FM5 to FM8

[NRT.Rob]

Quite a jump coming....

I have 23 fully related databases I need to upgrade in the next couple of months (I'm waiting for the FMP8 bible to come out).

I just downloaded the FMP8 migration download from filemaker.com.. "Converting FileMaker Databases from Previous Versions".

It seems to reference filemaker 7 a lot when I was expecting FMP 8... this is just recycled text that wasn't cleaned up later for FMP 8, right?

it makes me nervous though that not all the issues will be accurate. ... and this is business critical info... so I want to be extra careful.

Is it correct for FMP8?

If there is a better source for conversion info as well.. please let me know!

Thanks all. I am definitely drooling over 3 versions of features I haven't had yet!!!!

[NRT.Rob]

subscribing to thread...

[Ender]

Hi Rob,

The conversion issues are the same going to FM8 as going to FM7. FM8 has some nice additional tools and abilities, but preping for the conversion will be the same. One new thing that can be very helpful, is FM8 Advanced's ability to import table structures from other files if you need to combine files. This required third party tools in FM7.

Many developers have found it easier to rewrite their solutions entirely, to take advantage of FM7/8's relational abilities and new features.

[NRT.Rob]

Thanks Ender, I appreciate it. There is no possible way I wish to rewrite all my DBs though heh... well, it would be kind of cool, but I don't have that kind of time. The fields and scripts involved are voluminous.

I really appreciate the piece of mind though, and advanced will definitely be the version I get.

[NRT.Rob]

Well, Now I'm getting nervous again. I'm seeing people talking about rewriting their solutions left and right after this kind of a jump.

Is this *necessary*?? I understand wanting to do it... I'd love to... but really, I'd have to take at least a month off of work to do this. Will my DB's *work* without huge amounts of rewrites?

I don't write DBs for a living.. I write them so I can make a living doing other stuff!

I guess I'm being paranoid but my last string of OS upgrades were a nightmare and I guess I'm gunshy.

[Ender]

This migration to FM8 is something to be careful about. You say you've been reading the migration tech briefs, and that's good. They will alert you to the migration issues. How well a straight conversion will work depends on what tricks and functions you employed in developing it. It is likely that considerable time will need to be spent on converting a well integrated solution. The amount of time depends on the skill of the developer and the complexity of the solution.

If you don't think you have the time, then you might consider hiring a developer to migrate or rewrite your solution.

[Fenton]

You should be a little nervous. A conversion will likely almost work fine. But almost isn't really what you need to run a business. There are changes. Such as that Sort no longer returns to the 1st record. So scripts assuming that it does are going to only process from the record they are on. Scripts which create a related record for a portal, then return to the parent record may find that the related record is locked, because it was not committed in the other table (file). Calculations which used the syntax: field = "" may not work; use IsEmpty() instead. Calculations referring to a field that is empty, combined with other fields, may be empty, unless "do not evaluate if empty" is unchecked. Calculations may evaluate slightly different, depending on your parenthesis (or lack thereof). You may see more windows either not coming to the front when you expect, or flashing when you don't expect. If you have a lot of security, especially using Groups to identify people, you'll find that they've been converted to using Privilege Sets, which is not the same thing. The Today function has been retired, and will be replaced by a (FileMaker created) script at startup. And a few other little things that I can't think of.

So, they'll work. How well depends partly on how well they were written. FileMaker makes a great effort at conversion time to fix what it can. But I'd definitely want to run them as "beta" for a while. At the very least read some (or all) of the migration documents which came out when 7 did. There are several.

fm7_converting.pdf

migration_foundations.pdf

[NRT.Rob]

Once again, I appreciate the feedback. I'll look for those extra docs you mentioned, thank you.

I guess I need to take a deep breath and just start slogging through the migration docs. I don't relish going through my hundred plus pages of scripts but hey.. what can you do ;)

[Lee Smith]

Hi Rob,

Ender is correct when he points out that a lot depends on the complexity of your files.

A total rewrite of the files is usually the best approach for many reasons. For one thing, it allows you to take advantage of the new tools. It will also help you avoid having to deal with the things that will break during the conversion. The more files, relationships, layouts, and creative workarounds you have, the more things that can go wrong.

If you are converting just a file, or a two, then you may not have much of a problem. I would start by making a clone with NO Records of the file(s) involved, convert them, and then review what happens. A lot of the errors are incurred in the scripts, calculations, and relationships. Fortunately, FM will note missing fields, layouts, tables, etc. to help in this process. New to v8, is that FM will note a broken calculation with /* before and */ after any that are broken. After looking for any missing fields, missing layout, and TO's, etc. try entering a few test files and and run your reports and review them closely for any errors.

Good Luck,

Lee