Remove old linked files from web document

[Thev]

Folks,
I created a template type web document to base a series of websites on. It based on an original file that had some files attached via: Web Properties/Link/link to file (pdf, AVI, etc.).
When I wipe the document of un-needed pages to use for another project, the old files (pfd, mp3,jpg's, etc) are still in the 'name_xar_files' folder. Any way to delete all the previous document links?
Thanks,

[Acorn]

Thev, are you just concerned about unwanted published documents that on on the server in the name_xar_files/ folder?

Xara does not generate such a folder. It would output an index_htm_files/ folder as default and if you named your first page "name", it would be name_htm_files/.

Have you also scoured through the Web Properties > Links > Link to file for each object separately and set these to Do nothing?

Acorn

[Thev]

Acorn,
Thanks for your reply.
I have deleted the pages where the original document links reside. I would assume without the link, the document in the 'name_xar_files' would disappear. However, eventhough the page is gone, the documents still continue to save in the 'name_xar_files' folder. I do go into the folder and manually delete the unrelavent documents prior to export, but this is a dangerous action as I could inadvertently erase something needed. Other issues presented by this:

1) I also have the issue of "auto Saves" continually getting larger and larger. I selected to only keep 5 saves, but this doesn't work, they all save. In my backup's folder, I had close to 100GB and 95% of this was unnecessary files in the various 'name_xar_folder' folders. I clean up the backup periodically, but I will reach close to 100GB within a few weeks of work.
2) If I have multiple web documents open (all with the same phenomena), the auto save grinds and slows my computer down significantly. As even small web documents become large due to this issue.

I really can't think of a solution as the pages where the links reside are gone already. I may need to build clean templates for each project. A little time consuming, but probably saves in the end due to smaller auto saves and a smaller Backup folder.

For future Thread readers, your backup resides at: C:\Users\`\AppData\Local\Xara\XtremePro\12\Backups (also accessible from File/Open Recent/backups (at bottom of list)) or similar location. It should be reviewed periodically to ensure it doesn't consume your hard drive volume. I had backups from Xara versions as far back as 2006 (it's 2019).

[Acorn]

I understand what you have problems with (at last). My failing!

When Xara uses external assets it saves the design file as <filename>.xar and creates a folder for the assets called ..\<filename>_xar_files\.
The Path to this is where you save your <filename>.xar.

When you have automatic backups set, you get both <filename>_ddMmmyy_hhmm.xar & the ..\<filename>_ddMmmyy_hhmm_xar_files\ folder create every x minutes for y revisions.

The worst place to store your backups is the C:\ drive as this slows down applications running for the C:\ drive. This alone will grind you speed down if you are working on several files at a time.
Auto-backups only occur if you have made a change.

If you have another drive, change Utilities > Options > Backup to that drive.
If you have no second drive but so have USB3, get an external disc enclosure and a 120GB SSD drive for £30.

Use something like CCleaner > Tools > Duplicate Finder to identify exact duplicates of external assets and zap all but one or two.
Ensure you are searching sub-folders. XAR files them selves are typically quite small so I usually keep these.

Use SpaceSniffer if you like to get scared and prefer a graphical overview.

I save every 10 minutes and keep the last 10 revisions. You can trade space against risk.

Now you can embed external files directly into the design file using Ctrl+Shift+Alt+A when you have selected an object.
I believe this maintains the link to the original and so it never appears in the backups. It is only when you Export or Publish that it gets located and copied into the ../index_htm_files/ folder. Perhaps Xara could validate this for us?

Finally, you should spring clean manually every month or so to avoid unnecessary bottlenecks.

Acorn