Base - Large file size when database isn't file based

[jsimpso_lo]

I’m using Base as a front end, forms and reports, to a postgresql database. The database has only one simple user table. I have only 1 form and 1 report. Both are fairly simple. However the file size of the Base file has grown to over 30 mbytes. It seems to grow as records are added to the database.

Does base store a copy or cache of the data?

Is there a setting to tell base not to store a copy or cache of the data?

Am I missing something else?

If this is an “issue” do I submit this on github?

This also seems to happen if the backend database is MySQL (community edition). It is the same database with essentially the same form.

The database table consists of mostly text and multiline text fields. There is one field that contains a picture.

Thanks. Be kind. This is my first post.
Jim Simpson

[Wanderer]

@jsimpso_lo

If this is an “issue” do I submit this on github?

No, LibreOffice uses Bugzilla:
https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/enter_bug.cgi?product=LibreOffice&bug_status=UNCONFIRMED&bug_severity=normal
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If you wish to check contents of your .odb, you may copy the file and rename to extension.zip. Then inspect contents.
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If you do backups: Can you check for the size over time? Other things to check: If you only open the file, read some data, close, does thr size change? If you run reports ? Are you asked to save the file.
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You may also let others inpect your file, if there is no confidential data involved. Usually I’d say upload the .odb, as data will be in your MySQL-database, but, if one suspects logging, one should check first…

[RobertG]

@jsimpso_lo : Did you work with images in the report or in the form? You could delete images when editing a form or report, but this images won’t be removed from the file.

Open the database file in a zip-program.
Move to reports (or forms) → Obj… → ObjectReplacements
Remove all content in this folder.

[Villeroy]

A Base file is a zip archive. find out which files or directories in that archive are the big ones.

[jsimpso_lo]

Thank you to everyone who replied. Base was storing a copy of several of the images in the form. Deleting these from the zip file caused the file size to change from 30 meg to 17 k, without affecting the form’s operation.

It appears it was saving images that the control decided to auto-rotate.

[Villeroy]

I always wondered why a picture control always shows some image, even while in design mode.

[RobertG]

Isn’t only an image inside a control.
Set an image as background of a form. Save the form, close base and open base again. Remove the image in the form.
File won’t get smaller.
https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=50816
https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=80320
https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=145263