I am in desparate trouble. I have a nine file data base that tracks donations and participant activities for a non-prof that helps cancer patients. It has been running on FMP 5.5.

This data base runs on their Windows machines, while I have been updating it at home on my Mac (OS 10.3.3, G4 Dual, 1.5GB RAM). This has has worked fine until today.

One file generates donation acknowledgement letters. Today, when I opened it and entered this eek's donations, The formatting on on all of my letters had changed as follows:

Dates that used to display as May 22, 2004 now show up as 5/22/2004

Gift amounts that used to display as $500.00 now show up as 500

ZIP codes now appear like currency (i.e. 90505 is now $90505.00

I tried every trick I could think of, but could not get this to straighten out. Finally, in desparation, I trashed my FMP application folder and dug out my install disk. When I tried to open the installer my computer insisted on opening in classic mode. I tried removing the System file from the Classic System folder, and the installer would not work. I put the System file back, ran the installer, and now I cannot open any of my FMP files in OS X - they keep defaulting to Classic. Moreover, the Date, Gift Amount and ZIP fields are still screwed up.

Can someone PLEASE tell me how to:

Get the display of these fields back to normal, and

Get FMP to run in OS X?

As I recall, there is an OS 9 (or classic) installer and an OS X installer on the Mac version install CD. Maybe you were lauching the OS 9 installer. If you do manage to get the OS X version installed, you can reset the default application for .fp5 files in the Get Info window.

Don't know why your date and number formats would have changed. You can set them back manually by selecting the field and going to the Date or Number options under the Format menu.

I got out my installation disk, but it does not have any OS X options.

I am really confused, because I installed FMP when I first got this G4 (it was then running 10.2.6), and (until today) my files always opened under OS X.

For the life of me, I don't understand how I could have done that then, but can't do it now.

John

Is it the same installer disk that you used before? Worst case, you could just use classic. You could also just get a copy of FMP v6.... it will exchange just fine with your 5.5 clients. I have a network solution that uses both.

Yes, it was the same install disk. Using Classic is just too clunky; starting in OS 9.2.2 works better, but I loose all my Ikey shortcuts - guess I'll try to find my old copy of QuicKeys and restore them that way for now.

If I understand you correctly, FMP 6 will exchange with FMP 5 as long as you don't use any v6 features that are not in v5. I'll give that a try next week.

Thanks,

John

v6 should work.... I don't know why your install disk doesn't show two installers.

I just dug out an old FM 5.5 install disk and it shows "Start Here MacOS Classic" and "Start Here MacOS X" on my G4 533 with OS 10.3.3. It is a 5.5v2 install disk.

Our FMP-U 5.5 install CD is the same as Reed's..

"Start Here MacOS Classic" and "Start Here MacOS X"

As for the formatting issue, Ender is right on (never mess w/a Wiggin!)... you can select the designated field in the layout and choose Date... Time... Number... etc. under the FORMAT menu for the appropriately defined field and specify formatting. Now, if I recall correctly, the format of the date/time actually entered in its raw form is drawn from the host computer, but the raw format concedes formatting to the layout's formatting whenever it is specified.

As to versions, for the most part...

FileMaker 3 - 4 = compatible

FileMaker 5 - 6 = compatible

I remember there were a few minor 5/6 incompatibilities mentioned but none were problematic and just ignored by 5. We use 5, 5.5, and 6 regularly and often w/no version problems at all.

LOL. I just checked the FM6 install CD and it, too, has the Start Here's except they have switched places... the X one is now on the left and the Classic one is now on the right.

--ST

I think version 5.0 was the last one to not have an OS X install. Maybe you found a 5.0 disk and not the 5.5 one? It's hard to keep track of these things sometimes, but I think the MAIN feature of 5.5 was OS X capability, IIRC.

--Tripod