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PRODUCT NAME AND VERSION NUMBER
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Compact A List Freeware for Access 97, 2000, and 2002
v3.3

cal97.mdb for Access 97
cal2000.mdb for Access 2000
cal2002.mdb for Access 2002
cal2003.mdb for Access 2003
cal2007.accdb for Access 2007

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COMPANY NAME
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Peter's Software - MS Access Shareware and Freeware for Developers
http://www.peterssoftware.com

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DESCRIPTION
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Compact A List is an MS Access database that allows you to backup and compact a saved list of Access database files. It also saves the results of these actions in a table for later viewing, making it very suitable for batch or scheduled execution. It's simple and easy to use. Just specify some properties, your list of database files, and click a button to begin, or use a shortcut, or scheduler like Windows Task Scheduler to automatically  process the list of files.

New features include the ability to backup to zip file archives (Requires WinZip, and the WinZip Command line support add-on - http://www.winzip.com/wzcline.htm), the ability to specify different backup filename formats, and the ability to check for available disk space before making a backup.

This version is distributed as freeware.

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NEW AND SPECIAL IN THIS RELEASE
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Version 3.3
- Supports Access 2007

Version 3.2
- Allow for purging of zipfile backups after a certain number of days, keeping a minimum number

Version 3.1
- Check for available disk space before making a backup

Version 3
- Backup files can optionally be compressed into WinZip archives*.
- Can specify different backup filename formats
- Backup file name bug fixed.

* Requires WinZip 8.0 or greater, and WinZip Command Line Support Add-On (free)

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HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS
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Requires Windows and either MS Access 97, 2000, 2002, 2003, or 2007

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INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS, GETTING STARTED TIPS, AND DOCUMENTATION
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Extract the zipped .mdb file (cal97.mdb for Access 97, cal2000.mdb for Access 2000, cal2002.mdb for Access 2002, etc...) to a folder on your computer.

Double-click on the .mdb file to start Compact A List.


To implement the backup file compression feature that makes use of WinZip zip archives:
1. Make sure you have installed WinZip version 8.0 or later. For WinZip version 11.0 or later, you will need to register WinZip Pro - http://www.winzip.com
2. Make sure you have installed WinZip Command Line Support Add-On - http://www.winzip.com/wzcline.htm
3. From the Compact A List main menu, click "Properties", then check the "Allow Zipping" checkbox and specify the location of the "WZZIP.EXE" file.


To run Compact A List and automatically process all files from a shortcut, or scheduler program like Window Task Scheduler, use the following command line:

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\MSACCESS.EXE" "C:\FldrName\cal97.mdb" /x execute

Where "FldrName" is the folder where you copied the Compile A List .mdb file, and you can replace "cal97.mdb" with "cal2000.mdb" for Access 2000, "cal2002.mdb" for Access 2002, etc.

Note: The MSACCESS.EXE file may be installed in a different folder on your computer.


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IMPORTANT KNOWN PROBLEMS
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None

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VERSION HISTORY
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Version 2
- You can specify a folder for each database file to be backed up to.
- Warning messages for action queries turned off
- Backup file name bug when dealing with multiple-word file names fixed.

Version 1
- Compact a list is entirely new.

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PRICING INFORMATION
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Free

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CONTACT INFORMATION
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http://www.peterssoftware.com
http://www.peterssoftware.com/cal.htm
info@peterssoftware.com

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DATE OR COPYRIGHT DATE, AND OTHER LEGAL INFORMATION
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Released 7/24/08
Copyright 2001-2008 Peter's Software