In the ancient Vedic texts, Krishna told Arjuna "be without attachments."*
That may be good advice for gaining enlightenment. But it is not advised for
upgrading ACT! databases.
Goal: You want to convert everything possible for your
customers upgrading from ACT! 6.0 to the latest versions. They want to
continue right on where they left off with 6.0, while using the latest MSSQL
based versions. This includes the attachment links. The customer should be
able to click on the link and bring up the file, such as Word, Excel, or PDF
document, just as they did before.
Problem: When upgrading ACT! databases from version 6.0 to
the SQL versions (7, 8, 9, and 10) you might find that the attachment links
are not converted. The user will not be able to click on the attachment link
to bring up the file. An error message says:
"An Invalid Path or File name Was Specified"
"The Attached File Could Not Be Found"
Symptoms:
After a conversion upgrade, perhaps you have seen messages like these in the
Conversion Details log:
"Unable to convert the attachment 'K:\Attachments\STAFF_PIC.JPG : Staff
photo': the file is missing."
"Unable to convert the attachment 'K:\Attachments\20507.PDF : John Hopkins
Report': the file is missing."
"Unable to convert the attachment 'K:\Attachments\FINANCIAL.PPT : Financial
Presentation': the file is missing."
"Unable to convert the attachment 'K:\Attachments\BUDGET.XLS : Budget for this
year': the file is missing."
Reason: This is because ACT! will
"tap" the file to see if it is there. If the file is there, it will convert
the attachment link. Otherwise it will ignore the attachment link, and it is
dropped, and lost. Upon completion of the conversion upgrade, at the final
wizard dialog, you can click on the "Conversion Details" button to see a log
of what was done. This can happens when the upgrade is not done in the same
computer environment where the attachments exist from version 6.0.
Solution: First, analyze the 6.0
database attachment links to see where they are being stored. You can map a
drive, or use the SUBST command, to create the same drive letter(s) contained
in the attachments, if they are not present. From the Command Window you can
type "net use K: ACTShare" where "ACTShare" is the name of a shared folder on
the network. Or you can type "subst K: C:\ACTAttach" which will make a folder
called "ACTAttach" behave as the K: drive. Then put the attachment files in
the appropriate folder(s). Then do the upgrade from ACT 6.0 to the latest
version.
Example: If you find that the
ACT! 6.0 attachments were going to K:\Attachments, and you do not already have
that folder, then map a K: drive, and make a folder called Attachments, if one
does not exist already. Then copy all of the files in to that folder. This
simulates the original environment. This is why the conversion is best done
on the customer's site, where the attachments are available in their specified
folders.
If you want to do the upgrade on your computer,
then you must also put the customer's attachments on the computer doing the
conversion.
You
can get an inventory of them with ACT! AddOn products. You can list, check,
and adjust the attachment folders, all at once, using a product such as
Problem: Sometimes these attachment files can be
quite large, such as a Word document report. Or you may not have access to
the attachment files themselves. You might be doing the upgrade at your
office, not on the customer's network.
Solution: You can create blank files of the same
name in the attachment links. These are files with a name, but zero bytes.
This is the purpose of the option in ACTAttach: "Create blank files for
missing attachments for file existence checking" - which is done by the ACT!
SQL versions (7, 8, 9, 10). ACT! only checks for the existence of a file by
that name, and does not need to check the file size or content. When you are
done with the upgrade, then put the ADF, ALF, and PAD files on the customer's
network, where the true files will be able to be found.
More details can be found at:
ACTConvert.com has converted more customers to
ACT! from its competition (Goldmine, Maximizer, Salesforce, etc.) than anyone
on the planet, since 1992. We have converted all versions, from the original
ACT! for DOS to the latest ACT! for Windows 10.0 We are ready to assist you
in moving your clients to the latest version of ACT! Also, if they want to
migrate back to ACT! version 6.0, we have a procedure that preserves the
activities, history, and notes.
We look forward to being of assistance.
ACTConvert.com
202-829-4444 Washington DC
800-319-3190 USA
ConvertInformation.com
Attachments may be material possessions, fixations, or anything in the changing
relative world of existence which distract a seeker of enlightenment from the higher good and
benefits of life in Cosmic Consciousness. More information about this and the Sanskrit phrase
to be without attachments "Nistray gunyo bhav Arjuna" can be found in the
Bhagavad Gita of Vedic literature.
Jai Guru Dev
For example: Chapter 2, Verse 48
Established in Yoga
O winner of wealth
Perform actions having abandoned attachment
and having become balanced in success and failure,
for such balance of mind is called Yoga.
How
to preserve ACT!
attachment links