We are using FileMaker Pro 6. When we open it and go to "File" and look at the list of recently opened databases, the same one is listed more than once. Each on when opened has differences. But when we look at the database files on the c drive there is only one file with that name. How can we find the other like named files? Using "Start" Search only finds the one files. Any ideas?

Hmm.. I'm not sure why you could not find them using your standard file search, but maybe if you do a SAVE AS... or SAVE A COPY... it will show you the default directory that each db is stored in. You can actually go through with the save and call the file something like WHERETHEHECKISTHIS and search for that to see where it goes.

If you have a network, it's possible that you are remotely opening a db on some other computer/server. Try unplugging your network connection and opening both files. If one doesn't open, it's not local.

Good luck!
--ST

Hello RandArts,
I suggest that you open each file in turn and create an unstored calculation with a result type of text and the formula:

Status(CurrentFilePath)

That will provide you with a definitive path to the current file and allow you to catalog the locations at which the various duplicates are stored.

Once you've cleaned up and deleted (archived, renamed etc) the duplicates, you may wish to delete the utility path calc field, as it will have served its purpose.

Ray's advise is solid, like always. The status calc (or Get function in v7) is very useful. FileMaker 4/5/6 will keep track of every path the file has been located, so even it you move it FileMaker will still look for the file in that path if it can not find a file.

When using older versions of FileMaker, I will compress my old files into an archive, because more than once I will find that my solution is using files that are in different folders. FMP 7 let's the developer see these File References, but without third party tools FMP6 whould not let you access the 'list of know paths' for a specific file, so the next best thing is to check the path with the (CurrentFilePath) function.

A step further would to have you startup script to open all the files in the solution and make sure that all you paths have the same root. i'm thinking of something like Left(Status(CurrentPath), Position ("/",1,-1)).

Hope this helps,

Joe