Captivate 3 - Anyone figured out how to reduce a CP project file size?

[TPK]

Greetings,

I believe this question has been asked before, but I was unable to find a solution to the problem and was wondering if anyone else has (found a solution).

Some folks have called this phenomena "file bloat".

I use Captivate 3. In the process of adding and deleting slides the .cp file gets pretty big. I have tried doing the "Save as..." trick. I have also tried deleting unused resources (graphics, backgrounds, etc.) and resaving the file. Nothing seems to work.

I have even tried importing one project into a blank project (the application seems to be working, but nothing happens). I have tried exporting to XML and the file won't import (corrupted).

Has anyone managed to find a answer as to how to remove unused slides/resources from a "bloated" Captivate project. Aside from fully rebuilding the project file from scratch is there a solution?

Thank you,

TPK

[KerryWilson]

Have you tried opening a new blank project, and copy and pasting your slides from one to the other?

This has worked for me, however some of your branching might be broken and you'll have to fix that up.

The other thing I do is to "chunk down" the size of my projects and daisy chain them together.

When you tried any of the other methods, did you completely close Captivate? Sometimes the file size doesn't look any smaller until you completely close Captivate.

This file bloat issue is fixed in Captivate 4, so upgrade if you can.

Hope this helps,

Kerry

[RoboWizard · Accepted solution]

Hi there

The only way that I've ever seen a file size reduction in Captivate 3 was by performing the following steps:

1. Open a second instance of Captivate.
2. Create a new blank project sized identically to the other instance.
3. Switching between instances, copy slides from the bloated one and paste into the fresh one.
4. Save the new one and the file size is reduced.
5. Discard the old one.

Note that you will likely need to re-establish any links you had.

Just a special note here about one of the things you tried. You said you exported to XML. I don't believe you are able to export to XML, then import from XML back into a new project. I believe the XML export works in a very similar manner to the Microsoft Word export. Only the project that exported it will be able to successfully re-import it. As I understand it, the XML export is especially designed for Captivate developers that need to localize (translate) their projects.

Cheers... Rick

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[KerryWilson]

I knew Rick would word it much better than myself.

What Rick said, that's what I was trying to say.

[TPK]

Thank you Kerry and Rick,

Indeed, the only method that seemed to work effectively is the "Open another instence (instance?) of Captivate 3" and copy slide elements from one project to another.

It makes quite a difference (essentially a 10 fold difference). The original files were developed by another individual and were starting to produce problems on the server side of the lessons. My hope is that some of these problems are mitigated.

As to the suggestion of going with Captivate 4...

I like many of the new features and the stability of Captivate 4, but there is one small "show-stopper". We have a number of templates that incorporate a modified player control as part of the slide. With Captivate 4 I am unable to place the player control within the boundries of the presentation. (Instead it must occupy an area outside the slide as part of one of the borders. As a result I lose a bit of slide "real estate".

Thank you both for your prompt and informative replies.

TPK