Report file format RB 6 --> RB 7

rbuser

Hi,

The next message was included in our licence message for RB 7 Server

------------
VERY IMPORTANT: This version will convert your reports to a new format.
If you install and run 7.0, and then later attempt to return to a
previous version, property settings will be lost. Please back up your
reports and make sure that your original ReportBuilder 6.x installation
program is available so that you can recover in the event that you run
into problems.
--------------------------------

All our reports are developed in version 6 and are stored in a database.
Is V7 able to read and show these reports without converting them? This
is purely from an end-user perspective, where he loads and displays a
report. We just want to know if we need to convert all our reports at
the end-user sites after we install the V7 runtime files. I understand
that when a report is modified or created the new format will be used.

regards
Paul Sjoerdsma

digitalmetaphors

Yes, version 7 can read reports saved in version 6 format. They will be
converted when the report is loaded, but the converted report template will
not be saved to the database unless the user chooses to save the report.

You should backup your version 6 database. Then open each of the version 6
reports and save them down in the new format. Otherwise, what your users
will see, after loading a version 6 report in version 7, is a dialog asking
them to save the report in the new format when they close the designer. The
report template will be modified as a result of the conversion process. By
backing up your version 6 reports you will ensure that you can go to the
previous version if you run into any unexpected problems converting.

You do not have to automate this process for your end users, the choice is
up to you. You can loop through the reports in the database
programatically. Load them into a report, and save them back down to the
database. Use the Report.Template.LoadFromDatabase and SaveToDatabase
methods to do this.


Cheers,

Jim Bennett
Digital Metaphors