File Maker 4 - Filemaker 8 Conversions

[Shaughn]

Hi there

I am extremely new to file maker.

I recently bought 3 programs for my company.

All three were created in file maker 4 and only work on win 95/98/2000

After seeing file maker 8 and working with the trial i have decided to buy this beast of a program.

Id there anyway to convert/ import /export the program i bought into file maker 8 and make it work on the newer version so i can tweak it to do what i want?

Or will i need to rebuild it from the ground up.

I apologize if i posted in the wrong place...i am new i could not find a south African group..

Thanks

[Ender]

Sorry Shaughn, it was probably a bone-head move to buy an FM4 solution at this point in time.

Migration from earlier versions to FM8 can be easy or complex, depending on the complexity of the solution and the coding methods used in the solution. There's a significant number of things to check during the conversion process, and a lot of testing and possible rewriting involved. And that's just to get the same functionality that existed before.

There will be a lot of things that you would want to do differently in FM8 to make things more efficient, easier, or more secure. This all takes time and effort.

For the complete guide to migration, check out the Foundations and Migration Methodologies tech brief on filemaker.com .

BTW: please pay attention to the forum sections before posting. Maybe a moderator can move this to the Upgrading & Migration forum.

[Shaughn]

actually i see its version 3

[Shaughn]

sorry about posting in the right place..its very confusing right now for me around here..give me a few weeks..

[Shaughn]

is there anyone we can do the conversion for me ?

[Lee Smith]

Hi Shaughn,

The first thing I would do, is to Contact the Author of the files, to see if they have upgraded, and if there is an upgrade path.

As far as having some one upgrade, migrate them, you should Read your license agreement and see if there are any restrictions about this. In addtion, the files are probably locked, and would require the Author's code in order to migrate.

That was the bad news.

The good news is, there really isn't any solution out there that can't be created in FileMaker from scratch.

So, if you can't get the Author to help, and you find that you would be violating a copy right to migrate them, you can probably create them yourself, with help from us, or you can hire one of us to do them for you.

HTH

Lee

[Shaughn]

Hey guys thank you so much for all the answers and eagerness to assist.. i can already see this program is going to be worth the money just based on the level of user assistance.

First let me say that prior to the three pieces of software i bought that run on WIN 98 i had never heard of file maker.

I purchased 3 programs from a company and they were all made with file maker.

I approached them about XP upgrades but they said there was no time line or at no point could they tell me when it is expected.

i really needed this software to run my company, but now the win 98 story is killing me.

i desperately need to convert or rebuild it for XP along with allowing be to use it in RANDS (ZAR) my currency instead of $

I am willing to pay someone to do the conversions or rebuilds for me if i have to.

Or someone can teach me step by step..cause i dont know nothing..But i learn fast and have downloaded tonnes of video tutorials to get into file maker ASAP

the programs i bought were

http://www.musicbusinessstore.com/tm.html

and

http://www.musicbusinessstore.com/rcb.html

and

http://www.musicbusinessstore.com/sbf.html

the one i need done the most is

http://www.musicbusinessstore.com/rcb.html

so thanks again and let me know what the best mission forward is

[Lee Smith]

Hi Shaughn,

I followed your links.

.... I approached them about XP upgrades but they said there was no time line or at no point could they tell me when it is expected.

Since the files don't run on OS X, means that they were probably made with v4 or 5. This would mean that they have been around a long time without benefit of upgrade. Prior to version 7, a conversion of these files would have meant that the Developer just needed to convert the original files to a version of FileMaker that would run on the newer OS, and then make them Standalones again.

If they were money makers, you can bet your bottom dollar that they would have done this by now. Converting to version 7 format, would have meant, in all likelihood, a rewrite.

i really needed this software to run my company, but now the win 98 story is killing me.

i desperately need to convert or rebuild it for XP along with allowing be to use it in RANDS (ZAR) my currency instead of $

I am willing to pay someone to do the conversions or rebuilds for me if i have to.

Here is my take on your situation:

Wait for the company to upgrade their product, in the mean time keep a older machine around to run them on.

Search for other (new) products that will do the same thing.

Develop a completely new set of files yourself.

Hire a developer to create a custom solution for you.

Here are my thoughts on this.

If you depend on these products so much, the cheapest way to go is to buy, or keep an older machine to run these files on.

The next cheapest way to go is to find a substitute product that will run on your OS.

Hire a developer to create the files for you. This would be expensive, unless the developer saw a market beyond you, because they would be developing a set of files for you. Personally, I don't see the market as having much to play in the pricing, because of the way the company has responded to your request.

Or someone can teach me step by step..cause i dont know nothing..But i learn fast and have downloaded tonnes of video tutorials to get into file maker ASAP

This option would depend on a lot of things. Although FileMaker is designed to be easy to use, it still has a learning curve. Looking at the example files you have pointed to, these will require abilities that you don't currently have. So, how much time can you devote to learning FileMaker. Are you prepared to spend 12 hours a day for 6 months devoted to the creation of your files? That is just an estimate, YMMV depending on how fast of a learner you prove to be.

One last thing. The Application is called FileMaker. One word, with the M capitalized.

Best of luck in your decision.

Lee

[The Shadow]

Another possibility Lee doesn't mention - you could try contacting the company and seeing if they would sell you a license to the original FileMaker4 sources - they you could hire someone here to convert them to FileMaker8 for you.

I would think that the sum of those two amounts might be cheaper than hiring someone to remake them from scratch, as they appear to be fairly elaborate.

(Another weird idea, Maybe you could get the company to give you the FileMaker 4 source for free/cheap as long as you gave them back the solutions converted to a more recent version??)

[Lee Smith]

Good suggestions Shadow,

Wished I had thought of them.

Lee

[Shaughn]

Thanks for all the help guys..looks like i will have to learn how to work FileMaker..i approached them for the author files..but no reply

anyway i now will begin the process for studying FileMaker and getting to know the basics before i pester all of you again..

thanks so much though for he help so far..

[Shaughn]

been watching videos and studying...will return for a onslaught of help ...lol