Development Guide

Table Of Contents
Chapter 4
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Debugging, analyzing, and optimizing files 31
Compressing and optimizing files
Use the File Maintenance feature to improve the performance of your
database files. The Compact File option removes free disk space from
a file, reducing the file size and streamlining data access. The Optimize
File option improves file access speed by moving logically related data
closer together. Both features reduce disk-head movement.
Improvements will be especially noticeable when you are using large
files and performing finds or sorts, or executing scripts that operate on
all records.
To improve the performance of a file:
1. Open a database file.
2. Choose Tools menu > File Maintenance.
3. Select one or both options, then click OK.
A File Maintenance Status dialog box shows you the progress of
the features. An alert dialog box tells you when file maintenance
is complete.
For more information about compressing and optimizing files,
see Help.