How to get MORE into a single .eco file:          
         
         
(1) Use LARGE Blocks for items within a single subitem  in place of long lists of sub items.   The size if your item does not count against your memory limit.          
         
         
eccoMAGIC!  (the paste as block program)  can help with that.  You can cut a bunch of sub items,  and shift-ctrl-V them back as a single block.  (Make sure you use this only with sub items that do NOT have folder information attached to them.   While you can join together sub items,  you cannot join together any folders attached to them).          
         
         
This trick also works with text folder data.  You can use Ctrl-Enter to make multi-line Text entries in text folders.   For example, in place of 2 folders "Name" and "Address"  you can have 1 folder "Name & Address" and have Name on the first line, and Address on the second line.          
         
         
         
(2) Use Number folders, pull-down lists, dates and checkbox folders instead of text folders.  (Numbers, dates, pulldowns, and checkboxes do NOT take up *any* pointers or item counts...).          
         
         
         
(3) Balance your allocation.  You are allowed up to 65521 items  and 65521 'pointers'.   Items do not count against pointers and visa-versa.    So... If you have too many folders which you use FOR ALL YOUR ITEMS,  then the file hits the 'pointer' ceiling  long before the items ceiling...          
         
         
         
         
(4) Close notepads you don't use  (or filter them with an 'off' filter when not in use-- a filter that is meant not to match anything, so nothing shows), collapse outline levels  you are not using, and/or use context filters  (such as current/recent dating) to reduce the number of items showing.  Your view line quota is literally the number of distinct lines showing in all of your views (notepads).          
         
         
         
         
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO MEMORY ISSUES          
         
         
Ecco Pro uses a 16 bit variable slot to keep track of Items, and another to track "Other pointers".  This allows for counting up to 65536.  Thus,  you are limited in the number of items (65521)  and the number of other things you can have or do (if they take up pointers).  Text columns take up 1 pointer per data item attached to an outline item.   You can have hundreds of folders,  pointers are used when actual text data (ie. not blank, not a number folder or check folder or pulldown folder, only actual TEXT) in a folder is attached to an outline item.          
         
         
Thus, you cannot have more than 65521 text folder items attached to outline items.  MOREOVER,  since doing things,  like filtering,  creating a new notepad, etc.,   also take up pointer memory,  you may be 'OUT OF MEMORY'  for certain tasks,  even while you have memory available to add more items...          
         
         
There also appears to be a set amount of memory allocated for each number Folder.  Each folder can contain a maximum of 10,895 numbers.  The 10,896th number is accepted, but 'breaks' the folder.  Once 'corrupted' numbers cannot be added or changed in that folder.  There is no material memory penalty for having multiple number folders,  #1 for items 1-10,000 #2 for 10,001-20,000,  etc.   An easy visual way to 'stack' numbers is to put the multiple number folders as subfolders of one master number folder.  Then have a column be in the name of the master folder, but showing subfolders.   The result will be the showing of the appropriate folder, with it's number in that column.  (Ie. master folder as "Case#",  sub folder 1 as "A", sub folder 2 as "B", etc.   If the number is in A it will show up in the column "A: 9,990" etc.)          
         
         
         
Other noteworthy set amount of memory that can be allocated:          
         
     Max # of views (notepads + calendar + phonebook + search results): < 29 ;          
         
     Max # of columns per view < 101 ;          
         
     Max # of Filters per file < 257 ;            
         
     Max # of pop-up values per pull-down folder < 256 ;        
  
     Max # of items which can be assigned the same pup-up folder < 16332 ;          
         
     Max # of items which can be assigned to the same Text or Date folder < 16384 ;          
         
     Max # of items which can be assigned to the same checkbox folder < 32768 ;          
         
     Max # of OLE objects per file < 32768  [untested, but very likely].          
         
         
         
         
         
The attached example (at paperclip below) has 3 .eco files, each with the SAME exact data in the same exact number of records-- Each has 1,000 phonebook records. The 'Standard' version will take about 2,000 more records and reach max memory at about 3 thousand total entries.   Compare that to the 'tight' version which will accept over 13 thousand entries (ie. over 400% more), with the same FULL information retained.  (The 'tightest' possible phonebook in Ecco can handle a max of about 30,000 entries with carefully tailored fields to fit the information *and* still have a (32 kilobyte capacity) sub item per entry for notes, etc.).          
         
Kind of neat.

 
Not to accuse myself of reinventing the wheel,
 
but note this historic post just happen to run across:
 
 
Quote:
 

 
New version, 2.0 reports file memory statistics in Ecco's title bar.
 
Run with Shift key depressed to disable the new feature.