Planner answers
How can I reduce the size of a P6 XER file?
Short answer: Most of a large XER is global data the schedule does not use: the OBS table, unused activity codes, resources, calendars and user fields. Removing them gives a much smaller file with the same activities, logic and dates. Notebooks, steps and old calendar holidays can also go if you do not need them.
P6 exports the project plus every global dictionary it references - and often more. Typical bloat comes from the POBS (OBS) table, thousands of unused activity code values, resources that are not assigned, and calendars with decades of holidays.
- In P6, export only the project you need and untick unnecessary layouts and baselines.
- Delete unused global activity codes and resource entries in the database (with the administrator).
- Or drop the XER into the free XER size reducer: it removes only what nothing in the project uses and shows that activities, relationships and resource assignments are unchanged.