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-   -   OF Database size.. (http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?t=14085)

wooster 2009-10-06 09:15 AM

OF Database size..
 
Is there a limit on the size of OF database? I have been attaching files to tasks; I prefer that to linking since, the files are auto organised in one sense. (instead of me creating an appropriate folder and putting it there). Also, because, I am used to emacs org-mode which elegantly allows attachments.

While I understand that the synchronisation, if enabled, will take longer, I am worried about the stability of the tool itself on large database sizes (tens to hundreds of MB).

Please feedback.

whpalmer4 2009-10-06 09:52 AM

During the 1.7 era there was a short-lived bug that caused my database to get a roughly 2 MB attachment added every time I launched the program on one of my machines (and the addition of this attachment tended to block database compaction which otherwise would have squashed it out of existence), so my database ballooned from its normal 4-5 MB up to a peak of around 70 MB. I saw no evidence of stability problems during that time. This is not quite the same as having large attachments on actions, as I suspect those attachments only were read at startup and sync time, and weren't consulted when rendering the outline in the way that an image embedded in a note might be if you had the note displayed. My perception is that most of the time, it's the number of actions that you have in the database that will be the primary determinant of how it performs. 4,000 or so is a much better number than 10,000 in my experience!

But why not do your own experiment if you're going to be venturing so far out of well-traveled lands? Make a new user account on your Mac, launch OmniFocus there and attach 1-200 MB of big emails, PDF files, graphics images, and see for yourself how it performs? Your view of what constitutes acceptable performance and stability is more important than mine, or the Omni developers and testers.

Brian 2009-10-06 04:53 PM

Database format doesn't have any hard size limits built in. Functionally, the limit would be the amount of memory your Mac has.

This is mostly a problem when folks start syncing to their phones. If I remember correctly, any given iPhone app is limited to accessing 1/2 of the memory the phone has. (So 64 MB running on a 3GS, or 32MB on earlier models.)

wooster 2009-10-07 08:03 AM

[QUOTE=whpalmer4;67930]During the 1.7 era there was a short-lived bug that caused my database to get a roughly 2 MB attachment added every time I launched the program on one of my machines (and the addition of this attachment tended to block database compaction which otherwise would have squashed it out of existence), so my database ballooned from its normal 4-5 MB up to a peak of around 70 MB. I saw no evidence of stability problems during that time. This is not quite the same as having large attachments on actions, as I suspect those attachments only were read at startup and sync time, and weren't consulted when rendering the outline in the way that an image embedded in a note might be if you had the note displayed. My perception is that most of the time, it's the number of actions that you have in the database that will be the primary determinant of how it performs. 4,000 or so is a much better number than 10,000 in my experience!

But why not do your own experiment if you're going to be venturing so far out of well-traveled lands? Make a new user account on your Mac, launch OmniFocus there and attach 1-200 MB of big emails, PDF files, graphics images, and see for yourself how it performs? Your view of what constitutes acceptable performance and stability is more important than mine, or the Omni developers and testers.[/QUOTE]
Thanks whpalmer4.
Yes, will try it out. But wanted to check if users have already have had problems with bigger db sizes.

wooster 2009-10-07 08:06 AM

[QUOTE=Brian;67952]Database format doesn't have any hard size limits built in. Functionally, the limit would be the amount of memory your Mac has.

This is mostly a problem when folks start syncing to their phones. If I remember correctly, any given iPhone app is limited to accessing 1/2 of the memory the phone has. (So 64 MB running on a 3GS, or 32MB on earlier models.)[/QUOTE]
Thanks Brian. So, if I use OF on iPhone, there's a limit on the db size.
What happens on the iPhone if the size exceeds the the available memory?

wooster 2009-10-07 08:31 AM

Attachment options..
 
For file attachments, I think, we have two options:

1. Keep the attached files within the OF db - this makes the ofocus db grow.
2. Link the attachments. This is a better option from a size viewpoint.

But 2 is a two-step process in terms of organisation. I have to create a folder structure somewhere and put the files and then link it to a task in OF.

Is there a possibility of OF creating the folder structure for task and keep track of links?
I will pick up file, say from Desktop, and drop it into a task. I would like a folder (starting from a root that I provide) to be created and have the file either copied/moved in there. That way, I don't have to organize my folder
structure.

profmadden 2009-10-28 06:14 AM

Related question: when I put an alias into OF, the icon doesn't show up as a "reference arrow" version. It's not easy to tell if I've dragged an entire copy of a 50mb file in, or just a reference.

Is there any easy way to tell what files are embedded in the database (particularly big ones?).

whpalmer4 2009-10-28 09:44 AM

Yes, try the Window->Attachment List command. Something to watch for, though:

Clicking on the name column header can cause the program to crash, though this problem doesn't seem to extend to the size or date added columns.

Toadling 2009-10-28 12:09 PM

I'm not actually in front of my Mac right now to test this, but I think another way you can tell if an attachment is embedded in your database or just a link is to right-click on its icon. If you see a "Reveal in Finder" option and the command actually displays the location of your file, then you've got a link to an external item.

-Dennis


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