KathrynBassett 0 Report post Posted November 2, 2010 The help file says regarding Optimize "Deleted records, including people, events, sources, repositories; unused media files in Slideshow; as well as duplicate place records, will be eliminated and the space reclaimed. Duplicate place records will be consolidated so that only one entry remains in the Master Place List." After I've optimized and gone to the Place Names, they have been reindexed as they've eliminated the duplicate place records as stated. So the question is when/why would one want to just reindex when optimize does that and more? I've always ignored reindex and wonder if I should be considering using it for some reason. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Byram 0 Report post Posted November 3, 2010 Optimize cleans up the data tables and reindexes. I don't know if optimize reindexes the tables that require no cleanup. So it might be that reindex redoes that index for all tables and optimize doesn't. That said, I basically never use reindex and frequently use optimize. At least once a month, you should run the following sequence... optimize, validate file integrity, optimize. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
John Cardinal 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2010 I don't have proof, but my prior experience indicates that Optimize completely recreates the index files but Reindex resets the index entries in the index files. In a few cases, that distinction has been important, as structural errors in the index files that were not part of a specific index entry were not repaired by using Reindex, but were repaired by using Optimize. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KathrynBassett 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2010 My client's database I vfi almost every day before I back it it up and optimize almost everyday but definitely when I discover some place names that need "merging" like when fixing a spelling. I almost never reindex and got to wondering about the distinction. Thanks for the opinions. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Byram 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2010 You should always optimize after running validate file integrity. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KathrynBassett 0 Report post Posted November 5, 2010 Mostly I do, sometimes I'm in a hurry to leave and need to get the sqz file backed up onto my usb drive. In that case, I optimize the next morning. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites