Exporting from 5.0 to text to 3.0?

[jukirk]

It is necessary for me to take a perfectly lovely database from a FM 5 file down to a FM 3 file. The file contains a large number of records. Not all fields are filled in each record.

This is what I have managed thus far, in a nutshell:

Sorted the fields by name

Sorted the "move all" fields same

exported to text with tabs

attempted to import the fields into FM 3

When I open in FM 3, the fields and the imported information don't match, seems to be no obvious pattern to the mismatching. I have spent several hours already rebuilding the new database, making sure the fields and values and indexing are identical.

I am not a complete novice, but I am pretty new to the FileMaker scene. None of my co-workers, who have much more experience with this than I, have offered an easier solution.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

[danjacoby]

Export as a "DIF" file, then open it from within FMP3. That should create a file with all the fieldnames.

P.S. You can drag the icon for the exported file over the icon for FMP3 and it will open automatically.

[jukirk]

Success! Dan, your solution worked!

Only one glitch and you may know how to solve it, as well.

All of the fields converted to text fields. Previously, a number of the fields were value lists and numbers, with a few calculations and summaries thrown in. This a glitch I can live with.......and fix.

Thanks, Dan! You have saved me a multitude of time and effort.

Jean Kirk

[danjacoby]

That's why I get the big bucks.

Yeah, right.