Each Concordance database uses several files during operation. Only four are absolutely required to open and use a database. The four mandatory files are the database control block (.dcb), the numeric date text file (.ndx), the text file (.tex), and the security file (.sec). The security file only exists if security has been enabled. All of the other files can be recreated without damaging the integrity of the data. At a minimum, these four files should be backed up for archival purposes.
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A B-tree file uses a tree data structure to provide fast search results. The tree data structure minimizes the number of times the database is accessed when searching for a record, resulting in faster searches. |
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The .TRK file in Concordance uses SQLite. SQLite is an embedded relational database engine, and does not increase the required maintenance and administration of Concordance. |
Concordance Database Files
File Extension |
File Type |
Usage |
B-tree File? |
SQLite File? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
.arf |
Annotation reports |
Contains the annotation report definition. Used by the annotation report writer. |
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.arp |
Report writer |
Contains report definitions in plain text. These files are created and saved by the report writer, and can be edited with any text editor program. |
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.cat |
Concatenation |
Stores a list of concatenated databases. |
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.cib |
Imagebase |
Stores association between media keys and native and image files including markup history (Concordance Native Viewer only). |
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yes |
.cpl |
CPL script |
Concordance Programming Language (CPL) scripts. |
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.cpt |
compiled CPL script |
Compiled version of a CPL script |
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.csv |
Security |
Stores field and menu access for all users (when exported by user). |
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.dat |
Delimited text |
Contains metadata and sometimes OCR for document records. |
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.dcb |
Data control block |
Database definition, including fields, document count, and other settings. |
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.dct |
Dictionary |
All unique words in the database, in alphabetical order. This is not a plain text file, it cannot be read or edited by a text editor or word processor. |
yes |
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.dir |
Imagebase |
Stores image keys (Concordance Image Only). |
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.fmt |
Print settings |
Saves print settings for reports generated using the standard print feature. This is a user generated file. |
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.fyi |
Concordance FYI Server database |
A link file that opens a database on a remote FYI Server. |
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.fzy |
Fuzzy search dictionary |
Contains homonyms for words in the search dictionary. This file is created and updated by indexing and reindexing. |
yes |
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.gat |
Back Up |
A tag backup file that stores tagging information. Generated by running the TagSaver_v<version>.cpl |
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.ini |
Configuration settings |
Stores various configuration settings. |
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.ivt |
Inverted text |
Used with the dictionary during searches. |
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.key |
Key fields |
Field storage for fast relational searching. |
yes |
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.layout |
Table layout |
Stores the defined table layouts. |
yes |
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.sortlayout |
Sorting layout |
Stores the defined sorting layouts for the current database. |
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.lst |
Word lists |
Contains predefined values that can be selected from a list when editing fields. |
yes |
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.ndx |
Numeric, date, and text fields |
Stores data for the fixed length field types: Numeric, Date, and Text. |
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.opf |
Print settings |
A Concordance Image print file that stores print settings for print jobs generated by Concordance Image (Opticon). This is a user generated file. |
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.qry |
Query |
Stores search query strings. |
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-redlines.dcb |
Database |
Stores markups and notes (Concordance Image Only). |
|
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.sec |
Security control |
Stores passwords and security settings. Erasing this file can lock up a database if security is enabled |
yes |
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.snp |
Snapshot |
Stores search history and auto-restore settings. |
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.stp |
Stopwords |
Contains the noise words that are ignored during database indexing. |
yes |
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.syn |
Synonyms |
Stores user defined synonyms. |
yes |
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.tag |
Tagged records |
Tracks document tagging. No longer used with Concordance 9.5 and higher. |
yes |
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.tex |
Text |
Full text paragraph field storage. |
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.trk |
Transaction tracking |
Stores tags and tag histories, security (field and menu access for all users) and replication data. |
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yes |
.vol |
Volumes |
Stores image volume information (Concordance Image Only). |
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.xrl |
Markup |
Stores the current state of markups and placeholders(Concordance Native Viewer Only). |
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Temporary Files
Concordance creates and uses temporary files, which are automatically erased when you leave the program. Temporary files are not erased if there is a power outage or other problem which causes an irregular program termination. Concordance places the files in the system's temporary directory as defined by the Windows TEMP environment variable. The two most common functions that create temporary files are indexing and reindexing.
When indexing a database, two temporary files are saved in the local computer's temp directory. Both files begin with the prefix C- and end with the .tmp extension. These files represent the temporary .dct and .ivt files. They are not initially saved on the network server since network latency would severely decrease performance. When indexing is complete, the resulting .dct and .ivt files are copied to the network server.
When reindexing a database, the same temporary files are saved in the local computer's temp directory. In addition, a temporary dictionary file with a .dcb file extension is saved in the local computer's database directory. This file contains information from the newly created records. Near the end of the reindexing process, this dictionary file is merged with the main dictionary file on the network server.