Pagemaker
Recovering Corrupt Pagemaker Files
It's handy to know that Pagemaker has a facility to rescue a corrupt publication. Unlike many programs Pagemaker doesn't make a backup of the working file when you save, so if the unthinkable happens and the job you have worked on for months won't open the morning after your client has approved it, you have a serious problem.
The first thing to do is to make a copy of the file you are trying to retrieve, then, if you make a mess of it you can go back to where you started and try again.
You should then run a hard disk utility program on your system to ensure your hard drive is functioning properly and all bad sectors are mapped out, also, of course make sure you have plenty of free disk space as running out of space could have contributed to the problem.
There are several things you can do to a publication to try to force the internal structure to be re-built and thus recover the work.
Depending upon what has happened to your particular publication various combinations of the following may help:
- Perform a diagnostic recompose by holding down Ctrl and Shift then choosing Type/Hyphenation, then perform a Save As of the publication. The diagnostic recompose forces Pagemaker to check, re-create and/or repair many of its internal data structures.
- While holding down the Shift key, choose Layout/ Go To Page, this will initiate a Slideshow of the publication, which has a side effect of repairing links within the publication. Wait until all pages have displayed at least once, then force display of the master pages by right clicking on the master page icons. Once this is complete Save As to disk.
- Unlink all files that have broken links by choosing File/Links then select each file that is preceded with an upside down question mark or the letters "UN" and click on Unlink, then Save As. Removing these items may stop Pagemaker errors due to trying to resolve broken links.
- For each graphic included in the publication, choose Element/Link Options, then de-select the "Store Copy in Publication" checkbox. Perform a Save As after each one.
- Try to isolate the object that is causing problems by deleting sections of the publication one at a time, say half the publication at a time, using the Remove Page function, and find the bad sections by a process of elimination.
- Try saving the publication as an earlier version, and then re-opening it in this format (some features may be lost by this conversion).
With a bit of luck one or more of the above methods will allow you to repair your publication, or at least rescue most of it.
Good luck!
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