Process an Archive Request

An Archive Request is run in several steps. The steps differ slightly if you schedule the Archive Process to run later, rather than run the Archive Process immediately.

The steps are described in the following paragraphs.

Validate the Access Definition

Archive validates the specifications in the Access Definition. If the Access Definition is valid, processing continues. If the Access Definition is invalid, processing proceeds as follows:

Locate and Prompt for Archive Directory Entry

Archive locates any Archive Directory entry associated with the Archive File name you entered. If an Archive Directory entry does not exist, Archive creates it at the successful conclusion of the process. If the Archive Directory Entry does exist, processing proceeds as follows:

Locate the Archive File

Archive locates the Archive File. If the file does not exist, Archive creates it. If the Archive File does exist, processing proceeds as follows:

Locate the Archive Index File

Archive locates the Archive Index File. If the file does not exist, Archive creates it if Archive Index parameters are specified in the Access Definition. If the Archive Index File does exist and Archive Index parameters are specified in the Access Definition, processing proceeds as follows:

Validate Variable Value

Archive checks whether variables are defined in the Access Definition, and if so, verifies that valid values are provided for each variable.

Validate Point and Shoot

If a Point and Shoot list is specified, Archive verifies that the rows are valid.

Archive Data

Archive performs the Archive Process for each table specified in the Access Definition.

Delete Data

Archive performs the Delete After Archive Process for each table listed in the Access Definition, according to your specifications. If you selected the Defer Delete after Archive option, data is not deleted. If you selected Review Archive Delete List, the Delete After Archive Specifications dialog is displayed.

Delete After Archive Specifications Dialog

Use the Delete After Archive Specifications dialog to verify or override delete specifications in the Access Definition. Select a check box to delete archived rows in the corresponding table. To select or clear all check boxes at once, you can click Tools > Set All in the menu, or you can use the toolbar buttons or the shortcut menu.

Delete After Archive Specifications dialog

Cascading Delete/Update Confirmation Dialog

Archive performs a cascading delete/update check during processing of an Archive Request, and displays the Cascading Delete/Update Confirmation dialog if the following conditions are true:

Click OK to continue processing, or click Cancel to stop processing and return to the Archive Request Editor.

For details on this dialog, refer to the Common Elements Manual .

Archive Process Report

Archive generates an Archive Process Report.