Importing Your Sightings From an Older Version
Solution: First, make sure you are running the latest version of the software. To get free updates, open the program and click Help. Then click "Check for Updates." You will need to do this two separate times in order to get all of the updates.
Then the solution is fairly straightforward:
1. Open the new program and in the top menu Bar click File. Then click "Import from Previous Version..."
2. Click the Browse button (it looks like a black binocular) and locate the file called database.mdb.
3. Click Import.
Ah, if only life were that simple!
Finding the database.mdb file in step two and moving it to your new computer can be a challenge. You should also be aware that backups you made while using version 3.0 or 3.5 will not be able to be imported into a Vista or Windows 7 computer -- so you will need to find the original database.mdb file.
For version 3.0 or 3.1 this file is in C:/Program Files/Thayer Birding Software/data If it is not there, try C:/Documents and Settings/All Users/Application Data/Thayer Birding Software/eViewer 3.x/Database/database.mdb If Your Old Database is an a Vista or Windows 7 Computer: On Vista and Windows 7 computers there appears to be a database.mdb file in TWO different locations! But Vista did not allow data in the Program File to be altered -- so they created something called "Virtual Store" to keep databases that had been changed (by adding sightings, for example.) If you are trying to import a version 3.x database, then the file you want is in the "Virtual Store" location: C:/Users/YourNameHere/AppData/local/VirtualStore/ProgramFiles/ThayerBirdingSoftware/eViewer 3.x\Database In Windows 7 the database.mdb file for version 4 and for version 5 is in C:/Program Data/Thayer Birding Software/eviewer v x.x)/Database/Database.mdb. You might also try using the Windows Search function to find database.mdb on the hard drive of your old computer. I Found The Correct Database...Now What? Once you find the database.mdb file, you will need to copy it from your old computer and place it on your new computer. We suggest just placing it on the desktop so it is easy to find. The database.mdb file is fairly large, so you may need to burn a CD-ROM or use a memory stick to copy this file. Then install this database.mdb file on the desktop of your new computer. The new birding program installed on your new computer can then be used to import everything you need from the old database. Just click File in the Menu Bar and then click Import from Previous Version.
You may also see a message such as: "An error occurred importing the database: The Microsoft Jet database engine cannot find the input table or query 'MDF'. Make sure it exits and that its name is spelled correctly."
This error message indicates that the MDF table cannot be found. You are probably trying to import a backup file of your sightings that was created by an older version of our software. This file is probably named backup.mdb. Backup files from older versions of the software cannot be import into v3.9.x, v4.0.x, or v5.0.x. The backup files from older versions are mdb files, but are not the same format as the application database. We only support the import of the application database from older versions. The easiest solution would be to restore the backup into the older version and then import the application database. Note to version 4.0 users: Since the new version 4.0 has fewer species in it than version 3.0, 3.5 or 3.9, it is possible that some of your sightings will not be imported into version 4.0. This will only happen if the bird is not physically on the v4.0 disc. About 250 very rare and accidental birds are now found only in the Gold edition (version 5.0). If this is a big concern to you, we suggest upgrading to version 5, rather than to version 4. Since you obviously care a great deal about your sightings, we would like to strongly suggest that you consider using our favorite Listing and Recordkeeping Program called Birder's Diary. This is a FAR more robust program than our listing program and is designed for active listers and recordkeepers - especially those that travel outside the U.S. and Canada.
C:/Program Files/Thayer Birding Software/eViewer 3.5/Database/database.mdb or in
C:/Program Files/Thayer Birding Software/eViewer 3.9/Database/database.mdb or in
C:/Program Files/Thayer Birding Software/eViewer 4.0/Database/database.mdb
Some backup files made using version 3 or version 3.5 will not work because the file structure changed between versions. If you have a backup file with the extension tbsbu and you already got rid of your old computer, all is not lost. You will need to install the old birding program on a friend's XP computer and then use the tbsbu file to restore your sightings, etc. Then copy the database.mdb file from your friend's XP computer and move it to your new computer.
