Developer’s Guide

4-12 FileMaker Pro Developer’s Guide
Recovering damaged files
Power failures, hardware problems, or other factors can damage a
FileMaker Pro file. If your solution becomes damaged, your end user
needs to recover the damaged file. When the runtime application
discovers a damaged file, a dialog box appears, telling the end user to
contact the developer.
Once you know which file is damaged, you can recover it; however, the
Recover command does not appear in the File menu of the runtime
application. To recover a damaged file in Windows, press Ctrl-Shift
while double-clicking the runtime application icon. In the Mac OS,
press Option-Command. Hold the keys down until you see the Recover
File dialog box.
During the recovery process, the FileMaker Pro runtime application:
1 creates a new file
1 renames any damaged file by adding Old to the end of the filenames
(for example, Contact Manager is renamed to Contact Manager Old).
1 gives the repaired file the original name
If end users experience unusual behavior in the recovered files, they
should revert to a backup copy that was made before the file became
corrupt or contact you for technical assistance.
In your printed documentation, you should tell your end users what to do
once a file has been recovered.
Recovering a runtime solution file