Filemaker 5.0 to 4.1

[Cadmus301]

Pretty much, you have to upgrade to get it to work. I ran into the same problem with 5.0 to 4.1 when I changed jobs, I tried exporting to tab-delimited text, but then the whole functionality went out the window. If it is a complicated database, then upgrading is your only option to be able to use it without having to re-create everything. At least that is what customer support told me when I called two months ago.

[LiveOak]

All too true...

-bd

[JackSparks]

Does anyone know if this is possble. I have a 5.0 Filemaker file that I made at home that I need to use at the office, but the office only runs 4.1. Am I out of luck?

Please help.

Jack

[john white ifc]

quote:

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Originally posted by JackSparks:

Does anyone know if this is possble. I have a 5.0 Filemaker file that I made at home that I need to use at the office, but the office only runs 4.1. Am I out of luck?

Please help.

Jack

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Okay, so lets assume that you're out of luck on some kind of conversion process, and you're having to consider simply rebuilding your solution. Here are a couple of things that might be useful (in helping you reduce your re-building time and helping avoid things that won't work anyway).

[1] "Save" your field and script definitions as text.

• Get yourself the ability to print to PDF -- either Distiller or the PDFwriter printer driver.
• Print your field field definitions and your scripts to PDF files. This gives you those two key elements of your solution in electronic, searchable and *copy*able form!
• As you rebuild your solution in FM 4.1, you can save an enormous amount of time copy-and-pasting from the PDF documents. Most useful for long calculation formulas.

[2] Take screen shots of your Value List definitions. (Mac only, as far as I know.)

[*]Open your value list definitions, and stretch the dialog box to maximum size. [*]Take a screen shot (to a SimpleText Picture file) by pressing CapsLock, then typing Cmd-Shift-4. With your pointer shaped like a bull's eye, click anywhere on the dialog box. A camera-shutter sound will indicate that a picture of the dialog has been stored in a picture file in the root folder of your startup HD.

[3] Don't try... copying layout objects from v5 to v4. It doesn't work.

All object types -- even simple ones like rectangles -- convert to graphic objects, and cannot be manipulated correctly.

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By the way, the print-to-PDF technique was one of my really invaluable discoveries -- it's been deeply useful. Being able to copy and paste calc formulas is the least of it.

The main utility is being able to perform text searches in order to trace the use of particular elements. For example, you can locate, across all your script, every instance where you've used a particular field or relationship.

If you've inherited a complex database from another developer, or wanting to see where a revision to a field will have an effect, this saves tons of time and anxiety. Huge.