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Database Basics

I frequently get questions from new users who don't really understand what a database is, or where it is located. Here are some basic points about the Publishers' Assistant database:

• Your PubAssist (and Couplet) database is a Microsoft Foxpro (TM) database.

• A database is comprised of multiple files (about 75) which all reside in a single folder.

• When you install PubAssist and/or Couplet, your data is located in the "Pubassist Data\Data" located in your documents folder.

• There are 3 types of files in your database:

  1. <tablename>.DBF - These are the main table files. This is where most of your data is stored.

  2. <tablename>.FPT -- These are called "memo" files. They contain all of the variable length fields for the table. An example might be the COMMENT field.

  3. <tablename>.CDX - These are the index files for each table. They help Foxpro look up a record without having to search through each record in the table.

• As a general rule of thumb, these files must all be kept together as a unit, because the data in each file is related to data in the other files. So, you should not try to mix and match files from different databases, or even from a backup of the same database.

• You can move your data folder anywhere you like, but you have to tell PubAssist and/or Couplet where it is. You do this by using the FILE>LOCATE DATABASE function on the PubAssist or Couplet menu.

• You can have as many databases as you need. Several users have a separate database for each business they own. You may also want to maintain a database for your web site, separate from your normal accounting database.
• If you are sharing a database on the network, you will need to put the database folder in a location that can be shared (made visible) to all of the machines in the network. You'll need to be aware of some basic network management and security operations in order to do that.
• Once you have moved your data into a shared location, each machine must use the LOCATE DATABASE function to point to the new data location.
• While Couplet will allow multiple users to access the database simultaneously, the Lyric Edition of Publishers' Assistant will not. Only one Lyric user can access the data at any time. The Epic edition does allow multi-user access to the database.