Upgrading & Migration

I've lodged this with Filemaker Australia earlier last week, but really haven't received any satisfactory answers ... yet. I recently bought a new iMac. I deactivated FM Pro Advanced v9.02 before using the Migration Assistant to clone my user account from the MacBook to the new iMac. When I attempted to activate FM Pro Advanced on the iMac, I got a general activation error (50040) error message. I tried the upgrade to FM Pro Advanced 9.03 hoping this may help - but without any success, as the same activation error appears Any clues? Cheers MacP EDIT: Fixed it myself. I renamed the Flexnet Publisher folder in the Library|Preferences Folde…

upgraded from 8 to 10 on our main host machine, now it gives me the error, "'xxxxxxxx.fp7' is currently in use and cold not be opened. If the file is shared, you can use the open remote command to open the file on the network" have done all the checks, closing all other machines to make sure they are not useing the data base, but it should not matter, as i was just trying to open the data base as a user, like we have always been able to do up to now. phone calls to filemaker have not helped, they want to shift me to the next level of help and charge us, ouch...any ideas gang?? I have not upgraded the other office machines yet and they can still access the data bas…

I have an old version of FMPro (3.0) that I might want to get the legacy files migrated to a newer version. What version of FMPro will read 3.0 files?

So after installing snow leopard. i can no longer print any reports, i have changed all my print scripts so they output to PDF. 1. can i still use FMA 8.5A to develop this file (custom menus) if i was to purchase FM 10 for the client so they can print reports summary's etc... ie: switch back and forth Thanks RT

Just in case anyone else gets this problem.... When I opened my file in Snow Leopard I found that on some machines all the text that was in Arial had disappeared. I removed the MS installed fonts (including Arial) from the User > Library > Fonts folder and the problem was fixed. FileMaker is the only app that this seems to happen in. Ian

I want to know that how can i upgrade Filemaker 5.5 in to Filemaker Pro 10 advanced.i want to know that what precaution i have to take during this process. Thanks, John

I read Steven Blackwell's notes, and then the one's at FMI - and I'm confused... I have kept my software up to date with all the product downloaders from fmi, but I never saw one for a full installation of FMS 10.0v2 - only the UPDATER. Any one clear this up?

I have a solution that has come along from FM4 through FM6, FM7, and I am looking at moving it to FM10. When I converted to 7, I rebuilt the structure to use the separation model, which was a major undertaking on its own. Consequently, I wasn't ready to try eliminating the many global fields I had. What I did was to move all the global fields into a Globals table in the UI file. Since I've never been a fan of global variables, I am now looking at eliminating as many of the 115 global fields as I can and replacing them with script variables (or other tricks). My question is: does anyone have a principled method of converting them over? I am concerned that I…

So it sounds like I may be the one doing the upgrade for my department. We have been using FM 5.5 and 6 for the past few years. I guess we never tried to upgrade due to the fact that converting "scared" the director. Thanks to the free trial versions of FM server 10 and FM Pro 10, I have been to convert all the files, but holy cow is it slow! Going through the files, I have found a handful of bad links (old/current and new files) and will try to clean those up. What would be a good strategy? I could try to clone the files, 1 by 1, then import the data, 1 by 1. From there, I can fix links to files on the fly. A straight conversion works somewhat, but a few files take …

My old system 7 Mac has expired, I have invested in a new iMac on OS 10.5, I have also bought Filemaker Pro 9 I have succeeded in extracting the Filemaker 3 files I need to CD, they are copies of the original DB files I need which were in the Filemaker folder, they are in Filemaker format, I still have the option in system 7 of exporting them to comma or tab delimited files, I can also transfer the data to Word 6 and save in that format. Do I design a database in Filemaker 9 which is a mirror of the DB I have in Filemaker 3. What format would be the best to try and import the files into Filemaker 9 or is there another programme that I could convert into and then…

I am converting a solution from FMP6 to FMP10. On many (but not all) fields where there is an apostrophe, I am getting a very strange character (no way to print it here.) I am running a conversion script on the applicable fields to replace the character with the apostrophe. For some reason, it will correctly convert some data, but not all. For example, I have a field called Name that may have names like "Chico's Baby" or "Patagonia's Maria". Although both had the bad character, the substitute script only worked on one and not the other. I thought this may have been just a problem with MAC importing data from a PC file, but the same results happen on the PC. …

I recently purchased a new PC and while installing my software onto the new unit, I discovered I lost the product key for FM 7. Is there a way to pull it out of my old PC? Thanks! Bob

Hi -- I'm performing a re-design of a flat (1 table) cataloguing database that employed repeating fields in a number of places to handle multiple values. I'm trying to keep the structure as simple as possible because this is something given out virtually for free to small organizations that can't afford a lot of maintenance. I want to get rid of the repeating fields since they're a legacy of the pre-relational FMP days and are generally seen as a Bad Idea. It seems my two options are to (a) make the field a simple text box and instruct users to use a carriage return between entries, or ( create child tables for all these fields. Solution (a) if course ca…

I am using Filemaker Pro 8 on a PC. I can't find anything in the Knowledge Base which deals with changing a file name. I have some database files which have scripts and relationships with one another. I want to change the name of a couple of the files. Two questions: --What is the best method for changing an fp7 file name? Should I change it in Windows Explorer or should I change it in Define File References--and if so, how should I change it there? --What will happen if I change the file name in terms of script references and relationships? Will I lose or have to recreate scripts and relationships? Any advice would be appreciated. Than…

We're currently running FMS9 with current FMP9 clients, could any issues arise by upgrading clients, one at a time, to FMP10? Thanks in advance, mh

We have been updating all our clients from FMP 9 to FMP 10 and have a couple of clients that have installed FMP 10, but the Autoupdate plugin is not present. I use 3rd party plugins and it's a necessity for it to be present and enabled on the clients. I can't reproduce the issue on my end, so at a loss as to why it's not there. Any suggestions?

I have a database where all the files (11 files) were labeled ".fp5", but the files were actually operating in FMPro v6.04. 1/19/2009 we upgraded to v10.1. Everything seems to have gone smoothly except in one file, I found relationships were 'significantly changed' and I easily straightened that out. Though it was time consuming. However, before and after fixing those relationships, one script we run will not show the right information the first time we run it. But it DOES show it correctly the second time we run it. : The information that 'is not' showing then later 'does show' comes from another file. But so does a lot of the other information. All of ou…

Ok. Still struggling with this issue. I have an application with 7 individual related files. I want to combine them into one db with 7 tables. My plan is to create the new db with 7 tables, create the relationships by hand and tweak as necessary. What I need is help with carrying stuff over. I know I can import the data from the individua files into each of the tables. I know how to set up the relationships by hand. How can I copy all the filed definitions over from file a into table a in the new db. Also can I copy each of the screen layouts easily. Those two things I need help with. Anyone? Mike P.S. When I get started I'll likely come up with more questions. But fo…

I am currently using a Filemaker 10 demo, but I am looking to use Filemaker Pro 9 for the project I am working on; can I use a Filemaker Pro 9 upgrade package to install the full version?

In 2006, I upgraded to FMP 8.5v1 on my desktop G5 Mac. I need to run the database on a new-to-me laptop, but can't install the software because I cannot find the original FMP 7 disc, and the 8.5 disc is an upgrade, so won't install if it can't find the previous version or at least a product key from the FMP 7 disc. Does anyone know of a solution? Thank you!

Notice I didn't say data structure ;-) I'm in the laborious process of changing my ten year old FMP4 business system into an FMP8 version. I have a conceptual question about the merits of consolidating my data. I currently have separate files for " COMPANIES " that include both clients and vendors distinguished almost entirely by having either a client key field populated or a vendor key field populated or both. Client orders naturally are related via the client key ad purchase orders via the vendor key. I also have a " VENUE " file with a venue key field of course to relate the site of the show ( we provide production services to concerts and meetings ) or deliv…

I just converted a solution consisting of 5 databases from FMP6.4 to 9.3. Before doing the conversion, I eliminated all username/password controls over the 6.4 databases. Yet,the converted databases in v9.3 still keeps asking for user names and passwords to open them. The Guest option also allows complete access to all the databases, but I do want to establish new security over the converted files. For starters? what should I have done pre-conversion, or what can I do post-conversion to eliminate the user name/password request altogether?

Okay, I know that the "active" window has changed significantly from FM < 7 to FM => 7. The solution that I've had in place since 1991 for a company is causing me lots of headaches. The navigation is via a "Main Menu" that I setup. There is a common "Button Bar" across the top of every file (table/db/whatever you want to call it) used to navigate the 27 files in the solution. Previously, I had the navigation scripts in each file. The steps were simple: I had a Goto Main Menu script that would hide itself and then execute the script in Main Menu to go to the appropriate layout. WORKED GREAT! It kept the screen clean and only 1 file was visible at a time. …

I have my existing application in Filemaker 5.5 and I want some of my databases to be converted to filemaker 9.0 (pilot implementation).In the same time I want to use the upgraded database application to be callable from filemaker 5.5 application i.e. both versions co-exist in the same filemaker 5.5 application. Whether is it doable? can anybody help me in this issue.

As I understand it .FP3's aren't compatible with .FP7's so I have to export all the data and then import it again into new records I create in FM9. What would the best format for the export be? Excel? Are there any tips you guys know to make the transition smooth?

I have been a user of FMP 6 and now want to migrate to FMP 9. I have a external EXE-Link created for a solution in Filemaker. The link uses a Dll file which read and return value to the EXE from the Registry the Keys in the registry for my product/solution in Filemaker have no issues but the key that I used to use to get me the path of the Filemaker pro.exe is no longer accessible in FMP9 like it did in FMP 6. The Registry Key path is as follows; "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionApp PathsFilemaker Pro.exe". The Key is not existing in FMP 9. Is there a Key somewhere else that i can safely use i.e the Key should be present on the windows sys…

The company I work for has been using FM4 for the last 10 years or so. When I asked my boss why he hasn't upgraded he said that The newer versions are slower due to "running mainly on the internet". I have never tried a newer version, so I can't say that it won't be, but I have a hard time imagining this is the case. His opinion comes from how long it takes to sort files when you are connected to our local network vs. connecting from elsewhere. It's getting to the point where we are going to have to upgrade. On the windows side FM4 doesn't work with 64 bit OS's, on the Mac side it won't run on any Intel Mac and OSX 10.5 doesn't support classic (which FM4 needs …

I have a client whose Maintenance Program expired last February (didn't renew it). If he renews it now, would it be valid until next February or next December?

I'm about to rewrite a time-entry/invoicing DB that I originally wrote in FMP 2.x The original consisted of 3 separate (flat-file) DBs: Client List, Time Entry (using repeating fields for the line items), & Invoices. The three were tied together by some scripting, etc. I'd like to move this system into a single file consisting of at least 3 related tables. I'd rather not have to create additional tables for line items, but instead would like to bring over the 3 separate DBs into the 3 new tables. I'm thinking this might be a quicker way to get up & running. This db will only be used by one individual. Is there a quick way to import the individual DBs in…

Hi. I have an SQL Database hosted on an MS SQL Server that I want to migrate to FM 9. The Dbase has an Access frontend. Are there any Tools to port the Tables, structure and contents already to FM 9? Thanks

Does anyone know if FileMaker 9 Advanced will run on Windows XP Embedded? According to Microsoft, Windows XP Embedded can run 32-bit applications. According to a sales person at FileMaker, Windows XP Embedded does not work with FileMaker 9. I did not trust the answer from the FileMaker sales person as his initial answer was "probably not". I would like to find out if anyone has a better answer than "probably not". There is an in-house project we would like to do using Windows XP Embedded and FileMaker 9 Advanced. Link to Microsoft's Windows XP Embedded product details: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/embedded/products/wexpe/default.mspx Thank you …

I've searched and read through most of the threads here relating to converting from =v7 and am working through my current files slowly to test how it will work. I've seen a lot of references to a metadata file that I can't seem to find but think I need that as one of the things that did happen was the file references did get all wacked up. That asside, what I've determined I will need to do is this: It is not practical to convert the production files and have them up and running overnight or over a weekend so I'll have to convert all of the files (the current application deals with 30+ files with 8-10 of those on each user's HD and the rest on the server) and th…

We have 1 copy of FM Pro 9 and 2 copies of FM Pro 7. One of my Pro 7 copies was upgraded to Pro 7v3a. Does the other copy need to be upgraded to that version as well to avoid errors in the database? Will the database be fine if I don't?

MacBook Pro 17' 2.33 GHz, 2 GB memory, Tiger 10.4.11 I just upgraded FM pro from 7 to 9. I have a very simple database, worked fine in 7. I have a few simple scripts. When I run 2 of them, I get "Sorry, there is not enough memory to complete this operation." I increased the cache to 12 MB. I restarted the computer with ho other programs running. I still get the message. What is causing this, and how can I fix it so my database will work?

I'm working with some people and I'm trying to upgrade their database from 3.0v4 to 8.5v1. The database is mission critical, so for testing purposes I grabbed on old backup off their server. I can convert it and open it but I cannot do anything like Define Fields, Define Scripts, layout mode, etc. I know it's something simple or something stupid, but it's been so long since I dealt with such an old version of FM that I cannot figure out how to make it so I can manipulate stuff in 8.5v1. At the next opportunity to bring the 3.0v4 database down, I'm going to try turning off "Multi-User" first then quitting the app, then copying the data over to my machine with 8.5…