In versions FTM 2012 and earlier, compacting was needed much more than it is in FTM 2014 because it was a method for correcting addresses and possible errors in links. FTM 2014 has a new data base structure and is much more robust and stable. As a result, compacting isn't needed as much as it was in previous versions. It is useful in recovering empty space in the data base and unlike its predecessor it recovers all space down to 0%. BJ On 2/17/2014 5:56 PM, John Maynard wrote: > At 07:30 PM 17-02-14 -0600, Rosemary Jones wrote: >> Perhaps by Reindex, we should think Compact the file under Tools>Compact. >> This effectively reindexes the file removing unwanted space. Backing up >> beforehand is essential. The Compact command has an option to backup before >> continuing. Rosemary > You can now do a double-compact, to achieve 0.00%, without closing > your file with FTM-2014. The Ancestry Support Team recommends closing > out of your Tree in FTM-2012 to achieve the same result: 0.00% ~