Rebuilding 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 have received indicates that the design of 
your database has been damaged.  However, you may be able to move your 
data into a new copy of the design by taking the following steps.

    From Main Menu, choose File and Search/Update to bring up a record 
from the database.  Then press F2 to print a copy of your form.  Now, 
escape back to File Menu and choose Design.  From Design Menu, choose
Design a new file and enter a temporary name for your database.  You 
are now ready to begin recreating the form which was damaged.  When 
you have finished building the form, press F10 to assign format values 
and return to the Main Menu.

    The next step will move data from the existing database into your 
new design.  Choose Utilities, Export data, Standard ASCII and enter 
the original name of the database.  When prompted, enter a name for a 
text file which will be the temporary home for your data.  You might 
want to use the name of your new design with a .ASC extension.  Press 
F10 on the Retrieve Spec, the Merge Spec and the ASCII options screen.

    When Q&A finishes moving your data to the text file, you will 
return to the Utilities Menu.  From that menu, choose Import data and 
then, Standard ASCII.  Enter the name of the text file you just 
file design.  Press F10 on the Retrieve Spec, the Merge Spec and the 
ASCII options screen.  Q&A will copy the data into your new design and 
return you to the Utilities Menu.

    You can now try the operation which gave you the error message,
this time using the newly created database.  When it is successful, 
you can return to Utilities,  choose DOS file facilities and delete 
the damaged database and the ASCII file, and then rename the new file.  
We also suggest making a backup of your new database at this point.















Q & A Application Note         Rev. 6/92           #2005   Page 1 of 1