Compact and repair an Access file

To ensure optimal performance, you should compact and repair your Microsoft Access files on a regular basis. Also, if a serious problem occurs while you are working in an Access file and Access attempts to recover it, you might receive a message that the repair operation was cancelled and that you should compact and repair the file.

You must have Open/Run and Open Exclusive permissions for an Access database in order to compact and repair it.

Compact and repair the current Access file

1. If you are compacting a shared Microsoft Access database that is located on a server or shared folder, make sure that no one else has it open.
2. On the Tools menu, point to Database Utilities, and then click Compact and Repair Database.

Compact and repair an Access file that is not open

1. Close the current Microsoft Access file. If you are compacting a shared Access database that is located on a server or shared folder, make sure no one else has it open.
2. On the Tools menu, point to Database Utilities, and then click Compact and Repair Database.
3. In the Database to Compact From dialog box, specify the Access file you want to compact, and then click Compact.
4. In the Compact Database Into dialog box, specify a name, drive, and folder for the compacted Access file.
5. Click Save.

   If you use the same name, drive, and folder, and the Access database or Access project is compacted successfully, Microsoft Access replaces the original file with the compacted version.

Compact and repair an Access file automatically every time you close it

Compacting does not occur if you close a shared Access database while another user has it open.

1. Open the Access database or Access project that you want Microsoft Access to compact automatically.
2. On the Tools menu, click Options.
3. Click the General tab.
4. Select the Compact on Close check box.

Note   You can stop the compact and repair process by pressing CTRL+BREAK or ESC.