How to delete an embedded file from an action note?
 

Hi Folks!
OF has been adding and embedding files i dragged onto actions for some while. In order to decrease the OF db file i removed these files (mainly two 15+MB PDF files but some more) from their corresponding action notes.
So far the overall db size has not decreased (sic) and the files are still inside the directory structure (i checked manually).
How do i get rid of these?
I tried to rebuild the db.
I tried to archive old actions.
So far no improvements, any ideas?
Cheers
Silvan

Silvan,

This seems like it might be a bug. [URL="http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?t=3734"]You can report it using Help --> Send Feedback[/URL].

In the meantime, here's something to try. What happens if you delete the action entirely? (Just create a new action to replace it.) You could also try just deleting the PDFs from inside the .ofocus package. Make sure you have a backup before doing that.

[QUOTE=curt.clifton;42258]Silvan,

This seems like it might be a bug. [URL="http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?t=3734"]You can report it using Help --> Send Feedback[/URL].

In the meantime, here's something to try. What happens if you delete the action entirely? (Just create a new action to replace it.) You could also try just deleting the PDFs from inside the .ofocus package. Make sure you have a backup before doing that.[/QUOTE]
I'll try removing the action, thanxs for the hint.

Removing the file from inside the package manually results in a CORRUPTED DB!
(capitals in order to warn anyone trying this)
I tried this but afterwards OF would not load, save or in any way handle the db anymore, always reporting a missing contents.xml file (which was not missing - maybe the missing PDF file confused some object that analyses contents.xml).
Cheers
Silvan


**Edit**
I just tried deleting the concerning actions - no change.
The OF DB has still the same size. :-(
However i send in a bug report, as suggested.

[QUOTE=Quorcork;42260]
Removing the file from inside the package manually results in a CORRUPTED DB!
(capitals in order to warn anyone trying this)
I tried this but afterwards OF would not load, save or in any way handle the db anymore, always reporting a missing contents.xml file (which was not missing - maybe the missing PDF file confused some object that analyses contents.xml).[/QUOTE]

Eek. Definitely report this to the support ninjas. If you can send them your database, I suspect that will be helpful.

I can hardly send it, approx. 40MB ...
That's why i started looking for the reason of this file size. :-)

Quorcork: If you have syncing turned on, your database won't shrink until all machines have synced a few times. That might help?

Otherwise, thanks for sending in the email. Our ninjas should get to it soon.

[QUOTE=Lizard;42318]Quorcork: If you have syncing turned on, your database won't shrink until all machines have synced a few times. That might help?

Otherwise, thanks for sending in the email. Our ninjas should get to it soon.[/QUOTE]

Lizard,
syncing was on but i deactivated it prior to analysing the reasons for the large file size.
It was my hope to get syncing back to work as it never worked after upgrading to iPhone OF 1.0.1, mainly due to time out and other idisk errors. It was my hope that by massively reducing the .oFocus file size i could retry syncing OF on Mac and phone.
Cheers
Silvan

I checked in with the engineers. There's a bug that keeps the deleted files from getting removed from the database. Fortunately, you can force OmniFocus to clean up after itself.

1. In OmniFocus, choose Export from the File menu.
2. Choose a save location other than your usual backup location, so you can find this file again easily in a minute.
3. For file format, choose "OmniFocus Backup Document"
4. Save
5. Choose "Revert to Database Backup" from the File menu
6. Browse to the file you just saved in step 4 and click Open

Once your main file is down to size and you're ready to start syncing again, I recommend moving aside the OmniFocus file that is currently on your server and resetting the database on your iPhone so that OmniFocus can have a fresh start.

[QUOTE=Lizard;42481]I checked in with the engineers. There's a bug that keeps the deleted files from getting removed from the database. Fortunately, you can force OmniFocus to clean up after itself.

1. In OmniFocus, choose Export from the File menu.
2. Choose a save location other than your usual backup location, so you can find this file again easily in a minute.
3. For file format, choose "OmniFocus Backup Document"
4. Save
5. Choose "Revert to Database Backup" from the File menu
6. Browse to the file you just saved in step 4 and click Open

Once your main file is down to size and you're ready to start syncing again, I recommend moving aside the OmniFocus file that is currently on your server and resetting the database on your iPhone so that OmniFocus can have a fresh start.[/QUOTE]

This procedure seems to be risky.
The Backup file is only half size (22MB YAY!) but when reverting to the file i get the attached (error?-)message.
Hmm, things look ok but can i be sure that this file now contains all my thousands of actions? :-/
Can you check back what this message means?
Regards
Silvan

Quorcork: Are there any more details in the Console?