Mac to Windows

[teh_kok_keong]

Helo,

I have a filemaker pro 3.0 running in Mac environment and i'm interested changing the Filemaker pro 3.0 in Mac to Windows 2000. How can I convert my database?:??

Please help!!!

Thank u

[danjacoby]

First of all, you'll probably want to upgrade to version 5; v3 may not be fully compatible with Win2K.

Secondly, make sure all the files have the proper "dot-3" tag, which is .fp3 for v3 and .fp5 for v5.

Thirdly, font sizes are larger on a PC than on a Mac, so leave room for the text to grow.

And a caveat -- Windows is not WYSIWYG. What you see on the screen (even in preview mode) will not be what prints out. If printouts are needed, you'll have to make printouts of everything after porting over, and adjust the layouts based on the printouts. It's a pain, but that's Microsoft.

Finally, why would you want to switch to Windows anyway? Apple ain't leaving (in fact, Apple's stock is actually up since the beginning of the year!). The Mac platform is, quite simply, quite simple when compared with Windows. The print thing is something Windows will probably never fix. Do yourself a favor -- don't switch!

[aeleth]

I think the answer you were looking for is this:

There is no "conversion" necessary. Just make sure the files are named "XXX.fp3"... (.fp3 is the correct extension for both FMP3 and FMP4)

Danjacoby is right about upgrading to FMP5 for stability, however, I would personally try installing FMP3 on W2K anyway - if you don't have any problems then there is no reason to upgrade your database to the newer software, right? Remember, once you convert the database to a higher version, there is no way to "downgrade".

[ April 12, 2001: Message edited by: aeleth ]

[danjacoby]

Gotta disagree with aeleth on one point -- if you're switching platforms, you're going to have to buy new copies of FMP, so why not get the latest version available?

By adding ".fp3" to all your files before transferring them over, you'll be able to convert them to version 5 just by opening them from within FMP.

The main question still stands, however: Why switch to Windows?

[aeleth]

hmm... as far an I'm aware, "Mac vs. Windows" never _was_ a question ... at least not of the original poster.