Reindexing Your Database

    Your Q&A program includes several features designed to protect 
your data files from damage and contamination.  In spite of these 
safeguards, occasionally a data file can be damaged by fluctuations in 
the power supply, static electricity, problems with the disk medium or 
other hardware problems.  You can provide the best protection against 
these possible sources of trouble by using a regular program of 
sequential backups.  For more information on how to do this, consult a 
standard DOS reference.

    The error message you received indicates that your data is 
probably still intact, but that there may have been some damage to a 
portion of your database file that Q&A can rebuild for you.

    To have Q&A rebuild your database, do the following.  From Main 
Menu, choose File, then Copy.  Enter the name of the database you have 
been having trouble with and press <enter>.  This will bring you to
the Copy Menu.  Choose D to Copy Design Only and enter a new temporary 
name for the database.

    When Q&A finishes making the copy, escape back to File Menu.  
Choose Design, then Customize and enter the temporary name for your 
database.  From the Customize menu, select Speed up searches.  Make 
note of the field contents, so that they can be replicated.  Press F3, 
then press F10 to remove the specifications from this form.  Then 
select Speed up searches again, and replace the specifications.

    When you have finished, press F10 and escape back to File Menu.  
From there choose Copy and enter the original name of the damaged 
database.   At the Copy Menu, choose S to Copy Selected Forms and 
enter the temporary name for your database.  Press F10 on the Retrieve 
Spec and Merge Spec.  When the process is completed, test the new 
database to verify full functionality.

    When Q&A successfully completes all tasks with the new database, 
you can choose DOS file facilities in the Utilities Menu to delete the 
old database and then rename the new one.  We also suggest making a 
backup of your new database at this point.  If you want to continue to 
use the Intelligent Assistant with your database, you will need to
reteach it.
















Q & A Application Note         Rev. 6/92           #2004   Page 1 of 1