Archiving Your Data

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Most organizations choose to archive data on a regular basis (for example, every quarter or every six months). The archiving process removes old work order, purchase order, and inventory history records from your MainBoss database; these old records are stored in a specially compressed format that takes up less disk space.

Note: Before beginning an archive operation, make sure that no one is using the MainBoss software. Also remember to make a backup copy of your database files in case there is a system failure during the archiving process. For more about backing up your database, see Backing Up Your MainBoss Database.

To begin archiving old data, select Administration —> Archiving —> Archive from the menu. MainBoss displays a window that contains the following:

Code: An identifying code that will be used to label the archive file.
Created: The date on which the archive is created. For a new archive set, this will be blank; when you actually create the archive, MainBoss will fill in the current date.
Archive Date: Specifies a date. MainBoss will archive all closed work order, purchase order, and inventory history records up to and including the given date. This cleans out your everyday database files and saves old information in a more compact format.
Comments: Any comments that will help you identify what this archive contains. For example, you might type Records up to December 31, 1999.
Restored on: The date on which this archive set was restored (if any). This will be blank if you are creating a new archive set.
Archive File: The actual name of the file containing the archived data. This will be blank if you are creating a new archive set.
Archive: Saves the information you have entered and closes the window. If this is a new archive set, MainBoss displays a message asking if it is all right to proceed with the archiving process. Click Ok to proceed.
Cancel: Closes the window without saving any information or creating an archive set.

Note: The archiving process removes closed work orders and closed purchase orders from your main database. It does not remove open work orders or open purchase orders, no matter how old they are.

For information on restoring archive sets, see Restoring and Using an Archive Set. For information on examining what archive sets you have previously created, see Browsing Archive Sets.

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