ListMeister keeps all of your lists in a folder called 窶炉iles窶. The 窶炉iles窶 folder MUST be in the same folder as the ListMeister application itself. Each list is stored in a separate folder within the 窶炉iles窶 folder and is made up of two files: a item content file called [listname].itm and an index file called [listname].idx. The content file contains the actual information in your list, the index file contains the item record indexes that allow ListMeister to sort you lists in different ways. To backup your lists (highly recommended), backup the entire 窶炉iles窶 folder.
File Maintenance window
ListMeister provides you with a few file maintenance and management functions. It窶冱 relatively unlikely that you窶冤l need them but they窶决e available in case you do. To activate the File Maintenance window, choose the 窶炉ile Maint...窶 option under the OPTIONS menu. The File Maintenance window provides the following functions:
COUNT The Count function simply counts the number of
items in the active list. All items are
counted, including those marked done.
CLEAN UP The Clean Up functions does two things: 1)
rebuilds the indexes for the active list; 2)
compacts the list by removing the empty space
left behind by deleted list items. You may use
the Clean up function if you have a list with a
damaged index file.
EXPORT The Export function will export all list items
marked done to a tab-delimited ASCII file for
import into another program such as FileMaker.
The file that ListMeister creates is called
窶露temsOut窶 and will be created in the same
folder that houses the ListMeister application.
The sequence of the list窶冱 data elements is as
follows:
1) Item Description/Name (text, 50 characters)
2) Category (text, 10 characters)
3) Value (text, 20 characters)
4) Date (includes 窶/窶)
5) Done (窶賄窶 for done, space for un-done)
6) Notes (text, up to 4096 characters)
IMPORT The Import function is the converse of Export,
it imports a tab-delimited ASCII file into the
active list from a file that must be named
窶露temsIn窶 located in the same folder that houses
the ListMeister application. The data element
sequence of import is identical to that of
export.
DELETE The Delete function permanently removes all
items marked done from the active list. Be
careful with this one, again: it permanently
removes the list items from the active list.
After using the Delete function, it窶冱
recommended that you use the Clean Up function
to remove the space left by the deleted records.
The active list is displayed in the status box in the lower, left portion of the File Maintenance window. You may change the active list without leaving the File Maintenance window by clicking the LIST button and following the steps outlined above in the 窶呂hanging Lists窶 chapter.
A purging scenario
If you list becomes choked with items that are marked done:
1) Use the Export function to copy the items marked done
to an ASCII file.
2) Use the Delete function to remove them from the list.
3) Use the Clean Up function to recover the space left by
the deleted records.
At this point, you have a smaller, faster list and an archive file of the items that were done. If you ever need to reload the archived items, follow the steps to Import them back into the original list or any list of your choosing.