2.109 FAQ-1014 What Can I do to Reduce the Size of My Origin Project?

Last Update: 10/20/2022

If your project file size is getting to be too large, you may want to consider the following options for reducing the file size:

  • Save your projects in the OPJU format: Origin 2018 introduced a new, more compact project file type -- .OPJU. The savings in disk space is project dependent but in-house testing showed that the new format could save 40% or more on file size over the older .OPJ format. For more information see To Save a Project File.
  • Use Data Connectors: Origin 2019b introduced Data Connectors for importing common data formats, including ASCII/CSV, MS Excel, and also Origin Project files. Data Connectors maintain a live link to local or web-stored file. The imported data are not saved with the project file, but can be re-imported any time when the project is opened. This results in much smaller project file size when working with large data. In particular, you can break up your large Origin project files into sub projects that contain relevant subsets of data, and use the Origin Data Connector to read data from those project files. View this blog post for an example: blog post Using an Origin Project as a Data Repository for the Origin Connector.
  • Exclude Imported Data When Saving the Project: The concept is similar to use of Data Connectors but can be used for any imported data, not just that imported via Data Connector. This option does not maintain a live link to local or web-stored data but if you routinely import, analyze and generate reports of results in a single session, you may not need to save the data that was brought in during the current Origin session. For more information, see this blog post Exclude Imported Data When Saving the Project.
  • Use Project Explorer to Save Folders as Projects: From the top panel of the Project Explorer window, you can right-click on any folder in the current project and save the contents to a new project file. For more information, see Save a Portion of the Project as a New Project File.
  • Check the Loose Dataset and Delete Them: In some project, there are some loose dataset which will also take up a lot of storage space. You can use the LabTalk command list s; to list them and then use del -as; to delete them.

Keywords:big data, slow, sluggish, large, disk space, compact, file size, system resources, memory, project, OPJ, OPJU, Data Connector, import, autosave, crash, corrupted
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