When
good files go bad, sometimes a quick taming is all that's
needed to get operations up and running. Performing "file
maintenance" or as I like to call it "Compactimize" sets
the bits and bytes back to their place in the database.
Although relatively straight forward, there are pitfalls to
be wary of throughout even this process. And though I call
it the "basic" recovery process, there's quite a bit going
on to restore your FileMaker files to a working state.
Compactimize is derived from the two main steps in
FileMaker file recovery, referring to the actions you will
need to perform; compact and optimize.
Follow the steps starting with 1-9 for basic file
maintenance. More often than not, this will be sufficient
for the time being. If you have the time I always suggest
following up with the advanced recovery steps.
