| PublicationDate: 5/29/98 Summary: Tip of the Week --- Running Repair and Compact Author: CPS - Central Processing System (CPS) Posted May 29, 1998 TO: All Destination Points FROM: CPS Customer Service RE: Tip of the Week --- Running Repair and Compact This week's tip highlights a specific feature or process in the EDExpress and Pell Payment for Windows software: Running Repair and Compact. This is the first in a three-part series of tips on maintaining optimum database and PC performance. Following the processes outlined in these messages will improve your processing speed. The second tip will cover the Scandisk utility, and the third tip will address clearing your temporary file directory. The repair and compact utilities should be run regularly on your EDExpress and Pell Payment for Windows databases to maintain data integrity, to "clean up" unused records, and in many cases to resolve database errors. Repair and compact can be run from inside the EDExpress or Pell Payment software (via Tools/Utilities). However, we recommend running these utilities outside the respective software (EDExpress or Pell Payment) through the Windows operating system using MS Access on your standalone PC or most powerful network workstation. All users must be logged out of the EDExpress or Pell database you plan to repair and compact for the utilities to run successfully from Windows. You should also ensure you have a reliable backup prior to running these utilities. To run repair and compact from your Windows 95/NT PC, go to Start/Run, enter ODBCADM, and click on enter. For Windows 3.X users, go to File/Run in your Program Manager, enter ODBCADM and click enter. In both cases, this will bring up a list of "Data Sources." You will need to double-click here on the program and database you wish to repair and compact. For example EDExpress 1998-99 is listed as "Express9"; Pell Payment for Windows 1997-98 appears as "Winpel78." These data source names will be followed by the description "(Microsoft Access Driver [*.mdb])". On the following screen, labeled "ODBC Microsoft Access 2.0 Setup," click on the Repair button and verify the directory location of your EDExpress or Pell Payment database. The 1998-99 EDExpress database file name is EXPRESS9.MDB, and the 1997-98 Pell Payment database file name is WINPEL78.MDB. You may need to search your hard drive or network for the correct database. Once you have located the database, click OK and allow the repair process to run. When the repair utility has completed, click on the Compact button and again verify the correct database location before clicking OK. You should select the same *.MDB file for "Database to Compact From" and "Database to Compact Into," and say yes to the "File Already Exists --- Overwrite?" prompt. After repair and compact have completed successfully, you can resume using the software and database you just repaired and compacted. We recommend you perform these utilities on a weekly basis to maintain a high level of integrity. If you have any questions on the repair and compact utilities, please contact CPS Customer Service at 1-800-330-5947, option 8, or via e-mail at CPS@NCS.COM. |