Conversion from Nashoba Systems FM 4

[Pat Fina]

Hello, all.

I'm trying to convert two databases from the ancient Nashoba Systems Filemaker 4 to Filemaker Pro 7.

If I've read previous posts correctly, I need to convert first to Filemaker Pro 2.1, then to any version between 3.0 and 6.0, and finally to 7. Is that correct?

The person before me in this job downloaded the trial version of 2.1 from the Apple ftp site, but that trial version would only convert the first 50 records of the database. We have over 6000 records in each of the databases.

Any help you can offer this clueless newbie would be greatly appreciated.

Peace, friends,

Pat Fina

[stanley]

Pat:

I believe you are correct in your conversion path. Regarding the problem you're having with the 2.1 trial, you could export all the records from your current Nashoba system, then do the conversions, and import the records back in once you've reached FMP7.

-Stanley

[Pat Fina]

Stanley --

Many thanks for the quick response. I'm a teacher with no prior experience with Filemaker or Macs, so please bear with me as I try to understand your suggestion.

It sounds as though conversion is done only to the structure of the database, not to the data itself. If I understand you, I should:

1 - Make a blank clone of the Nashoba Systems db.

2 - Run the clone through all the conversion steps up to FMP 7.

3 - Test the FMP 7 version by entering dummy data and fooling around with it to see if the structure is behaving itself but refrain from changing any field names, definitions, layouts, etc.

4 - If all goes well, import the data straight from the Nashoba Systems original (which I didn't know was possible).

If this is an accurate summary of the process, would I be OK in step 3 to input actual current data, work with it for a while, and append the old data later once the structure proves sound, or should I halt all real data entry until I have imported the old data?

Each of these is a very simple database -- one table, approx. 100 text fields, no calculations, no scripts; but together they contain 30 years of organizational history, and the older records in them do get updated and referred to from time to time, so we'd be loathe to lose them.

Again, I thank you for your help.

Peace,

Pat Fina

[stanley]

Pat:

You are correct in all of it except that you should export the data from Nashoba (to tab-delimited text, or whatever may be available), and then import from the exported file into your converted FMP7 file. I don't think you'd be able to import directly from the Nashoba file.

Regarding your step 3 - why not just import the data you've already got? I haven't heard of anyone migrating up from quite such a long way back, but I helped someone migrate from FileMaker II, and it worked fine, so hopefully you'll run into very little in the way of problems. The main stuff to look out for will be layouts that shift about slightly, print setups that somehow go awry, and the like...

Good luck

-Stanley

[Pat Fina]

Stanley --

My apologies for not replying sooner to thank you for the tab-delimited idea. As it turns out, I didn't need to follow that route after all. The trial versions of 2.1 and 6.0 I downloaded allowed me to convert all 6000 records, despite the former employee's warning that only 50 records could be converted.

Both my databases are now in 6.0 and appear to have come through without a scratch. All I need now is for my director to buy 7.0 before the 6.0 trial month times out.

Again, thank you for the hand holding. Signing off this thread.

Peace,

Pat Fina

[stanley]

Pat:

Glad it all worked out.

-Stanley