Have you purged lately?

By Aaron Taylor

If you've never run the PURGE utility on your MusicMaster database, today is the day to try it out.  First things, first...Verify that there are no other users in your database before running this.  Also, it is a good idea to make sure you have backed up your database before running this utility the first time.

Then go to TOOLS-BACKUP.  A warning screen will display reminding you to check that you are the only user in the database and that you've backed up, if so click YES.

Don't be alarmed if this process takes a minute (or perhaps longer) to complete the first time.  Watch the lower left hand corner of the program sceen.  You'll see the various tasks the program is completing as part of the purge.  Finally, a message will appear in the center of the program screen indicating DATASET PURGE COMPLETE, and in the lower left hand corner a message will appear indicating the percentage that your database has been reduced by running this process. Click OK.

We think it is a good idea to run purge certainly after completing a database overhaul project (like when you add a bunch of new clocks, songs, or rules) but you can always run this anytime you wish (once a week is what I like to suggest) and certainly anytime you feel that perthaps the program or a Db isn't performing as you expect, or as it once did.  This process can often times resolve these issues.  Think of this much like a "defrag" that you might run on your computer as a whole, specifically for your MusicMaster database!