Stop “file size creep” of mde/mdb files

I have a number of Access 97 applications in which a front end (“application”) database, either an mde or mdb file, contains the application but no data, not even tables which might contain temporary or processing data.

These files grow in size over time. The file size seems to grow faster if the application is started and stopped more frequently, whether due to many users or more frequent start/stop situations with fewer users.

This means that all users must be disconnected and the database compacted (or the unbloated original file restored).

Has anyone found a way of preventing this problem? (I’m also interested in the same problem with Access 2000, although I am just starting to build applications with it.)