to the file, and 'pointers' are updated to patch in
the new bit in place of the old.

This gives much faster editing and saving, since the new material is just
tacked don the end of the file and you don't have to wait while the contents
of the whole file are rewritten to shuffle everything up a bit when you
delete something ( or to move everything along a bit when you insert
something).

This means that as you progressively edit a file, all the old redundant bits
and pieces stay there in the file, but are dodged around by more and more
complex links.

The downside for the speed gain in editing is that the file gradually bloats
with all this old rubbish, and there are increasing chances of some of the
spaghetti links getting tangled.

A Save As operation works through the whole mess rewriting a fresh file with
all the latest revisions in place exactly in order with as few links and
jumps as possible, and throws away all the surplus junk. This is how it can
suddenly become much smaller and faster.

MS Word and many other apps work in just the same way."


HTH,

Cindy
cmetzger -at- dukane -dot- com