[Revised Feb 2013]
NB: Since changing to SQL in 2012 archiving is no longer required.
To Read data that has been archived
Data that has been archived will be 'missing' from the current system and so appear 'lost'. On the rare occasion that you need to access data that has been archived off (all of which will be at least two years old and usually a lot older); go to the RxOne Start Menu, Tools, Utilities, Database, Database Archives, 'View Database Archives'.
Reason for archiving;
Archiving removes any information older than two years to a separate section of the hard disk, improving speed of operation and saving backup time. The older information can still be accessed if required. Stock Cards are only removed to the archive if the item has not been used for more than 24 months AND there is no SoH.
When to archive
Archiving should be done within a week or so of the computer asking for it to be done, ideally on a Monday to Thursday night but not on the last day of the month as this would conflict with the automated rollovers.
Archiving process
It takes several hours, so is done overnight, on the Master Computer only, and cannot be interrupted. There is no need to archive Slaves.
A 'pre-archive' backup will be made, and should be kept off-site and not ever overwritten as the daily backups do not backup the archived data.
To archive
Last thing before leaving for the night (preferably on Monday to Thursday)
This night, leave everything running; Slaves, printers, screens… the lot.
1. Close RxOne on all slave machines.
2. Restart RxOne on all slave machines, which will force the database to be copied across to each slave.
3. To begin the actual archive, go - Tools/Utilities/Database/Database Archives/'Archive database now'
It will ask for a disk to make a safety backup, for you to take off-site, before it starts archiving. A label will print for this 'Pre Archive' backup. Please read any instructions on the screen carefully, then leave it to do the job.
Next morning
1. A sheet reporting on the process should be on the A4 printer. Please fax this to us so we can note it in our records.
2. Re-start RxOne and check to see that the older scripts have been removed, and that the current scripts have not been. The normal startup screen will be displayed and it will take you into the archived (old) data so you can confirm that it is readable... you will see a large Red message box displayed reminding you that you are looking at screens based on the archived database. Click "Return to Master" when you wish to return to you "working database" (the current data).
- Check that the scripts entered yesterday are present.
- Check that scripts entered around 23 months ago are present.
- Check that scripts entered 25 months ago are not visible.
All finished; If these are okay, shut down and restart the whole system and continue as per normal.
Pseudo-archive for special situations
Practitioners Supply Orders - Bag orders
As a supply/bag order sometimes contain many items for the same Dr, they can become slow on lookup as all are checked for interactions etc that are not significant on supply orders. To effectively archive these off, pull up the name and change it,
eg; from, "Dr. A Bloggs" to "Dr A Bloggs (2005)", and start a new set of records for "Dr A Bloggs". If you don't want the old records to even appear under 'Bloggs" , change the name to "Dr A Xbloggs (2005)". These records can still be looked up if needed.
OTC sales
Similarly, if the OTC lookup becomes slow, archive them by changing the name from "O T C" to "O T C (2005)", or if you prefer "X O T C (2005)" if you do not want the old records to even appear when you put in "OTC".
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Archive process before Sept 2005.
(Note; Only proceed past this point when advised by the help-desk)
First, make sure that two conditions are satisfied;
1. Check that you can backup without problems.
Do a normal backup, watching for any error messages. If none, leave the backup disk in the drive and from 'My computer' on the Windows start up screen bring up the backup disk, usually 'E:' or 'F': drive. Check that the time and date are only a few minutes ago to confirm you're looking at the current backup, and that there is free space left. If so the backup is good.
2. Is the Database less than 200 MB ?
From 'My computer' select 'C:' drive, then 'PhcyPro' then 'LOTSDB' and look at the size of LOTS.MDB. Is this less than 200,000 KB? if so all is well so you can proceed with the archive.
Unless both of these are okay, the archiving will strike problems so please ask the help desk for special instructions before going ahead.
To proceed with archive
The archive is normally started at end of day and left going overnight as it takes some time. Do it Monday to Thursday night so that you have all help-desk staff available for next morning if a problem occurs overnight.
From the RxOne Start Menu select Tools, Utilities, Database, Database Archives, 'Archive Database'.
It will proceed only if the database requires archiving. A screen will appear with progress bars and counters for each area of the database which will be archived.
Next morning
Before doing any work on the computer, check the information in your system to make sure all you script history for the last two years is present. You can do this by displaying the days scripts/sales for yesterday and also for a date just under 24 months ago. If so, all is well. If not, contact the Help-desk.
Failure of Archive.
can be due to use of a non-standard database path (see below)
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