Microsoft Access 2010 : Preventing Database Problems

12/14/2011 6:33:06 PM

Normal database use causes the internal structure of a database to become fragmented, resulting in a bloated file and inefficient use of disk space. Access monitors the condition of database files as you open and work with them. If a problem develops, Access attempts to fix it. If Access can’t fix the problem, it usually provides additional information to help you to find a solution. But Access doesn’t always spot problems before they affect the database, so you need to pay attention, particularly if the performance of the database seems slow or erratic.

There are various things you can do to help keep a database healthy and running smoothly. Your first line of defense against damage or corruption in any kind of file is the maintenance of backups. Database files can rapidly become very large, so you need to choose an appropriate place to store a backup copy, such as a DVD, another computer on your network, or removable media such as a USB flash drive or external hard disk.

In addition to regularly backing up the database, you can use the following Access utilities to keep it running smoothly:

Compact and Repair Database. This utility first optimizes performance by rearranging how the file is stored on your hard disk, and then attempts to repair any corruption in tables, forms, and reports.
Tip

It’s a good idea to compact and repair a database often. You can have Access run this utility automatically each time the database is closed. Display the Backstage view, and click Options to open the Access Options dialog box. Display the Current Database page, and in the Application Options area, select the Compact On Close check box. Then click OK.
Database Documenter. This tool produces a detailed report containing enough information to rebuild the database structure if that is ever necessary.
Analyze Performance. This utility analyzes the objects in your database and offers three types of feedback: ideas, suggestions, and recommendations. You can instruct Access to optimize the file by following through on any of the suggestions or recommendations.
Analyze Table. This wizard tests database tables for compliance with standard database design principles, suggests solutions to problems, and implements those solutions at your request.

In this exercise, you’ll first back up a database. Then you’ll run the Compact And Repair Database, Analyze Performance, and Database Documenter utilities.

Set Up

You need the GardenCompany12 database you worked with in the preceding exercise to complete this exercise. Open the GardenCompany12.accdb file FOR EXCLUSIVE USE, and then follow the steps.

Display the Save & Publish page of the Backstage view.
In the right pane, click Back Up Database, and then click Save As.
In the Save As dialog box, verify that the contents of your practice file folder are displayed, and then click Save.

Access creates a copy of the database with the current date appended to the file name in the specified folder. As with any file name, you can change the name to suit your needs.
Display the Backstage view, and if the Info page is not displayed, click Info.
In the center pane of the Info page, click Compact & Repair Database.
Tip

You can also click the Compact And Repair Database button in the Tools group on the Database Tools tab.

Troubleshooting

If you don’t have enough space on your hard disk to store a temporary copy of the database, you don’t have appropriate permissions, or another user also has the database open, the Compact And Repair Database utility will not run.

The utility takes only a few seconds to run, and you see no difference in the appearance of the database. If you have been using a database regularly and have not compacted it for a while, running the Compact And Repair Database utility can sometimes reduce the file size by as much as 25 percent.
Close all open database objects, and then under Forms in the Navigation pane, click Home Page.
On the Database Tools tab, in the Analyze group, click the Analyze Performance button.

The Performance Analyzer dialog box opens. Each type of database object is represented by a page, and there are also pages for all objects and for the database as a whole.

The active page reflects the object that is selected in the Navigation pane when you start the utility.
Click the All Object Types tab, click Select All, and then with the check boxes for all the objects in the database selected, click OK to start the analyzer.

When it finishes, the Performance Analyzer displays its results. (The results you see might be different from those shown here.)

The Key tells you the nature of each item in the Analysis Results list.
Click each entry in turn, and read the information in the Analysis Notes area.

Most of the suggestions are valid, although the one to change the data type of the PostalCode field to Long Integer is not appropriate for this database.
Close the Performance Analyzer dialog box.
On the Database Tools tab, in the Analyze group, click the Database Documenter button.

The Documenter dialog box opens. This dialog box is identical to the Performance Analyzer dialog box. It contains a page for each type of object the utility can document, and a page displaying all the existing database objects.
Click the Tables tab, and then click Options.

The Print Table Definition dialog box opens.

The print options associated with tables.

The options associated with each object type vary, but they all enable you to specify what items you want to include in the documentation for that type of object.
In the Print Table Definition dialog box, click Cancel.
Click the All Object Types tab, click Select All, and then click OK to start the documentation process.

When the process finishes, Access displays a report in Print Preview.

The report for this simple database is more than 200 pages long.
Zoom in on the report to see the kinds of things included in the documentation. Then scroll through a few pages.

You probably don’t want to print this long report, but it is a good idea to create and save a report such as this one for your own databases, in case you ever need to reconstruct them.
Tip

You can’t save the report generated by the Documenter utility, but you can export it in a variety of formats. Right-click the report, click Export, and then click the format you want.