The Theatre Inventory Database should be closed using the "Exit" button on the main menu. The red "X" in the upper right corner has been disabled so that the database doesn't close improperly. Please do not use the "File/Close Database" option as that will close the database without allowing it to close the forms and tables correctly.
The MS Access database is actually two files: A Front End (Theatre Inventory Database 6-x.accdr) which holds the forms and reports and Visual Basic Code; the Back End file (Theatre Inventory Database_be.accdb) holds the data (Costume records, Props records, Rental records, etc). When the database is closed the front end file is closed and the back end is compacted and closed. The time to close the database should be less than 10 seconds.
If you shut down the computer before the “Compact” is finished (and MS Access has completely closed) or your workstation loses contact with the network you can corrupt the database - which means that it might not open again the next time you try. Corrupted databases can sometimes be repaired and the data rescued but not always. It is always a good idea to frequently do a back-up of the database to the hard disk or an external drive to be sure to have a recent copy. See the Utilities menu for backup program.
If your database does become corrupted, contact Costume & Theatre Inventory Resources for help. We may be able to recover part or all of your data.
