I cannot open my document!

File Corruption Issues, File won't open, PM crashes upon "file save", "Bad record index":

Anyone that works with PM long enough will experience a corrupted file. A bad record index indicates that your file is screwed! don't despair yet, all is not lost.

Adobe has a document on corrupt files. First thing, when you get any indication of a file corruption, perform a diagnostic recompose as outlined ibn the link below:
http://pagemakersupport.adobe.com/adobeknowbase/root/public/pm3632.htm
I will not bother repeating what Adobe has done so well in the link above. I want to concentrate on good DTP practises to prevent these in the future. There are some precautions you can take to reduce possible file corruptions.

It is best to use a PageMaker template of the publication for a fresh start, especially if you use the same Pagemaker document over and over for a publication that changes on a continual basis, but has certain features that remain the same.

If you are editing a large, continuing project, always "Save As" and "Save Smaller."

Keep several backups in different directories as a "safety net."

Make sure that you have plenty of elbow room for your files. PM requires considerable resources from your computer. Minimum of 128M of RAM, more is better. Minimum of 300 Meg free disk space, and more is better. Diligent maintenance such as regular scan disk and defrag, disk clean-up, etc. will prevent the glitch demon that wreaks havoc 2 hours before the deadline.

Network Issues

Adobe does not support Pagemaker over a Network. There is good reason for this, as DTP applications are complex, resource intensive programs by their nature. Always work locally. If you must work on documents over a network, copy all files locally, open, edit, save, save as, then copy back to the remote drive. If a file is being saved over a network, critical info could be lost, and the error correction that takes place when you work and save locally is overridden. You will not know that your file has been corrupted until you attempt to open it the next time.

Font Issues - Corrupted files, PM crashing, failed PDFs, "font not found" error

It is best to use Type 1 fonts whenever possible. If you have to use TT fonts, make sure that you use fonts from reliable sources. There are a lot of freebie fonts that have dubious pedigree and shoddy craftmanship. You get what you pay for, free fonts are quite often worth the price you pay for them.

The best design utilizes consistent design element. Do not rely on a dozen different fonts as a design crutch. The more fonts, the more chance of error, and the more difficult it will be in tracking down a corrupt font.

If you suspect corrupt fonts, uninstall the fonts and reinstall them from the source disk.

Never have more than 100 fonts installed on a Windows system at any time. Excessive fonts will cause PM to crash while opening, as well as various and sundry other problems. Use a font management program such as Adobe ATM deluxe, available for around US $99, or Bitstream Font Navigator which is packaged with CorelDraw! There are some free programs also, suchs as "the Font Thing" from http://members.ozemail.com.au/~scef/ or "X-fonter" from http://users.pandora.be/eclypse/. (I am not associated with any of these companies)

Graphics Issues

It is best to use TIFFs or EPS graphics. Link the images to the PM file, do not choose "include" as that only bulks up the PM file and can cause grief in the future. Even if the PM document is slated for web publication, use TIFF images rather than JPG. If you must use JPG by necessity, do not use progressive scan JPGs. Use high resolution graphics for best quality. Never use a 72 DPI JPG, as the screen quality will be good, but print quality will be quite shabby.

Use PM's "place" command to insert graphics. Do not use copy and paste, as this method will cause problems during the distil process if you convert the file to PDF.

While there can never be any guarantees, these guidelines will help you work error free. And of course all rules are made to be broken depending on the situation, but the less you break on a regular basis the better off you will be.