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Reference Manager Technical Support
Frequently Asked Questions
Managing Your Reference Manager Database
1. What is the correct way to backup my database?
Backing up a database consists of making a copy of the database for safekeeping. Then, if your database becomes corrupt, you can use the backup copy as a replacement for the corrupt copy.
Files to Back Up
Your database consists of two files: database.RMD and database.RMX (where database is the name of your database). When you back up a database, be sure to include BOTH of these files.
To back up your database, simply copy these two files using the Windows Explorer. We highly recommend backing up to CD-ROM if possible, however you can back up to floppy disks, other directories on your hard drive, network drives, etc. Back up methods include simply copying the files, using the Backup utility included with some versions of Windows, or a third party product (eg, TurboZip). Ideally some sort of rotating system should be used, insuring you against any media or file corruptions.
It is also a good idea to occasionally back up the entire Reference Manager directory. These files include saved search strategies, amended and new output styles, amended and new import filters, dictionaries and phrase lists.
2. How often should I backup my database?
We recommend that databases are backed up frequently ! Although only you can decide how often to back up your database, generally it is wise to back up whenever you make more additions or changes than you would like to recreate. It is also wise to back up before doing global changes to a database, just in case anything goes amiss.
3. What is the correct way to rebuild a database?
CAUTION: Do not attempt to rebuild any database without first creating a back-up copy of it (see instructions above). If any data loss occurs during the rebuild process, it may not be recoverable.
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4. I backed up my database files to a CD-ROM and then copied them to a different computer. Now I get error messages when I try to open the database. How can I fix it?
When you copy a file to a CD-ROM, the file inherits the Read-Only attributes from the CD itself, even after the files are copied to the computer's hard drive. To remove the Read-Only attributes, using the Windows Explorer right-click on each file, select Properties and uncheck the Read-Only checkbox. You must do this with both the *.RMX and *.RMD files.
5. How do I move my database to another computer?
Your database consists of two files: database.RMD and database.RMX (where database is the name of your database). When you move your a database, you must include BOTH of these files.
To move your database, simply copy these two files using the Windows Explorer. The files can be copied to a different location on your hard drive, a network drive, a floppy disk or CD-ROM.
6. Why did I receive a message "The database was beyond Reference Manager's ability to rebuild it. To access this database, you will need to restore a backup of the database" when I tried to rebuild the database?
This message indicates the information contained in the database was so badly corrupted that Reference Manager could not recognise enough information to rebuild it. Data will not be able to be recovered and you will need to restore from a backup copy of the database.7. What happens if I don't close the database before I exit Reference Manager?
When you exit Reference Manager, any database still open will be closed for you. You will always be prompted to save upon exiting if there is any unsaved information. Reference Manager remembers which database you left open and will re-open it automatically next time you open the program.
8. Whenever I check for duplicates in Reference Manager it never finds any, but I am sure there are some duplicate records. How can I get this to work?
There are actually two ways to search for duplicates in Reference Manager. The "Check for Duplicates" command, located under the References menu, will only search for duplicates of the currently highlighted record.
If you use this command, make certain that you have the record that you are looking for a duplicate of highlighted in the Reference List.
The "Duplicate Search" command, located in the Tools menu under the Batch Operations submenu, will search the entire database, or even all open databases for records that are duplicates.
If you still do not get duplicates in the search, then you may need to broaden the options for Duplicates. You can do this from Tools > Options > Duplicate Search. Here, you can specify which fields are checked for duplicate information as well as adjust how much of certain fields are check for duplicated information.
9. Why are the Field and Type Edit, Term Manager, or Global Edit tools grayed out or inactive?
This will happen if you do not have the database open in Read/Write Exclusive mode.
To open the database in this mode (assuming you have the correct permissions), close the database and go to "File > Open Database" and select "Read/Write Exclusive" in the "Access Rights" dropdown at the bottom of this dialog box, then open the database once more. You will now have these options available to you.
10. When I attempt to use the Help menu in Reference Manager 11 I get the message, "Cannot find or load the file RoboEx32.dll. This file should be copied to C:\WINDOWS\system32 or a directory in your PATH." How can I fix this?
If you are getting this message, unzip the following file and place it in the Reference Manager 11\ directory on your computer:
ROBOEX32.zip
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