Search Archive Files

To browse data, you first search for an Archive File that contains orders for the inquiring customer.

Archive stores each Archive File in the file system location you specify in the Archive Request. In addition, Archive creates an Archive Directory entry for the Archive File. The Archive Directory entry is in the Optim™ Directory and includes the:

When browsing or restoring archived data, you can locate Archive Files and associated Archive Indexes automatically, on the basis of information in the Archive Directory, or you can browse the file system to visually select a file. For this scenario, you will use the Archive Directory to locate Archive Files that include information for the customer.

Display Archive File Entries

To start the search for an archive file, click Utilities > Archive > Directory Maintenance in the menu on the main window.

The Archive Directory Maintenance and Archive File Filters dialogs open at the same time, with the Archive File Filters dialog on top.

Archive Directory Maintenance dialog and Archive File Filters dialog

You can use the Archive File Filters dialog to limit the list of Archive File entries displayed in the Archive Directory Maintenance dialog. By entering patterns and text in the appropriate boxes, you can list entries for Archive Files that meet all filter criteria. For example, you can:

  • Enter a specific file name, Optim Server name, group, creator ID, table name, or description. You can enter a pattern for any of these using the % (percent) symbol and the _ (underscore) as wildcards.
    Note: If you specify a table name, use the same case as used in the table name definition in the database. For example, if the table name is defined in the database as nnnn.TABLENAME, and you specify the table name in search criteria as nnnn.tablename, the table may not be found.
  • Enter a date range to limit the list to entries for Archive Files created within a specific time frame.

For this scenario, the customer question involves the order-entry application. Under the Archive File naming conventions at your site, Archive Files that contain data from the order-entry application are given the Group designation “ORDERS.” For this scenario, you will type ORDERS as the Group filter. Accept the wildcard entered by default for the remaining filters and click OK. The Archive Directory Maintenance dialog is displayed.

Archive Directory Maintenance dialog

Note: Using the filter will probably list only the file created for this scenario. The Archive Directory Maintenance dialog used for illustration shows files as though the Archive Process had been run quarterly for several years.

You can browse an Archive File by right-clicking the name on the Archive Directory Maintenance dialog and clicking Browse Archive File from the shortcut menu. Before doing this, however, you can instruct Archive to search Archive Indexes and Archive Files associated with the listed entries and remove any entries for Archive Files that do not contain data in which you are interested. Selected check boxes in the Searchable grid column indicate that Archive can search the Archive File or Archive Index that corresponds to the listed Archive Directory entry.

Note: Any place an Archive File name is displayed, you can browse the file by right-clicking the file name and clicking Browse Archive File from the shortcut menu. You can also browse an Archive File. To do this, first click Utilities > Browse from the menu on the main window to open the Browse dialog. You can then open the File menu on the Browse dialog to select the file to be browsed. The search capacity described here is available only from the Archive Directory Maintenance dialog or the Select Archive File(s) dialog. See Enter Search Criteria for information about the Select Archive File(s) dialog.

Set Personal Options

To determine how the search proceeds and how the results are displayed, you will temporarily open Personal Options and set the Only Use Index to Perform Search and Automatically Trim Search List options on the Archive tab.

In the main window, click Options > Personal from the menu to display the Personal Options dialog. Then click the Archive tab.

Personal Options dialog with Archive as the active tab

Only Use Index to Perform Search

When you clear the Only Use Index to Perform Search check box, Archive initially searches for matches in the Archive Index Files, if any are present. An index search can be a more expedient way to find archived data, but may not be definitive when you search an unindexed column. If the Archive Index information is inadequate to determine a match for the search criteria, or an Archive Index File is not available, Archive checks the Archive File to resolve the search.

You can select the Only Use Index to Perform Search check box to search only the Archive Indexes for possible matches to the specified criteria. Shortcut menu commands Resolve and Resolve All enable you to complete the search by searching the data in the Archive File when a match cannot be determined from Archive Index information. This can happen when you search an unindexed column.

Selecting Only Use Index to Perform Search is especially useful if you use an external application to remove Archive Files from disk storage. You can search Archive Indexes to determine the Archive Files that must be returned to disk storage for future processing.

For this scenario, ensure that the Only Use Index to Perform Search check box is clear.

Automatically Trim Search List

You can select the Automatically Trim Search List check box to automatically exclude any Archive Files from the Archive Directory Maintenance dialog that are not possible matches. For this scenario, select this check box.

When finished, click OK to close the Personal Options dialog. You are ready to enter the search criteria for the entries listed on the Archive Directory Maintenance dialog.

Search Criteria

Right-click in the grid and click Search > All Media from the menu to display the Index Search Selection Criteria dialog.

Index Search Selection Criteria dialog

The customer that has asked for information about the archived order is Pick-a-Flick in Kissimmee, Florida. The CUST_ID for Pick-a-Flick is ‘00026'. Archive can search indexes for all Archive Files listed on the Archive Directory Maintenance dialog using criteria you supply. Click Operator for the CUST_ID column, select the = operator from the drop-down list, and type 00026 in Selection Criteria. Use the close button Close button to close the Index Search Selection Criteria dialog.

When Personal Options are set to Automatically Trim Search List, only Archive Files that include data that matches the search selection criteria are displayed on the Archive Directory Maintenance dialog.

Archive Directory Maintenance dialog

At this point, you know that the listed Archive File contains data for Customer 00026. You do not know, however, if archived orders for Customer 00026 include an order for Item DC002, a documentary that the customer is trying to trace.

Right-click the Archive File name and click Browse Archive File to display the Browse Archive File dialog.

Browse Archive File dialog

The Tables tab displays the fully qualified name and total number of extracted rows for each table in the Archive File.

The Information tab provides information about the Archive File, including the user ID for the person that ran the process in which the Archive File was created, the workstation where the Archive File was created, the date and time the Archive File was created, and the server that processed the request.