Advanced DBF Repair 1.5 - User Guide and FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions - Advanced DBF Repair

1. What's Advanced DBF Repair?
   Advanced DBF Repair (ADR) is a powerful tool to repair corrupt DBF files. It can scan the DBF files and recover your data in them as much as possible, so to minimize the loss in file corruption.
   
   
2. Which types of DBF files can Advanced DBF Repair repair?
   Advanced DBF Repair (ADR) supports all versions of DBF format, including dBASE, FoxBase, FoxPro, and Visual FoxPro files created by different applications.
   
   
3. Why I cannot open the fixed DBF file?
   If your DBF file is created by one application, but you want to open the fixed file in another application, then you may fail. The solution is to set the correct version in the combo box beside "Select DBF to be repaired" edit box according to the second application and then start reparation again. For example, your DBF file is created by Clipper but you want to open it in dBase III, then you need to set "Version" to "dBase III" and then repair the file again.
   
   
4. Why Visual FoxPro says "Not a table" when openning the fixed DBF file.
   The maximum field in a Visual FoxPro table is 255. Therefore, if the field count in the fixed DBF file is larger than 255, then you will get this error. The solution is to enable "Split table when there are more than ### fields" option in the "Options" tab and set an appropriate value, for example, 255, as the maximum field count. Thus when ADR detect there are more than 255 fields in the table, it will create a new split table to accommodate the remaining fields. And if the remaining fields are still more than 255 fields, a second new split table will be created, as so on.
   
   
5. The demo version doesn't generate a fixed file. How can I know whether it can repair my file successfully?
   Although the demo version doesn't generate a fixed file, it can repair your file and report all the recoverable records so you'll be sure that ADR works on your file before ordering the full version.
   To do this, please just repair your file normally in "Repair" tab. If it can be repaired successfully, you will see a messagebox after the reparation, where you can click the "Show Reparation Report" button and see the detailed reports containing all the recoverable records in your DBF file. Then you can order ADR to get the actually fixed file.
   
   
6. Why many of the date fields in the repaired database are set to 1900-01-01?
   If date fields in the original database are invalid, Advanced DBF Repair will reset them to a default value, i.e. 1900-01-01. You can prevent Advanced DBF Repair from doing so by disabling the "Repair incorrect date fields" option in the "Options" tab.