File unusually large and takes very long to save, freezes program
I copy this template file to make scores sometimes, and it's huge (explorer says 414 KB) for not containing any music. It only contains instruments and formatting text, etc.
For context, I have multiple template files of similar purpose for orchestra, jazz, etc., and the max size out of any of these is 44 KB. It's causing issues because when I copy this file to make arrangements etc., it takes so long to save no matter how much music is written, and it sometimes completely freezes for multiple minutes.
Is the file corrupted or something? I'd appreciate some help.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| template.mscz | 403.99 KB |
Comments
Do you have one of the smaller sized templates? Will be easier to compare.
In reply to Do you have one of the… by Henk De Groot
Sure, here's one of the smaller ones (explorer says 35 KB). Pretty much the same apart from different instruments
In reply to Sure, here's one of the… by Egriff123
I checked the MS files and found that the bigger one contain the parts as well.
The MS file is actually a compressed archive (zip file) and each part, takes approx. 12-15 Kb "space" in the compressed archive. The file contains 29 parts, so that is why the file size is bigger compared to other templates you have.
The other template (smaller) does not contain "generated" parts, in which case the part does not consume "space" in the file.
When you generate parts, the file will contain the style settings and other information relevant to the part. Depending on what style settings you have changed, this may be required or not in the template.
This is most likely also causing the "slowness" as MS will be syncing the data between the main score and the parts while you are editing. There are several open issues related to the performance issue you are experiencing. Beside removing the parts from the template, I am not aware of how you can improve the editting experience.
In reply to I checked the MS files and… by Henk De Groot
Thanks. Sorry if this is a dumb question, but how would I remove them? I tried to go into the parts menu and delete them, but there was no option to.
In reply to Sorry if this is a dumb… by Egriff123
Questions are never dumb....you can only learn by asking them and it is not a simple click.
Here is what you can do.
Open your template file in MS.
Use the Save As option to save the file as "Uncompressed MuseScore folder (experimental) (.)", make sure to enter a filename without extension! For instance: templatefolder
Close the file in MuseScore.
Now use a file explorer to open this folder.
Delete the "Excerpts" folder which is located in this folder (this contains all the parts).
Now back to MuseScore and open the .mscx file found in the "templatefolder".
Now use the Save As option again to save the file as a regular "MuseScore file (.mscz)". Use a new/different filename.
Now you have a new MS4 file without the generated parts which should have a much smaller filesize.
In reply to Questions are never dumb… by Henk De Groot
Is this the answer, though? In the grand scheme of things, the file size is pretty trivial. 440K expands to about 3Mb which is a tiny drop in the ocean that of 8Gb recommended minimum RAM. (So trivial, in fact, that one wonders why MuseScore bothers with compressing files, particularly given that it is a potential source of corrupt or empty files, but that's another topic).
I tried this and the new file was only 33K so, yes this is correct advice to achieve a smaller file. When i opened it in MuseScore, though, it took 7 seconds which was the same time as opening the 440K file took. Also, although it makes a smaller template this doesn't stop the file getting large as soon as Parts are required (which they generally are in an orchestral piece). So, I suspect that slowness is down to processing of elements rather than just file size.
In reply to Is this the answer, though?… by underquark
But there is nothing to process, as no notes are written in a template. The style files (*.mss) for the parts seem to take up the most space (2kB for score, 10kB for style file). Maybe loading these files is time-consuming - in this case these are at least 60 files!
By the way: A template only needs one measure, which could reduce the file size a little.
For comparison: I opened the template in MuS 3.7 and reduced it to one measure. Without parts, the file size is about 13kB. If I generate all parts, the file size is about 19kB. And there is no noticeable time difference when opening the file. In both cases much less than one second! (My computer is almost 10 years old ...).
One reason for this will be that MuS 3 already saves the scores and styles in the score file, so that only one file needs to be loaded. In contrast to a total of 60 files in this example (29 parts + 29 style files and the score with its style file). I wonder if the concept was really well thought out ...
I also wonder if it makes sense to have the parts already in the template. Since every score is different, the formatting of the parts will have to be adapted individually each time.
In reply to Is this the answer, though?… by underquark
Not sure what is causing the slowness, but in my experience entering the score without parts generated is working a lot better. Which is most often a standard process to follow anyway, create the main score first and then do all te he parts.
In reply to Questions are never dumb… by Henk De Groot
This worked, thank you :)
In reply to This worked, thank you :) by Egriff123
It seems that 4.3 has got some improvements for dealing with scores with generated parts. So might not be required to reduce the size with the latest release.