File Maintenance

Setup and Maintenance

The Setup and Maintenance page offers options for customization of MI, and file maintenance including data backup and restore. In addition, special file maintenance options are provided to help with maintaining some of the large data files used by the system.

Options in the Setup Menu are described under Getting Started

File Maintenance

Backup Data Files
The Backup option creates a backup copy of your data files. Select the drive and directory where you want to store the backup files.

Note: If you are backing up to a floppy disk, be sure to insert a formatted diskette before selecting that drive. Be aware MI cannot split individual files across floppy disks. If an individual file (usually prices.dbf) is larger than will fit on a single floppy disk, you must backup to a directory on your hard disk.

Restore Data Files
The Restore option copies backup data files created with the File Backup option, to your hard disk and recreates the necessary index files. If your backup data consists of multiple disks, you must insert the disks in the proper order.

Note: When you restore data files, all data present on your system will be overwritten.

Re-Index Data Files
The Re-Index option recompiles the database index files. Use this option after any abnormal exits from the program or if you find that data is missing from your files.

Composite Daily Prices
If you find that you do not look at daily (6 month) stock charts that cover periods earlier than a specific date, you can dramatically reduce the amount of disk storage required to maintain your data. The Composite Old Prices option replaces daily stock price records prior to a specified date with weekly composite price records. A weekly composite record is composed of the week’s open, close, highest high and lowest low prices, and the week’s total volume. This can dramatically improve the performance of weekly stock charts because the program no longer needs to form the weekly composite prices.

Delete Old Prices
As you continue to accumulate data, you may find that you no longer have a need to look at charts containing historical prices that are older than a certain date. The Erase Old Prices option is provided so that you can quickly delete old price quotes from your hard disk. This will save disk space and improve the performance of your system. See also Composite Old Prices.

Hint: If you think that at some point in the future you may want to look at old price charts for a specific issue, use the price list report and export the prices to a tab delimited file. You will then be able to import the data at a later date if the need arises.

Delete Old Net Worth Values
MI maintains a database containing the weekly net worth for all portfolios. This database is used for Net Worth charts and the Portfolio Change report. If your requirements are such that you do not need to look at net worth values prior to a specific date, you can save the disk space that is taken up by those records.

Hint: Net Worth data records are automatically created each time you run a report or chart that requires a data point that is missing from the net worth database.

Data Conversion
The Data Conversion button is provided for individuals that are upgrading to MI 6 from MI Versions 1 through 4. The option reads data from MI 1 thourgh 4 and performs the data conversions needed to build MI databases.

After selecting this option, a file dialog screen appears allowing you to select the drive and directory where your Old MI data files are stored. Once the correct directory has been selected, the program proceeds with the file conversion.

Erase All Data
MI is distributed with sample data that is provided to help new users become aquatinted with the capabilities of the system without having to enter their own data. Once you are ready to begin entering your own personal financial records, the Erase All Data option provides a quick means of removing all of the sample data from the system.