Developers

Omnis Technical Note TNCN0001

Conversion of Omnis 7 applications to Omnis Studio

For Omnis Studio
By Omnis Technical Support

This tech note describes the step-by-step approach you should take to converting your Omnis 7 libraries to Omnis Studio.

There have been several instances of clients reporting difficulties in converting their Omnis 7 applications to Studio. Particularly, with reference to 'Old Data Types'.
There should be almost no problems with the conversion process, provided that the Datafiles and Application Libraries have been well maintained and prepared prior to conversion. The best analogy that can be given for the Conversion Process is that it can be likened to that of using an automatic car wash. The car will go through and come out the other end with the following provisos:

It will be clean, but not brand new or with the latest gizmos fitted. The end result will depend upon how much dirt and what kind of dirt was present to begin with. If any damage is present (i.e. rusted panels, crash damage), then it may well be magnified.

The conversion process is not guaranteed to be 100% successful.
There are areas that the conversion process has not been designed to cover and no doubt as time progresses, more issues will be raised.
To ensure that the conversion process works it will be necessary to carry out specific steps:

1. Ensure that you have a backup (or two) of your application and datafiles.
2. Copy the application (*.app) to an Omnis library file (*.lbr). This will save time restoring from backup should you have to revert back to the original application.
3. Open Omnis 7v3.5 (Omnis.exe) from the Convert folder in installed version of Omnis Studio, or a later version if you have one.
4. Open your application library (*.lbr). This will ask for confirmation to convert the Library and the Datafile, respond by selecting the 'Yes' button.
5. It will be necessary to 'Open' and 'Close' each of the Format objects within each of the Folders (Windows, Menus, Reports, etc.) This will prevent the loss of Reports, or Windows being blank. If you are using Omnis 7v3.6 or later, you can use the CopyLib.lbr application (found in the Convert folder for that version of Omnis) to do this automatically by creating a new library.
6. Use the Check Data and the Examine Data utilities to identify any additional or corrupted slots (usually these have a zero for the Field, Record and Block Size). Remove any unwanted slots by deleting them from the Examine data utility. This is one of the main causes of 'Old Data Type error' when converting to Studio.
7. Use the Check Data utility to 'Convert Old Data Types', you can select the files that have a (+) against their names or just select all file names.
8. Use the Check Data utility to 'Update Data Dictionary', you can select the files that have a (@) against their names or just select all filenames.
9. Use the Check Data utility to 'Check Data, select all filenames. This process MUST be repeated twice.
10. If you want, now would be a good time to use the Check Data utility to 'Re-organise & Optimise' the files that have a (*) against their names or select all file names.
11. If you are using Omnis 7v7.x, run the Procedure Checker and correct any of the reported procedural errors. You should also check any warning messages.
12. Copy the application library (*.lbr) to another file (*.lbx) This will save time restoring from backup should you have to revert back to a previous version.
13. If you are using the ' Omnis Conversion Tool', load the library O7Analyser and analyse your application library (*.lbr). This will update your application library and produce any necessary files for the post conversion stages within Studio.
14. Close Omnis 7
15. Open Omnis Studio and then open your application library (*.lbr). This will invoke the Studio Core Converter. You will be prompted to convert the library. Respond by clicking the 'Yes' button.
16. Correct any errors reported in the Conversion Log. You may have to go back to your Omnis 7 version to correct some of the reported errors. You can ignore any reported error lines before the 'xxxxx.lbr Conversion Errors Follow'.
    Repeat steps 13 through 16 until the conversion is clean (or acceptable). On saving the application library its name will be changed from (*.lbr) to (*.lbs) where you will be unable to access it from Omnis 7.
17. Convert your datafile(s) when prompted.
18. If you are using the 'Omnis Conversion Tool', load O$Convert library and convert your application library (*.lbs). Check output log as this will inform you of what changes have been made to your application, along with any error messages. Close O$Convert library.
19. Close your application library (*.lbs)
20. Open your application library (*.lbs).
21. Run Method Checker and correct errors reported by the Method Checker. You can double click on a reported line and the Method Checker will open the Method Editor at the specified place within your application. Use the Omnis Help System under 'Checking Methods' for an explanation of the reported messages.