C4D File size limit?

[danphish]

Hi, is there a limit to how large a C4D file can be? I know in older versions there was a 2 gig limit, where if the file size was over 2 gigs, it could not be opened by C4D.
Is this still true for 2023 or 2024 version?
Thanks,
Dan

[Dr. Sassi]

Hi Dan,

I have no idea what OS you are running, so your results might vary.
I searched for the largest file I have on disk, and checked it out.

I tested it on a M1 Max MacBookPro and it got a little bit sluggish with 2024, (Note that the M3 Max is roughly three times faster) but perhaps having Ps and Ae and some other apps open didn't help much.

Here are the three screen shots with the data.

However, often those large file-sizes are not needed, and when an average polygon is smaller than a pixel, things are surely not optimized, going by the test file I here. I typically would check at least if Remesh can help, or something else.

I hope that helps.

Cheers

[danphish]

Thank you for the super quick reply.
Wow 23 gigs - that's crazy huge. I have students on both Mac and PC. I am guessing if a 4.5 gig file can't be opened it is a limitation of the students RAM.
Great to know, thanks again.

[Dr. Sassi]

You're very welcome, Dan.

A cube with 1000^3 segments made editable, placed into a Cloner 4x1x4 Grid and made editable again can quickly get over 4GB. Perhaps your student can test it. In that way, it can be seen if the student's file is perhaps damaged if the cube test file works.

I can say that 2024 has vast improvements to work with more load.

I hope your student can open it on another machine and split the file, perhaps place some parts in a new file and use XRef to overcome an OS limitation.

I guess you might share this observation: when people are new to 3D, there is often the idea to overdo it, and it takes a while to get a "feel" for the sweet spot.

My best wishes for you and your students.