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How to Upgrade from an Older Legacy Version



When preparing to use R:BASE 7.6, it is important that you take the proper steps to convert your data. Please follow all instructions below to insure that all of your data will be converted.

When locating and using the database name in the conversion instructions, be sure to remember that the "actual" database name for .RBS and .RBF files does not include the "1", "2", or "3" located before the file extension. For example, a R:BASE 3.1 database with the name SALES will have the file extensions SALES1.RBF, SALES2.RBF, and SALES3.RBF, but the database name is still just "SALES". In the steps below where the "dbname" is required in the command syntax, use only the "actual" database name.

The Manual Tools and a Single Seat of R:BASE 6.5++ for Windows are included in the Full Version of R:BASE 7.6 for Windows, for conversion purposes. The files and installer are located on the root of the R:BASE 7.6 for Windows CD-ROM
in the "Conversion Tools" folder. Convert Express is a separate product and is sold separately.

To use this document you will need to know which version of R:BASE you are upgrading from. To assist you in getting a rough idea of which version you are starting at, we have included the table below which lists the R:BASE file formats. Once you know your version find it listed below and follow the steps listed there.


R:BASE Database File Formats
4000 / 5000 System V to 4.0 4.5 to 5.0 5.1 to 7.6 Turbo V-8
DBNAME1.RBS 
DBNAME2.RBS 
DBNAME3.RBS 		 DBNAME1.RBF 
DBNAME2.RBF 
DBNAME3.RBF 		 DBNAME.RB1 
DBNAME.RB2 
DBNAME.RB3 		 DBNAME.RB1 
DBNAME.RB2 
DBNAME.RB3 
DBNAME.RB4 		 DBNAME.RX1 
DBNAME.RX2 
DBNAME.RX3 
DBNAME.RX4 

PLEASE REMEMBER TO BACK UP YOUR DATABASE!


All Versions 4.0 and Lower
Each version 4.0 and lower will include the steps for conversion using Convert Express and/or the Manual conversion Tools found on the R:BASE installation CD.

Convert Express

  1. Create a working directory. 
  2. Copy the contents of the Convert Express disk to your working directory. 
  3. Copy your database files to the working directory. 
  4. Continue from your version as listed below. 

Manual Tools

  1. Create a working directory. 
  2. Copy the contents of the Convert directory to your working directory from your installation CD. 
  3. Copy your database files to the working directory. 
  4. Continue from your version as listed below. 

R:BASE 4000, 5000 and 6000

Convert Express

At a DOS Prompt or Command Prompt... 
  1. CONVERT dbname 
  2. Repeat for All Databases 
  3. Continue with R:BASE System V, 2.x, and 3.x 

Manual Tools

At a DOS Prompt or Command Prompt... 
  1. CONVERT dbname 
  2. Repeat for All Databases 
  3. Continue with R:BASE System V, 2.x, and 3.x 

R:BASE System V, 2.x, and 3.x

Convert Express

At a DOS Prompt or Command Prompt... 
  1. Type ConvEx.EXE 
  2. Select CONVERT DATABASES 
  3. Select ALL DATABASES FOUND 
  4. Continue with R:BASE 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 6.1, and 6.1a

Manual Tools

At a DOS Prompt or Command Prompt... 
  1. Type DBCONV dbname 
  2. Type NEWDB dbname 
  3. Repeat for All Databases 
  4. Continue with R:BASE 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 6.1, and 6.1a 

R:BASE 3.x or 4.0

Convert Express

At a DOS Prompt or Command Prompt... 
  1. Type ConvEx.EXE 
  2. Select CONVERT DATABASES 
  3. Select ALL DATABASES FOUND 
  4. Continue with R:BASE 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 6.1, and 6.1a 

Manual Tools

At a DOS Prompt or Command Prompt... 
  1. Type DBCONV dbname 
  2. Type NEWDB dbname 
  3. Repeat for All Databases 
  4. Continue with R:BASE 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 6.1, and 6.1a 

R:BASE 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 6.1, and 6.1a

If there is no Owner or Password

At this point, have R:BASE 6.5 installed and open the
R> Prompt window... 
  1. Navigate to your working directory and type in the following commands: 
  2. SET AUTOUPGRADE ON 
  3. SET AUTOCONVERT ON 
  4. CONNECT DBNAME 
  5. DISCONNECT 
  6. Repeat "Step 4" for all databases. 
  7. Continue with 6.5 Housekeeping

If there is an Owner or Password

At this point, have R:BASE 6.5 installed and open the
R> Prompt window... 
  1. Navigate to your working directory and type in the following commands: 
  2. SET AUTOUPGRADE ON 
  3. SET AUTOCONVERT ON 
  4. CONNECT DBNAME IDENTIFIED BY Ownername Password 
  5. DISCONNECT 
  6. Repeat "Step 4" for all databases 
  7. Continue with 6.5 Housekeeping

6.5, 6.5+, and 6.5++ Housekeeping
Again, at the R:BASE 6.5 R> Prompt... 
  1. DISCONNECT 
  2. RENAME OrigName.RB* BckupDB.RB* 
  3. CONNECT BckupDB 
  4. RELOAD OrigName 

The RELOAD command creates a copy of the database that is completely rebuild with the structure, data, and indexes reloaded. It's one of the very basic but very useful housekeeping tools. It is similar to the PACK command (or defragmenting a hard drive).  

It is required that all conversions follow steps 1 and 2 in the below "DOS to Windows Conversion" instructions before upgrading to R:BASE 7.x for Windows in order to convert all your forms, reports, and labels. These steps must be performed in R:BASE 6.5++ for Windows. Refer to the third paragragh at the top of the page.

Dos to Windows Conversion
At this point you are ready to address the issues of converting to Windows (if you are doing so). 
  1. Open the Object Manager, in 6.5++, (the first icon on the toolbar that looks like an octopus) and you will see several tabs across the top. The first is Apps, the next Databases and so on. 
  2. Click on the Database tab and select a Database. Then, the other tabs should become enabled. Go to the Reports, Labels, and Forms tabs and select each report, labels, and form and click Design. Select "Yes" to Upgrade and "Yes" to Autoformat. This will perform the automatic conversion of the DOS version of the object to a Windows version.
    IMPORTANT: The "Autoformat" will be based on your settings in the "Utilities" > "Preferences" dialog for Form, Report and Label defaults, so be sure to set the "Font" values to a larger size to make your conversion easier. Repeat the conversion steps for all reports, labels, and forms.
  3. The results will be workable and SHOULD RUN.... but not nearly what they can be. At this point you will probably find it necessary to go over each report and form and fine tune it. 
  4. When you do so one of the first things you will probably want to do is change -------- for actual graphic lines. For some reason this can bug R:BASE. These also may show up as strings of strange letters such as ä. We recommend that you go in and delete any ----- or |||| then close and save the form or report BEFORE DOING ANYTHING ELSE. THEN go back in and make other changes such as fonts, adding graphics. This seems to avoid the problem. 
  5. Then begins the tedium of changing over the Character Based forms and reports to take advantage of the Graphical nature of Windows.

ODBC Compliance
If you are planning on using ODBC to import and export data from R:BASE make sure at this time that your characters are set right by doing the following. 
  1. Go to an R> Prompt 
  2. Connect to your Database 
  3. Type SHOW CHAR 
  4. Compare to the Chart Below 
  5. If they do not match change them by typing SET TYPE=CHAR (where TYPE is from the Character Column and CHAR from the Set To column) 
Character Set To Description 
MANY % Percent Sign
SINGLE _ Underscore
QUOTES ' Single Quote
IDQUOTES ` Reverse Single Quotes - On American keyboards this is usually located under the tilde "~", which is next to the 1

Y2K Compliance

To check the Y2K compliance of your database do the following. 

  1. Go to an R> Prompt 
  2. Connect to your Database 
  3. Type SHOW DATE 
Most likely the settings will be as follows... (This is the default for upgraded databases). 
DATE FORMAT MM/DD/YY
DATE SEQUENCE MMDDYY
DATE CENTURY 19
DATE YEAR 0
If so, then your database is NOT Y2K compliant. To activate the Y2K compliancy features of your database we recommend the following: 

Set your Format to 4 Y's

SET DATE FORMAT MM/DD/YYYY
When they are set that way then 1/1/1999 will be seen as a valid year and 1/1/99 will also be a valid year. If you are set to 2 Y's then only 1/1/99 will be a valid year. 

Set the Date Year to a Convenient Year

Example:

SET DATE YEAR 80
The Date Century and Date Year determine how 2 digit years such as 1/1/99 are handled. To determine your settings mentally combine the century and the year (in this case 19 and 0 make 1900) and then add 99 (in this case 1999) all two digit years will be interpreted as being between these dates. Setting Date Year to 80 will result in 19 + 80 giving 1980 and then adding 99 making 2079. Thus all two digit dates will be between 1980 and 2079. For example a date entered as 1/1/60 would be seen as 2060. 

Older versions set to four Y's would see 2 digit dates as being complete four digit years. For example, 1/1/99 would be January First in the year 99. This is known as First Century data. For this reason if your database is already set to four Y's on the format we recommend using the following command to check for invalid dates: 

TALLY datecol FROM tablename WHERE datecol < 1/1/1950
This should build a list of all dates (and how often they occur) that are possibly incorrectly entered and that you can then deal with. Be careful not to go overboard. For example: if you have your family tree stored in an R:BASE Database then be careful that you leave Great Grandmother's birthday in the 1800's where it is supposed to be even though the Tally command above would flag that as an "invalid" date.

R:BASE 7.6 for Windows

Now you are ready to move from R:BASE 6.5++ for Windows to R:BASE 7.6 for Windows. Please refer to the R:BASE 7.6 for Windows Getting Started Guide for further information.

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