Visio2002: File Size Grows When You Open a File from an Earlier Version of Visio (326337)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Visio 2002 Professional
  • Microsoft Visio 2002 Standard
This article was previously published under Q326337

SYMPTOMS

When you convert files from an earlier version of Visio to Visio 2002, the resulting file is larger than expected. Depending on the contents of the drawing, the resulting file may grow to more than 100 times the size of the original.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs because Visio 2002 uses a different file format from earlier versions of Visio. When you convert a Visio file to the new format, the file is expanded to handle the additional features and functionality of Visio 2002. The converted file also retains information about your original file to maintain backward compatibility with earlier versions of Visio. The unexpected file growth is not a result of any error during the conversion process.

WORKAROUND

To work around this issue, copy the pages from your document, and then paste them into a new Visio 2002 drawing. Because the new file is not a converted file, there will be a smaller increase in file size. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Open the original file or the new expanded file.
  2. On the first page of the original drawing, click Edit, and then click Copy Drawing.
  3. In Visio 2002, click File, point to New, and then click New Drawing to create a new drawing.
  4. On the Insert menu, click New Page to open the Page Setup dialog box, and then follow these steps:
    1. Click the Page Size tab, and then set the size to match the original document.
    2. Click the Drawing Scale tab, and then set the scale to match the original document.
    3. Click the Page Properties tab, set the type to match the original document, name the page, and then set the background.
    4. Click OK.
  5. Click Edit, and then click Paste to paste all of the shapes onto the page.
  6. Open the next page of the original drawing, and then repeat steps 4 and 5 until you have pasted all of the pages into the new drawing.
  7. Name and then save the new drawing.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:6/25/2004
Keywords:kbprb KB326337
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