This section describes how to perform important database maintenance tasks on your Impact database.
WARNING: It is vital that you make a 100% recoverable database backup before running any of the maintenance tasks. You should also know how to locate and restore your database backup before running these tasks.
You must first connect to the database as the Administrator user. You can only do this when no other users are connected to the database.
Start the Database > Administration tool. In the left-hand panel click All Tables. A list of all the tables in the current database will be displayed in the right-hand panel.
Most administration tasks can be performed on one, several or all tables simultaneously. In the usual way, you can Click to select a table, Ctrl + Click to select several tables or Shift + Click to select a range of tables. To quickly select all tables, Right-click and pick Select > All from the context menu.
When you have selected the required tables, Right-click on any selected table to display the context menu.
Database Administration - Maintenance Context Menu
Reindex
This tool recalculates the indexes for the selected tables. A message is displayed to show the progress of the task. When it has finished a report is displayed showing what has been done.
Reindex Report
You should now repeat the selection process and perform the next maintenance task.
Pack
This tool, which is not available for Client-Server databases, removes empty sections of the selected database tables and shuffles the records together. This keeps the selected tables as compact as possible. A message is displayed to show the progress of the task. When it has finished a report is displayed showing what has been done.
Pack Report
You should now repeat the selection process and perform the next maintenance task.
Verify
This tool makes several checks on the selected tables:
- Checks for structural violations
- Checks for the existence of a locking row
- Checks for index violations
- Checks for unique index violations
- Checks for invalid dates and times
A message is displayed to show the progress of the task. When it has finished a report is displayed showing what has been done.
Verify Report
Additional tasks are available via the tools menu. These tasks are non-table specific.
Database Administration - Tools Menu
Perform Integrity Check
This tool checks the structure of all tables within the database. A message is displayed to show the progress of the task. When it has finished a report is displayed showing what has been done.
Integrity Checker Report
File Reference Checker
This tool is unavailable for databases using BLOBs for drawings storage.
The tool allows you to check all Projects, Working Projects, Templates, Symbols, Project Revisions and Documents for bad/missing files and/or duplicate file references. The following menu is displayed:
File Reference Checker
Switch on the options as required and then press the Check button. A message is displayed to show the progress of the task. When it has finished a report is displayed showing what has been done.
File Reference Checker Report
Foreign Key Checker
This tool checks the database for links to non-existent records. A screen similar to the following is displayed:
Foreign Key Checker - Links
Select the required links and then press the Check button. A message is displayed to show the progress of the task. When it has finished a report is displayed showing what has been done.
Foreign Key Checker Report