Compacting a stack with only one blank card results in no change (5K on
disk, regardless of the card size). The amount of compression for a single
card (a single blank card requires 64 bytes) depends on the complexity of
the graphics, number of fields, and number of buttons. Adding a simple
drawing to the card can bring compression to 45% to 50% (depending on the
graphics used). However, the addition of a simple button or field can lower
that to 40%.
The location of buttons and fields also has an effect. A button or field
located on the background creates a smaller size stack. Therefore, the
stack shows a smaller percentage of change after compacting because there
are fewer objects and less data to be compacted.
HyperCard compression also depends on these factors:
- Graphics -- are they on the card or background?
- Buttons -- are they on the card or background?
- Fields -- are they on the card or background?
- The size of card, button, and field scripts.
- The size of the stack script.