Help

FileMaker Pro basics
F
ILEMAKER PRO HELP 39
1. If the files you want to convert are currently open in the previous version of FileMaker Pro,
close the files.
If you attempt to convert files that are currently open, an alert message will appear indicating
that the files are already in use, and they won’t convert.
2. In Windows Explorer or in a Finder window (OS X) create a new, empty folder for the
converted files.
3. Do one of the following to select and open the files you want to convert:
• Files method: In Windows Explorer or in a Finder window (OS X) select the files you
want to convert, then drag them onto the FileMaker
Pro 13 application icon.
• Folder method: If a folder contains all of the files you want to convert, drag the folder
onto the FileMaker
Pro 13 application icon.
Note When multiple files from separate folders are converted, all converted files are created in
the same folder. The original files’ locations are not preserved. To make converting files easier,
convert all the files from a multi-file relational database at the same time. After the conversion,
you can move either set of files into a duplicate of your original file structure.
• Open dialog box method: In FileMaker Pro 13, choose File menu > Open, and select
the files you want to convert in the Open dialog box by holding down Ctrl (Windows) or
Command (OS
X) and clicking each file. (You can also select a range of adjacent files
by clicking the first file and then Shift-clicking the last file in the range.) Then click Open.
The Open Multiple Files dialog box appears.
4. Choose Open all files and convert when necessary.
5. Click Specify, choose the folder you created in step 2 where you want to save the
converted files, and click OK (Windows) or Choose (OS
X).
Important Do not choose a folder that contains any of your original files. If you do, then
converted files may be renamed (by appending a number to the filename) to prevent the
converted files from replacing the original files. This renaming of files could cause data
sources (formerly known as file references) to convert improperly, which affects
relationships and other features that rely on data sources.
6. Click Open in the Open Multiple files dialog box to start the conversion.
During a prolonged conversion, the File Format Conversion dialog box will appear and show the
conversion progress. If a file being converted contains indexed fields, you can save time by
clicking Skip when the index is being re-created, which postpones indexing until later.
FileMaker Pro 13 creates converted files in the folder you specified and opens them, leaving
your original files unchanged. The filename extension
.fmp12 is added to all converted files.
7. Using a text editor such as Notepad (Windows) or TextEdit (OS X), open the Conversion.log
file located in the folder that contains your converted database files.
The Conversion.log file contains a journal of the conversion process that you just completed. Much
of it contains status messages that indicate the different file components that were converted. But it
also may contain error messages that indicate areas where you may need to make manual
corrections to the converted files before testing them further.
Note If you later need to convert the same files again, make sure you convert the files into an
empty folder; move or delete any files from the previous conversion attempt, or create a new folder
for the next conversion. This prevents converted files from being renamed during the next
conversion, which could cause data sources (formerly known as file references) to convert
improperly.