Bloated file

[Rainald Taesler]

Inspecting the directory with the ON files, I stumbled over a 42MB
file for the "Unfiled Notes" (sorry, my translation might be bad;
might anyone pls let me know the correct English naming?)).

I checked the content. There were just 2 pages.
I moved them to a notebook with Cut+Paste.

After closing ON, the file remained with the same size.

So there seems to be bug produced a totally bloated file.

Can anyone confirm this?

Rainald
P.S. I deleted the file, there was a new one created on next opening
ON.

 

[Erik Sojka (MVP)]

Unfiled Notes is the correct name of that section

You won't see an immediate change in the file size when you do operations
in OneNote. It's kind of like a database file in that aspect (if you're
familiar with database operations)

I wouldn't worry about the size of that file. OneNote should get around
to compacting the contents. You can force a compaction by going to Tools
| Options | Other and clicking "Optimize All Files Now".

 

[Rainald Taesler]

Erik Sojka (MVP) shared these words of wisdom:

Unfiled Notes is the correct name of that section
Thanks!

You won't see an immediate change in the file size when you do
operations in OneNote. It's kind of like a database file in
that aspect (if you're familiar with database operations)

For sure I am. My main filed in IT ;-)
But databases do not necessarily have to be based on the
"all-in-one-sack" concept for which I have ever been hating f.e. MS
Access.
The same for Outlook with it's - IMHO - heavy weight PST(s).
If an application follows this route it has to provide means for
maintenance and "pressing the air out". Even a beast like OE with its
proprietary DBX-files offers that.

I wouldn't worry about the size of that file. OneNote should
get around to compacting the contents. You can force a
compaction by going to Tools

Sounds good. Did not yet come across this feature.
Trying a good guess on the naming, I assume that this would be the
forth item in the "Options" menu, the German wording of which
("Dokumentenverwaltung") might be translated to "administration of
documents" (which does not really make sense; seems I have to file a
translation bug).

Problem: This menu item just is not functional at all on both of my
machines.
It's no disabled (not greyed) but clicking on it just does nothing at
all [siiiiigh].

Does it work on your side?

Thanks for your assistance

Rainald
http://www.hs-heilbronn.de/Members/taesler
http://www.hera.hs-heilbronn.de

 

[Erik Sojka (MVP)]

Erik Sojka (MVP) shared these words of wisdom:


For sure I am. My main filed in IT ;-)
But databases do not necessarily have to be based on the
"all-in-one-sack" concept for which I have ever been hating f.e. MS
Access.
The same for Outlook with it's - IMHO - heavy weight PST(s).
If an application follows this route it has to provide means for
maintenance and "pressing the air out". Even a beast like OE with its
proprietary DBX-files offers that.

Outlook, Access and other MS products do have similar file
maintenance/compaction features. The options are not immediately visible
but that's by design. There's really no point in constantly compacting a
section/PST/MDB/Exchange Store/etc. The file will immediately start
growing again with use. MS' database technology is pretty good about
keeping the inside of a database file optimized, and will fill in
whitespace before expanding the file size.

Sounds good. Did not yet come across this feature.
Trying a good guess on the naming, I assume that this would be the
forth item in the "Options" menu, the German wording of which
("Dokumentenverwaltung") might be translated to "administration of
documents" (which does not really make sense; seems I have to file a
translation bug).

That might be the location in the dialog box. In English it appears as
"Optimizing Section Files" - sounds similar to "administration of
documents"

The button to optimize all files should be immediately above the button
which says "Install OneNote Mobile..."

Problem: This menu item just is not functional at all on both of my
machines.
It's no disabled (not greyed) but clicking on it just does nothing at
all [siiiiigh].

Does it work on your side?

Does it really do nothing? There should be a small progress box which
appears as the optimization occurs. If you deleted the old "Unfiled
Notes" section (per your previous post) there may not be much to
optimize.

 

[Rainald Taesler]

Erik Sojka (MVP) shared these words of wisdom:

[...] MS' database technology is pretty good about keeping the
inside of a database file optimized, and will fill in whitespace
before expanding the file size.

Let's hope and pray ;-)
I've learnt my lessons in early Access (2.0) ... [siiiigh]
What would I have given for having the old scheme of separate files
for the tables like in good old dBASE - even at the price of the
database being rather vulnerable like with the Paradox system with
it's separate index-files ...

[compacting] ...

Options | Other and clicking "Optimize All Files Now".

[...]
Trying a good guess on the naming, I assume that this would be
the forth item in the "Options" menu, the German wording of
which ("Dokumentenverwaltung") might be translated to
"administration of documents" (which does not really make
sense; seems I have to file a translation bug).

That might be the location in the dialog box.
In English it appears as "Optimizing Section Files"
- sounds similar to "administration of documents"

Not really. But it seemed to come close

The button to optimize all files should be immediately
above the button which says "Install OneNote Mobile..."

I had already put a posting with a a cry for help in the outbox, but
checking everything for 13th time or so <g> I got it. We had been
talking about different things.
From your noation "Options | Other" I had thought that you were
referring to an item in the root of the menu-system and looked under
"Extras" (thinking to remeber that it was called different in English)
and there I had found the inoperable menu-item "Dokumentenverwaltung"
which does nothing.

But now I found the Button "Alle Dateien jetzt optimieren" meaning
"Optimizing all files now".
This one works. I had put back the 42MB monster. It was optomized to
946KB.
Great.
Thanks a lot for that pointer.

But as we are at it:
IMHO this feature is too well hidden.
The way the "Others" item in the "Options" dialog is et up, to me it
seems as if somone has put everything swept together just in there.
The layout of this dialog IMO is not constistent with the way dialogs
for "settings"/"options" normally are built in Windows and Office
applications. And with the lessons I have learnt on GUI-design and it
logics it does not harmonize too well to have tools/features (like
installing on mobile device and optimizing data) to be executed deep
down there and this in a window which is to small to show it all and
therefore needs a scroll-bar [siiigh].

There were days when StyleGuides were something to be respected and
followed and developers were not just placing whatever they liked at
whatever place coming into their mind <bg,d&rvf>. Seems long gone
:-( :-(

Thanks again for your help.
The feature is built in and I'm glad to see that and how it works.

Rainald
P.S. The menu item under "Extras" "Administration of data" which I had
been talking about indeed is not doing anything. And I have no idea at
all what it might be good for :-(

 

[Patrick Schmid]

IMHO this feature is too well hidden.

The way the "Others" item in the "Options" dialog is et up, to me it
seems as if somone has put everything swept together just in there.
The layout of this dialog IMO is not constistent with the way dialogs
for "settings"/"options" normally are built in Windows and Office
applications. And with the lessons I have learnt on GUI-design and it
logics it does not harmonize too well to have tools/features (like
installing on mobile device and optimizing data) to be executed deep
down there and this in a window which is to small to show it all and
therefore needs a scroll-bar [siiigh].

With ON eventually (maybe ON 14?) getting the ribbon interface, the team
isn't going to redesign the Options dialog now. If I am not mistaken,
that button was already there in 2003.

P.S. The menu item under "Extras" "Administration of data" which I had
been talking about indeed is not doing anything. And I have no idea at
all what it might be good for :-(

In English, the item is actually called Tools, "Document Management" as
well. It doesn't do anything here either.

Patrick Schmid

 

[Rainald Taesler]

Patrick Schmid shared these words of wisdom:

[...] it does not harmonize too

well to have tools/features (like installing on mobile device
and optimizing data) to be executed deep down there and this in
a window which is to small to show it all and therefore needs a
scroll-bar [siiigh].

With ON eventually (maybe ON 14?) getting the ribbon interface,
the team isn't going to redesign the Options dialog now.

Well, like with other things that OneNote will be a bit behind the
rest of Office in some areas (despite of being really advanced in
others) and has quite some interim solutions :-(

If I am not mistaken, that button was already there in 2003.

In English, the item is actually called Tools, "Document
Management" as well. It doesn't do anything here either.

So what might be good for?
You do not even have a good guess?
Did you ever ask in the backrooms?

Rainald

 

[Patrick Schmid]

So what might be good for?
No clue.

You do not even have a good guess?
Did you ever ask in the backrooms?

Nope. To be honest, the private beta newsgroup has been rather quiet
recently. MS people have posted here more than there...I'll give it a
try though.

Patrick Schmid

 

[Rainald Taesler]

Patrick Schmid shared these words of wisdom:

Nope. To be honest, the private beta newsgroup has been rather
quiet recently. MS people have posted here more than
there...

Not too bad for thsi palce ;-)

I'll give it a try though.

Tnaks!

Rainald

 

[Patrick Schmid]

The Tools, Document Management feature is only for use with notebooks
located on SharePoint Servers. It isn't implemented in Beta 2.

Patrick Schmid
--------------
http://pschmid.net

Patrick Schmid shared these words of wisdom:

[...] it does not harmonize too

well to have tools/features (like installing on mobile device
and optimizing data) to be executed deep down there and this in
a window which is to small to show it all and therefore needs a
scroll-bar [siiigh].

With ON eventually (maybe ON 14?) getting the ribbon interface,
the team isn't going to redesign the Options dialog now.

Well, like with other things that OneNote will be a bit behind the
rest of Office in some areas (despite of being really advanced in
others) and has quite some interim solutions :-(

If I am not mistaken, that button was already there in 2003.

In English, the item is actually called Tools, "Document
Management" as well. It doesn't do anything here either.

So what might be good for?
You do not even have a good guess?
Did you ever ask in the backrooms?

Rainald

 

[Rainald Taesler]

Patrick Schmid shared these words of wisdom:

The Tools, Document Management feature is only for use with
notebooks located on SharePoint Servers. It isn't implemented in
Beta 2.

Thanks a lot, Patrick, for solving the riddle.
As you have already asked on this topic:
IMO the menu-item would have to be disabled (greyed) when the system
doe not work with SharePoint servers. Would you pls pass this on to
the powers in charge?

Rainald

Patrick Schmid shared these words of wisdom:

[...] it does not harmonize too

well to have tools/features (like installing on mobile device
and optimizing data) to be executed deep down there and this
in a window which is to small to show it all and therefore
needs a scroll-bar [siiigh].

With ON eventually (maybe ON 14?) getting the ribbon interface,
the team isn't going to redesign the Options dialog now.

Well, like with other things that OneNote will be a bit behind
the rest of Office in some areas (despite of being really
advanced in others) and has quite some interim solutions :-(

If I am not mistaken, that button was already there in 2003.

P.S. The menu item under "Extras" "Administration of data"
which I had been talking about indeed is not doing anything.
And I have no idea at all what it might be good for :-(

In English, the item is actually called Tools, "Document
Management" as well. It doesn't do anything here either.

So what might be good for?
You do not even have a good guess?
Did you ever ask in the backrooms?

Rainald

 

[Patrick Schmid]

I was told that it brings up a dialog and tells you it only works for
SharePoint notebooks. Not sure why they implemented it that way, but
that must have had a reason.

Patrick Schmid
--------------
http://pschmid.net

Patrick Schmid shared these words of wisdom:

The Tools, Document Management feature is only for use with
notebooks located on SharePoint Servers. It isn't implemented in
Beta 2.

Thanks a lot, Patrick, for solving the riddle.
As you have already asked on this topic:
IMO the menu-item would have to be disabled (greyed) when the system
doe not work with SharePoint servers. Would you pls pass this on to
the powers in charge?

Rainald

Patrick Schmid shared these words of wisdom:

[...] it does not harmonize too
well to have tools/features (like installing on mobile device
and optimizing data) to be executed deep down there and this
in a window which is to small to show it all and therefore
needs a scroll-bar [siiigh].

With ON eventually (maybe ON 14?) getting the ribbon interface,
the team isn't going to redesign the Options dialog now.

Well, like with other things that OneNote will be a bit behind
the rest of Office in some areas (despite of being really
advanced in others) and has quite some interim solutions :-(

If I am not mistaken, that button was already there in 2003.

Could be. But this does not make it better <g,d&rf>

P.S. The menu item under "Extras" "Administration of data"
which I had been talking about indeed is not doing anything.
And I have no idea at all what it might be good for :-(

In English, the item is actually called Tools, "Document
Management" as well. It doesn't do anything here either.

So what might be good for?
You do not even have a good guess?
Did you ever ask in the backrooms?

Rainald

 

[Rainald Taesler]

Patrick Schmid shared these words of wisdom:

I was told that it brings up a dialog and tells you it only
works for SharePoint notebooks. Not sure why they implemented it
that way, but that must have had a reason.

A reason for sure <gbg> - and be it only that it has not benn given
enough attention <d&r>.

Offering a menu item which just does nothing at all except opening a
dialog telling that an optin is not available is quite something. Good
candidate for the "Fooling Users Award ;-)

Basic rule is that any menu item not being functional under certain
environment conditions has to be disabeled and this has to be
visualized by greying the item. Period.

Rainald