Citavi file size (disk space)

[ayarlas]

System information: [ Citavi Version 4.5, Windows 7, English, Firefox 36 or newer, MS Office 2010 64Bit, Acrobat DC ]

I typically import a large number of citations into a Citavi file, and then afterwards I delete citations I do not need. However, after deleting citations (even if I delete all but one), there is no corresponding change in the size of the Citavi file. That is, the amount of disk space the file takes up does not decrease even when the number of citations has been reduced.

Is there a way to "refresh" the file in order to update its size (on disk) based on reduction in citations after the file has been initially saved?

[Sebastian Pabel]

Dear ayarlas,

may I ask how large your ctv4 file is (size in MB and number of references in it)?

This file is your project database in SQLite format and it's quite normal for a file based database that changes in the data do not immediately reflect in the size of the file. Deleted citations are "empty" space inside the database which make the file appear larger than strictly necessary. As the file itself is normally only a couple of megabytes in size and the size itself does not impede performance, there is normally no need to worry.

SQLite has a function called vacuum that you could run on the ctv4 file while Citavi is closed. However, we do not recommend doing this, as it does not increase performance.

Best regards
Sebastian

Did we answer your question completely? If so, please click the green check mark in the upper-right corner of this post. This helps other users find the solution to their questions.

[ayarlas]

Hi Sebastian,

I currently have a file with 26 references that is 9 MB. While it's not so much an issue of disk space per se, it does become an issue when email/transferring files.

I didn't realize that Citavi database files were in SQLite format, but I do know that these files are often bloated with 'empty' space. I will try using the vacuum function (or a program that implements it) on a test file and see how it goes.

Thanks for the response! Aaron

[ayarlas]

As a follow-up, I downloaded a free open-source user-friendly software which can be used to compact SQLite files (amongst other things) called "DB Browser for SQLite"

I tested it on the database mentioned above. It reduced the size by approximately half: from 8890kb to 4366kb. I opened the compacted database and everything looks fine, the same as the original.

I'm not recommending anyone else do this, I just wanted to share my experience.

Best, Aaron