Use the File/Open Log menu item to open an existing log file.
If you want a certain log file to be automatically opened every time you run XMLog choose Options/Log Fields, Fonts, Default File... and set Default Log File.
When a log is initially opened there are no "currently selected" entries so no entries are displayed. To select all entries in the log use the Select button and then the Search button without filling in any fields. To select all entries for a specific callsign use the Select button, fill in the Call field, and then use the Search button. See Searching the Log for more info on selecting log entries.
To create a new log file choose File/Create New Log. New log files should have an extension of .log (e.g. w1ect.log).
To close the currently open log file choose File/Close Log.
You can make a copy of the currently open log in an alternate location by choosing File/Backup Log or File/Copy Log to... See Backups for more info.
XMLog maintains log file entries in a Microsoft Access database. It's the nature of these databases that as you add and delete log entries you may create areas within the log file that are not currently being used. The amount of wasted space is minimal but if you want to eliminate it you can "compact" your log by choosing File/Compact Log. XMLog saves a copy of the original uncompacted log in the file 'oldlog.log'.
It's possible for a Microsoft Access database to become "corrupted" and XMLog will give error messages while trying to open the log. The most common cause of this problem is powering off your PC without first shutting down Windows. This can cause updates to the database to be left in a partially completed state. Access provides a "repair" function that scans a database and tries to fix any inconsistencies. To attempt a repair of a corrupted log file choose File/Repair Log. To protect yourself against losing log entries be sure to always exit Windows before shutting down your PC and make regular backups of your log files.