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Conversion of Alpha4v6 files to Alpha5

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    Conversion of Alpha4v6 files to Alpha5

    Is there an easy way to convert from Alpha4v6.3 to Alpha5? Our company looked into it a few years ago, but it was going to require some major rewriting of existing programs. Our company uses Alpha4v6.3 at numerous sites throughout the US. Time and cost are major concerns. We have begun experiencing printer problems because Alpha4 is DOS based.

    Also, testing at the time found Alpha4 more user friendly and efficient than Alpha5. Alpha4 has been used for over 7 yrs and we continue to be pleased with the product.

    Is there a new release of Alpha4 in the works? Our company will be switching to Windows ME in the future and wants to avoid problems we could encounter. I did get info from the forum yesterday on how to set up file handles in Windows ME to allow continued use of our current version to run.

    #2
    RE: Conversion of Alpha4v6 files to Alpha5

    Your .dbf files will move directly to Alpha Five. That's the good news.

    Reports, forms, scripts, letters, etc. will all have to be recreated in Alpha Five.

    Alpha Five is an entirely different program than Alpha Four. It offers a lot of the same features, but implemented in different ways. It takes a while to find the features you want to use. Many who make the transition are a bit cranky for a while because things are implemented differently, but once you find the features you want to use, you'll probably think Alpha Five is a better program.

    If you're going to transition, you need to give yourself a lot of time. Learn where things are in Alpha Five. Do not do the transition under a deadline if it can be avoided.

    If you believe that your ability to stick with MS-DOS based software are limited, this might be a good time to evaluate the Windows alternatives and begin to assess what you need to do to make the switch.

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      #3
      RE: Conversion of Alpha4v6 files to Alpha5

      I have been fooling around with A5 for about 8 months now and have gotten over the "hump" with this program. Beleive me, it has soooo much more to offer than A4. This winter I plan to redo my old A4 programs. Could take some time but it is worth it.

      I had the same problems as you (printer not supported) and I felt that was just the begining of problems with A4. Computers are moving too fast and it is just a matter of time before A4 will be very hard to use. Go for A5. (This opinion is from a die hard A4 user.) Good luck!!!

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        #4
        RE: Conversion of Alpha4v6 files to Alpha5

        Alpha Software: Are you planning to do anything to make the transition from A4v6 to A5.5 better?

        Our whole business runs on hundreds of scripts and applications in A4V6 -- seven years worth of developing! Please don't make me start from scratch.

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          #5
          RE: Conversion of Alpha4v6 files to Alpha5


          Alpha is busy trying to make significant upgrades to Alpha Five and do it in such a way that it will not "break" applications built in earlier versions of A5. It is not a large company with unlimited resources.

          Alpha Five is a significantly different program than Alpha Four. It simply isn't realistic to expect a conversion from programs that differ this much. Even if some software were written to convert applications from A4 to A5, I'd guess there would have to be a fair amount of "clean up" after the conversion to fix what didn't travel well.

          It would seem time to assess whether you want to stockpile DOS compatible equipment while some is still available and continue on as you have, or evaluate the available Windows products and start gaining the skills you'll need to make the inevitable transition.

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            #6
            RE: Conversion of Alpha4v6 files to Alpha5

            I am fairly well versed in the differences between Alpha 4 and 5. I've written for both and I've gained the skills necessary to work in either.

            I and many, many others (and our clients) have years of time developing applications and scripting in A4. Alpha had, in my opinion, an obligation to its A4 client base to make a reasonable conversion product. They failed to do so from the first opportunity.

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              #7
              RE: Conversion of Alpha4v6 files to Alpha5


              I am sympathetic. Also realistic. It would have been nice to have had better transition tools. More than nice.

              On the other hand, I'm also sympathetic to Alpha Software. It isn't easy surviving in the business they're in, especially for a small company. I'm sure they've had difficult decisions to make about where to put their limited resources. More time spent on smoother transition between A4 and A5 may well have meant A5 would be less capable and less well developed.

              I am sometimes frustrated that features or capabilities I would like haven't made it into Alpha Five. I've looked seriously at File Maker Pro, Lotus Approach, and MS Access. Here I still am, because whatever A5 lacks that I wish it had, it has more of the tools that help me do what I want more easily than the other products. And, if you've looked at what is planned for version 5, you'll see they have been listening to the folks on these forums. But wishing for better automated transition from A4 to A5 is not likely to be productive. Heck, if you've tried automating tasks in word processors or spreadsheets, you know that you faced the same kind of manual transition when macro capabilities grew into full fledged programming languages. Or if you had chosen to develop in virtually any other DOS based database product I'm not sure you'd be in any better situation now.

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                #8
                RE: Conversion of Alpha4v6 files to Alpha5

                Hi Sabrina

                If you are familiar with A4 and A5 then you must realize the environments are totally different.

                I do not see how anyone could translate all the possible key stroke combinations, variables and dialogs created by A4 developers.

                It might have been possible if Alpha tried to make A5 backword compatible with A4. But creating a program to run in a graphics based environment while retaining the keystroke/linear action of a A4 would have thrown away all the advantages of the windows environment, and limited its future developement.

                Alpha would create a conversion programm if it could. Imagine all the A4 users out there who haven't bought A5 because of the conversion problems. Thats alot of lost sales.

                But you should look at the coming version of A5v5 if you haven't already. The program seems to have matured to the point that it has most of the features A4 users were used to. Especially the A4 script recorder. Version 5 seems to have implented a version of this. My biggest hurdle when I started with A5 was the limited Script recording ablities. You couldn't record all of your steps. The new versions scripts genie seems to fill that whole.

                Robert

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                  #9
                  RE: Conversion of Alpha4v6 files to Alpha5

                  I can still rememeber alpha software's promises that they would not abandon a4 dos users when they were first peddling a4v6.

                  how soon they forgot.

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                    #10
                    RE: Conversion of Alpha4v6 files to Alpha5

                    Thank you for adding a reminder of that interesting promise, Sheldon. I have a very clear recollection of the very same thing.

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