Index Builder
Description
Creating an index, rebuilding an index, and repairing an index
Creating an Index
Alpha Anywhere maintains and updates indexes, adjusting their ordered list of selected keys, whenever you add, change, or delete records. Any application that wants fast and efficient retrieval of records should consider using one or more indexes.
Select a table in the Control Panel, right click and select Define Indexes, or select Table > Define Indexes to display the Index Builder.
Enter a unique name in the Index Name column.
Index names should be 10 characters or less.Optionally, enter an order expression in the Order Expression column. Click to display the Expression Builder to help you build the order expression.
Optionally, enter a filter expression in the Filter Expression column. Click to display the Expression Builder to help you build the filter expression.
An index can be created for a field or expression with a maximum size of 240 characters.Select "Ascending" or "Descending" in the Direction column.
Select "All" or "Unique only" in the Include column.
Optionally, click Full text search to display the Full Text Indexing dialog box.
1. Check Index words in records if you want to full text index all fields.
2. Check the box next to each field that you would like to full text index.
3. Click OK to continue or Cancel to discard your inputs.
Click Build Indexes on the toolbar.
Click Close to exit.
For larger tables, a status bar displays the progress as the indexes are updated. Indexes for smaller tables are rebuilt so quickly that no status bar appears.
Rebuilding an Index
To rebuild an index:
Select a table in the Control Panel, right click and select Update Indexes, or select Table > Update Indexes.
Click Build.... Alpha Anywhere rebuilds the indexes.
Repairing an Index
Certain events can corrupt your indexes; for example, if you improperly exit Alpha Anywhere, such as turning off your computer while Alpha Anywhere is running, or if a power failure occurs while Alpha Anywhere is updating an index.
When an index becomes corrupted, you might notice that records do not appear as expected. For example, a record that you can see in the Default Browse, viewed in record number order, does not appear on a report.
Some database problems can be traced to corrupted or out-to-date indexes. If you have any doubt about the integrity of your indexes, you should update them manually.
First, select the table or set in the Control Panel.
Then select Table > Update Indexes to rebuild the indexes associated with a table. For a set, select Set > Update Indexes updates the indexes for all the tables in the set.