What to do, what to do...

[tedp58]

Hi folks,

I'd like to start this question with a little bit of background...

I've owned fmp since version 2 or 3, but today, I am sort of a beginner. In the late '90s, I had someone create my order form, and in the 10 years or so I've made a lot of changes and additions. Many new forms, new ways to look up and display information. The majority of what I've done with it was in version 5.5. Since then, I've purchased versions 7 and 8advanced. However, with the major changes from 6.5 to 7, I never upgraded my solution.

I am at a point where having the features of the newer format will be a major advantage, especially now that I'm using Vista. I'm assuming my 5.5 isn't likely to run on Vista. Anyway, it's $300 to upgrade to 9advanced, and I'd rather not do that at this moment. I was wondering if anyone had any opinions on this plan:

I'm thinking of rebuilding or converting my solution to version 8, since I already own it, and have gotten no use out of it. I don't know if it'll run on Vista, but if it does, it'll make my life easy, allowing me to put it on the new computer (I keep an old XP machine running for my order system on fmp), AND, I have the opportunity to create and sell some copies of my system as self-running somethingorothers. I forget the proper term that allows me to create a solution, sell or give away copies without giving them a full version of fmp.

Is it easy to upgrade to version 9 if I do this? Is this a good plan? This opportunity is happening a little more quickly than I thought, which is during my slow season, so spending the $300 is something I'd rather not do right now, especially after spoiling the grandkids at Christmas.

Lee from Woodland, you may remember our discussion from a couple of years ago. I'm not that far from you in Citrus Heights.

Any help would be appreciated.

Ted

[David Jondreau]

1) Migrating from 5.5 to 8.0 is definitely worth it. The improvements from pre-7 to 7+ are great (and to 8.0 even greater). From 8.0 to 9.0 is good too, but not nearly as significant. The payoff is worth it.

2) Upgrading from 8A to 9A will only run you about $179.

[tedp58]

I'll do some shopping around, but last time I looked, 8 Advanced to 9 advanced was $290 upgrade. If you have a great source would you share it?

If I rebuild the solution in 8, is it an easy migration to 9 if I do so later?

[comment]

If I rebuild the solution in 8, is it an easy migration to 9 if I do so later?

Yes. The only real transition worth talking about is from pre-7 to 7 and above. That was a dramatic change, and although a conversion of sorts is provided you might do better by rewriting your solution from the ground up to take advantage of the new paradigm.

Versions 8, 8.5 and 9 added more features, but these would rarely affect your solution's core architecture (tables, fields, relationships, scripts). The file format is the same as version 7, so you can open a v.7 solution in version 9 and it will behave the same as it does in 7 (with a few minor exceptions).

[tedp58]

Ahhh, there's the word I've been searching for...paradigm.

I have 4 related files. I've tried converting in the past (years ago), and basically had 4 files that were in the new format (with some broken ties).

The way I understand the "new paradigm" is that those 4 files would all be tables within the new single file. Please correct me if I'm wrong on that.

The other question would then be, is there an easy way to drop the other 3 into the table of the first one? I guess I'm mostly talking about the "relationships" window.

Am I making sense?

[comment]

The way I understand the "new paradigm" is that those 4 files would all be tables within the new single file.

In most cases they would be. But it can work with separate files as well. An easy way to combine files is to import the external table into a new table in the main file. Using Advanced, you can also copy/paste tables (without the data) - not sure about v.8, though.

However, there's much more to the conversion than just combining files. The way relationships work is entirely different - v.7 relationships are bi-directional, you can 'see' data from several relationships away, and more. It's an entirely different model, and you need to THINK differently in order to use it efficiently. And there are other conceptual changes, such as multiple windows and record-committing. The security model is different, and so on. You'd do well to read some white papers concerning migration issues - available from FMI's site.

[tedp58]

Will do (read up).

Thanks much.

Ted

[David Jondreau]

I'll do some shopping around, but last time I looked, 8 Advanced to 9 advanced was $290 upgrade. If you have a great source would you share it?

If I rebuild the solution in 8, is it an easy migration to 9 if I do so later?

You're right, I was thinking of the upgrade from 8 to 9 non-Advanced.