thank you @ClayJ!
i did follow the instructions precisely and got a portable file (64mb).
after restoring the new company file, while still 373mb, at least it has only 2 file fragments now so it worked as you reccommended.
i am still interested in reducing the size. before i try anything else, is that at all possible? so far my experience is that even if delete the size goes up. that was explained by adding to the audit trail (does it have to? can the audit trail be disabled?).
if it is possible, is there a way to find out how the data is distributed so i know what (old estimates, invoices, vendors, etc) is worth spending the time to delete?
thanks,
mariana
