As you add, delete, move, and edit records and objects in your tree file, the database may need some periodic maintenance. The easy-to-use Compact File tool helps you to perform that maintenance, resulting in a smaller and smoother-running tree file. Compacting the file may take several minutes, depending on the size of your tree.
How do I compact a file in FTM 2017 or FTM 2019?
- Choose Compact File from the Tools menu.
- If you did not have a tree file open, a dialog will appear. Navigate to the file you want to compact, select it, and click the Open button.
- In the Compact File dialog that appears, make sure Perform extended analysis is checked. This will analyze the tree file more deeply, looking for errors and fixing them, but may make the compacting process slightly longer. Click the Compact button to proceed.
- The file will be compacted. Once the process is complete, a message will appear telling you by how much the file size has been reduced. Click OK.
- Previously, we have recommended that you repeat these steps until the completion message tells you that the file size has been reduced by 0.00%, or as close as you can get to it. This is no longer necessary. If you choose to do so, it won't harm your file, but will likely have little to no added benefit.