Introduction
Welcome to our guide on understanding and resolving the “Row Size Too Large” error message in Empress. This guide is designed with business users in mind, explaining the potential issue in a user-friendly manner and providing practical solutions for everyday operations.
Introduction: What is the “Row Size Too Large” Error?
While using Empress, you might come across an error message stating:
Row size too large. The maximum row size for the used table type, not counting BLOBs, is 65535. This includes storage overhead, check the manual. You have to change some columns to TEXT or BLOBs.
This message is a signal from the system that the maximum number of fields allowed in a form or document type has been exceeded.
Why Does this Error Occur?
Empress uses a database management system called MySQL, which typically allows up to 4096 columns (or fields) per table. However, the overall size of a row in a table can’t surpass 65,535 bytes due to storage constraints. This limit also includes the cumulative length of all columns, meaning that the total size of all fields in a form or document type can’t go over this amount.
For instance, if you are using fields that require three bytes per character (like text fields), and you have a field that can take up to 140 characters, the system needs to reserve 140 x 3 = 420 bytes for each entry. This means that you can only have about 65,535 / 420 = 156 such fields in a form or document type.
How Can You Resolve this Issue?
There are two main ways to address this error and efficiently manage your forms and document types:
-
Change Field Types: You can convert some of your fields to “Text”, “Small Text”, “Text Editor” or “Code” types. These types are stored separately from the rest of the row, taking up less space and allowing you to add more fields.
-
Reduce Field Length: When creating fields, you can set a smaller value in the “Length” property. This will reduce the amount of space reserved for these fields, enabling you to add more.
By following these steps, you can effectively handle the “Row Size Too Large” error and optimize your Empress system to suit your business needs.
Conclusion
The “Row Size Too Large” error is a limitation imposed by the underlying database system, MySQL. However, understanding this error and employing the solutions provided can help you manage your forms and document types in Empress more efficiently. This is crucial for optimizing your business operations and ensuring that your data management processes are effective and streamlined.
For additional support or queries, please refer to our other user-friendly guides or reach out to our customer support team for assistance.