Converting Data from Prior Versions of the Program

If you were already using an earlier version version of DONATION (any version from 2.30 to 2.70) and you install a higher version (3.00 or higher) for the first time, a conversion will be required. This is because the database is now stored in a new file, with new database software (Firebird). Previously the program used the Sybase Adaptive Server Anywhere database software, and the database filename was DONATION3.DB. Now the filename it is in DONATION4.DB.

Note: This program can no longer convert from the the very early versions of my DONATION program (version 2.29 or lower). If you still need to do that conversion, contact me and I will send you an older version that can do the conversion.

The main reason that a new database is required for version 3.00 and higher is that a new open source database software, Firebird, is being used. This provides several advantages over the old database, not least of which is the ability for future upgrades of the program to make changes to the database structure without going through a serious conversion process, as is required for the upgrade to 3.00 and as was required by several earlier upgrades.

Several new fields have been added to the database for version 3.00, including eligible amount fields for both the donations and the receipts, a 2nd organization name field (to handle French and English names for Quebec-based charities). There are also some other new fields which are already present in the database, but which cannot yet be edited or used by the program - they will be introduced in future versions of DONATION.

If the program detects on startup that you are running version 3.00 or higher for the first time, and an old database is present, it will tell you so in a message box, and ask whether to do the conversion. If you answer Yes to that message box, it will automatically transfer all of your data from the earlier version of the database to the new version. You can see the progress of the conversion in a window that will be displayed on the screen. (The old database will be unchanged.) You will then be able to run with the new features, with all of your data intact.

If you answer No the conversion message box, it will just start you up with an empty database in the new format, and prompt you to enter your Organization Info and Categories just as it did the first time you ran DONATION. You can transfer your data later using the Database à Switch Databases utility, though you will need some support to do so. If you answer Cancel to the conversion message box, the program will exit.

If you are converting from another program, see the next section instead.

Converting from Earlier Versions when you have Multiple Databases

If you used the Database à Switch Databases option to handle multiple database with version 2.30 or higher of DONATION, then when you switch databases to a different database using version 3.00 or higher, the conversion question will again come up, and you will be able to convert your data from the old database file to the new database file. If your old database filename was (say) DONATION3.ABC, the new one will be DONATION4.ABC.