I am currently considering updating to Filemaker 7 and want to benefit from all the excellent improvements but our current system on Filemaker 7 is enormous containing 127 files. We have just spent a lot of time ensuring that the system is as efficient as possible, renewing many of the procedures.

Is there a way on Filemaker 7 to convert a file from V6 in to a table?? I think that I know the answer but I have to ask.

I also wanted to check can I define a field in a table when the file is being shared and other users are accessing tables within the file I want to define fields in??

FileMaker Version: 6

Platform: Windows 2000

Hi -

There are a couple of tools available at this time to integrate several files into tables in FMPro 7.

FM Migrator available at http://www.dotcomsolutionsinc.net/

and FMRobot available at http://www.nmci.com/Conversion_Tools.htm

As to defining a field in a table when a file is open this is supposedly going to be possible when Server 7 comes onto the market. The question still remains is this a wise course of action.

The other problem I had encountered is the repetitiveness of reinstalling layouts...

FM Robot does a wonderful job of setting up the tables, (but some fields with calcs still need a bit of tweaking), but they do not install the scripts or layouts for us.

For all the advantages of moving to a one file solution, why does Filemaker not provide a migration tool to one file out of the box?

The other problem I had encountered is the repetitiveness of reinstalling layouts...

FM Robot does a wonderful job of setting up the tables, (but some fields with calcs still need a bit of tweaking), but they do not install the scripts or layouts for us.

For all the advantages of moving to a one file solution, why does Filemaker not provide a migration tool to one file out of the box?

Can't you just use the import scripts button to import the scripts from the 'old' file to the 'new' table?

Also you can copy and paste entire layouts from the old to the new. you don't need to redraw them.

>> There are a couple of tools available at this time to integrate several files into tables in FMPro 7.

>>FM Migrator available at http://www.dotcomsolutionsinc.net/

>>and FMRobot available at http://www.nmci.com/Conversion_Tools.htm

Are there any tools available which don't require Windows?

(BTW ... this is a quote from the FM7 User-Guide, (chapter 6, page 1, bullet-point 3) :

"You may want to go a step beyond conversion and migrate your files to FMPro 7, which you can do by either manually combining your files after conversion, or recreating your database in FMPro 7 and then importing data from the original files."

Was this 'manual combining' of files dropped for final release? I mean ... I take it that by 'manually combining' Filemaker don't mean 're-creating' ... do they? )

Grant

I think that it was a nice way of sugarcoating the reality that they came up with a greatly improved product, but built in no *easy* way to convert your solutions to take advantage of the product. I think they also gave New Millenium a sweatheart deal to write a conversion program, which means that you have to spend even more money to convert your product.