Second request-need to compress / remove empty records from an fP key file

[Jeff Harrison]

--- Don Coleman <dcoleman at dgcreact.com> wrote:

> Need to try to do the following today if anyone has
> any suggestions.
> 
> Windows native Fp5.0.13, Windows 2000 Advanced
> Server, WIN2000 & WINXP Pro
> clients.  
> 
> I have a key file which last night exceeded the 2GB
> limit and I can no
> longer access the data.  IUA reports zero records,
> the fP Directory reports
> -1736042 records.  I believe approximately 50% of
> these records are empty
> and need a way to slightly reduce the size so fP can
> again access the file.
> At that point I can archive the used records, delete
> the unused records and
> start with a new key file again.
> 
> Does anyone have a method outside of fP to do this? 
> I seem to remember Bob
> Stockler or JPR having an OS utility to "deflate" a
> file.  Is this a UNIX
> only solution or is it available for Windows as
> well?
> 
> Or is there a way to accomplish this from within fP.
>  I'm assuming not since
> presently I cannot access the data.  I'm hoping to
> not have to remove
> several records with a hex editor or other such
> utility because it is
> important to recover this data and I have not
> previously had to do this.
> 

As for a within filepro solution - is this a single
key segment file or are both the key and data segments
used?  If just the Key then you could define a new
file and use the "alien" option, point it to the key
segment and define the first field as a dummy 20 byte
field (this is filepro's record header that is
normally invisible to the users)  Therafter define the
rest of the fields as they are in the original map. 
Then create a process to archive just the records you
want to save into a new filepro file that is in a
structural clone of the first one.

Once your process is done, you can copy the key
segment back on top of the original, then reindex and
you should be in good shape.

Make sure you back up the file before you do anything.

Good Luck

Jeff Harrison
jeffaharrison at yahoo.com

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