Free VistaDB 3 Database Tool

Due to the recent very public problems with VistaDB 3 database applications that don’t do maintenance we have built a free command line tool that can be used to pack, repair and export to data and schema to XML using VistaDB 3.3, 3.4 or 3.5 database.

Who is this tool for?

If you have a VistaDB 3 application you can use this tool to pack the database.  It does not require VistaDB 3 to be installed on the machine.  It is a totally standalone tool.

Do you have a VistaDB 3 database that is growing out of control?   Did the developer never implement a pack or maintenance into their app?  This tool will help you.

Why use this tool?

All databases need regular maintenance.  The pack operation is the most basic of operations that should be performed periodically by the application, but many VistaDB 3 applications decided not to implement pack.  Packing ensures indexes are up to date, reclaims pages on the disk, etc. 

If your database is regularly adding data, updating, and deleting, you need to pack to ensure proper health of the data.  One Graffiti CMS user took a 4 GB database and after pack it was 171 MB.  The data had never been packed (3 years of use).  Obviously the site ran much better after the pack was performed.

Can I Export data?

Yes, the /e command will export all the data and schema to an XML file.  This should give you the most flexibility in taking the data wherever you need it to go without requiring a VistaDB 3 license.

What does repair do?

Repair will attempt to drop indexes, foreign keys, relationships in order to repair a database.  If the data pages themselves are corrupt it will not be able to fix them.  Always make regular backups of your data.

Output from the application

Running the tool from a command prompt will result in this help being output.

VistaDB Database Tool Options
*******************************************
VDB3 files for VistaDB 3.3, 3.4, 3.5 ONLY
*******************************************
VistaDBRepairTool /path:vdb3FilePath [/p] [/r] [/e] [/b]
/path:C:\myDB.vdb3 include to set database file path, this is not optional
/p include to pack the database
/r include to repair the database if pack fails
/e include to export database schema and data to local xml file (databasename.xml)
/b include to make database backup
*******************************************
EXAMPLE:
Pack and Backup database:  VistaDB3DatabaseTool.exe /path:C:\northwind.vbd3 /p /b /e
Export Database to XML:  VistaDB3DatabaseTool.exe /path:C:\northwind.vbd3 /e
*******************************************
VistaDB IS NOT REQUIRED TO USE THIS TOOL
Any VistaDB 3.3-3.5 file will be converted to the file format of 3.3.
NOTE: 3.0-3.2 will be upgraded by this tool automatically.
This tool includes an embedded VistaDB 3.3 engine that will pack any database from 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5.

Example Command Line

C:\>VistaDB3DatabaseTool.exe /path:c:\northwind.vdb3 /p /b /r /e
Starting backup of database...
Backup of database complete
Attempting to pack database
Pack database complete
Attempting to export database schema and data
Export schema and data complete
Done.  Press any key to exit.

That command line did the following commands: Backup the database (northwind_backup.vdb3), export the XML data and schema (northwind.xml), and pack the database.

Downloading the free VistaDB 3 Database Tool

The download is on our Public Downloads page. 

Terms of Use

The terms of use for this tool are pretty simple. 

You cannot redistribute it, you cannot claim it as your own, and you cannot use it to build anything else. 

This tool is for personal use only to pack and export your data from VistaDB 3.3, 3.4, and 3.5 databases.