Re: rename, append--please help

["Mark D. Szuchman" <szuchman@nospam.fiu.edu>]

Marjorie,
Copy the database's raw data file (filename.#00, or whatever the
numbered extension may be) to  a different, safe location.  Then, in
Ibidem, click File, Maintain Database. Next, click on the database and
click Remove, confirm and then OK. All this does is to remove from
Ibidem the registration of a key management file, but not the raw data
or other files.

Next, use Windows Explorer (or other file management tools) and delete
all the files that have the same file name as the raw data file,
regardless of differences in extensions. This includes deleting the raw
data file (you still have a copy safely stowed away). In fact, since
you're going to be re-creating your Ibidem database, you might want to
use the same name as you had before, you may change the filename of the
(copied) raw data to a different name.

Start Ibidem, and create a new database (and it could have the same
name as before, if you changed the name of the copied data file). Enter
a record.  Then click File, Append Records, Ibidem Records. Fill in the
location of the copied data file and let 'er rip.
Mark

On Mon, 17 Dec 2001 12:29:44 -0600 (CST), Marjorie Pryse wrote:

>Notabene colleagues--
>       I have messed up in a major way, I think.  After our recent discussion 
>of
>subsets and databases in Ibidem, I did what I thought was a simple
>thing--renamed my general database.  Subsequently, I couldn't get into
>either the original database or the new one.  Error Message: couldn't open
>"lock file."  I tried a few things, impossible to reconstruct at this point.
>One thing did work, or seemed to initially: I appended my disk copy of my
>original database to the newlynamed database.  Results:  both original and
>new database now open, but with (of course, should have known) about twice
>as many record numbers.  Clearly, in appending the file, I simply added
>duplicates to the existing database (and may have renumbered them all, as
>far as I can tell).  (I have always been wary of the caution in the Ibidem
>help file about "can't undo" append function, and guess I found out why.
>Here's where more "text" in the help screens would be helpful.)  Of course I
>don't want to remove records from this new data file arbitrarily, because my
>entire book manuscript only opens for editing on original database (although
>the manuscript itself, including original record numbers in codes view,
>seems intact, so I have a history there if I can use it or need to in order
>to reconstruct original database.  But whether those files would still open
>with a reconstructed database now seems unlikely to me.).
>       Here's my question: how do I start over?  My original data file is 
>still on
>my computer; it's just that I can't get Ibidem to access it.  For example,
>when I tried moving the new appended data file to the recycle bin, keeping
>only the original data file, I no longer could get access to the data base
>through Ibidem.
>       I would like to remove renamed database and move appropriate files to
>original name database so that it could all be as it was.  (Sigh.)
>       Any thoughts?  --Marjorie
>
>Prof. Marjorie Pryse
>Chair, Department of Women's Studies
>Professor of English and Women's Studies
>University at Albany
>Albany, NY 12222
><mpryse@nospam.nycap.rr.com>
>
>
>