Database maintenance tool

Intensively used databases tend to become fragmented and increase in size; a lot of space on the file may still be occupied by deleted records and unneeded data. This is a waste of space on the disk, but - what's more relevant - it may also negatively impact performance and stability. Some cleanup is periodically needed; therefore we released a small utility, named "Database Maintenance Tool", which will help you keep your database fit - small, fast and safe. Please note that, at present, this is still a beta release. Run it periodically: once a month, or even more often if you have a large database (thousands of records, very frequent mailings). An extra feature of this utility is its ability of repairing damaged database files. This may have happened if you experienced hardware problems on your PC, and the software hanged or was shut down abruptly while writing on the database. As a result, the file may become corrupt and the database is unrecognizable - you will then experience errors when launching SendBlaster. Run the Database Maintenance Tool, and in most cases everything will be fixed without data loss.

Downloading

You can download the archive here (right-click, then "Save as..." to download):

http://download.sendblaster.com/dbtool.zip

Please note that, at present, this is still a beta release: even if it has been tested and it is stable, we recommend that you backup your data before running the tool.

Installing

Database Maintenance Tool has no setup yet: you simply manually uncompress the "dbtool.zip" archive and put the two files "dbtool.exe" and "dbtool.ide" in the same folder where SendBlaster has been installed (i.e. "C:/Program Files/SendBlaster"). You will then manually launch the tool from there. Please note that it is extremely important that you do not place the tool anywhere else or even in any subfolder - it must reside exactly in the same folder where "sendblasterint.exe" file is; otherwise it will not work or may even have unpredictable results, including data loss.

Running

You should run the tool double-clicking on its executable file "dbtool.exe". You may want to create a shortcut to the executable and place the shortcut somewhere else (on the desktop, or in your SendBlaster program group inside the "Start" menu).

How to backup your data before running the tool

Since this is beta software, a backup is highly recommended before you run it. Thee are two possible scenarios:

1. You are running Windows 98, Me, 2000, XP, 2003; or WindowsVista but without User Account Control (UAC is off):Under these operating systems, SendBlaster keeps data intwo subfolders: (program folder)/data (program folder)/history (program folder) means the directory where you installed the program. A typical path is: C:/Program Files/SendBlaster/data C:/Program Files/SendBlaster/history
2. Therefore, if you want to backup your data, you simply haveto backup these two subfolders (use your favourite backup tool or simply create two compressed archives).
3. You are running Windows Vista with User Account Control (UAC is on; this is the default setting on Vista): If you are using Windows Vista and have User Account Control (UAC) on, Vista uses virtualization; files are stored ina different path: (user's folder)/AppData/Local/VirtualStore/ ProgramFiles/SendBlaster/data (user's folder)/AppData/Local/VirtualStore/ ProgramFiles/SendBlaster/history (user's folder) means the directory where userdata are stored. An example path for user named "John" is: C:/Users/John/AppData/Local/VirtualStore/ Program Files/SendBlaster/data C:/Users/John/AppData/Local/VirtualStore/ Program Files/SendBlaster/historyTherefore, these are the folder you have to backup if you'reusing Vista and have UAC on: use your favourite backup toolor simply create two compressed archives. Please remember that If you turned UAC off, data are storedin the usual (program folder) /data and (programfolder)/history folders, as for any previous Windows version (see previous section).