To ensure optimum performance, regularly compact the database if the database is used on a daily basis. Over time, as resources are updated or deleted, the database file becomes fragmented. Fragmentation wastes disk space and can impair performance. An Access database does not register a decrease in file size when assets are deleted from it until this procedure is performed. The Database Maintenance utility lets you compact a Microsoft Access database, removing unwanted records and rewriting the data to a contiguous area of the disk.
Database compact operations should not be performed on network databases. Instead, copy the database to a local workstation, compact the database, then copy it back to the network location. This ensures that network disruptions and interruptions do not interfere with the database maintenance task.