Good day

Is there software available that can convert Dataease Dos to the latest version of dataease for windows

Regards

Martin Heap

Hi Martin Heap,

Unfortunately, there are no automated software available for conversion from DataEase DOS to Windows.
But, we provide this as a service. If you are interested, please contact us.
You can find out more about us here www.naitcs.com

Regards
Arul

Hi Martin

If it is not essential that you move to the latest version of DataEase then you could consider LegEasy4DOS - This would enable you to run what you currently have (Depending on version) on the later versions of Windows.

Hi Martin.

You are asking a very valid question and one that DataEase has re-visited many times.

When DataEase for Windows was first released back in 1990s you could migrate from DFD to DFW.

But the result was so poor that it was useless.

One can only ask why this was not a priority and a when it worked so poorly, why it wasn't re-visited or at least improved.

The answer to the poor reception of this feature was to remove it altogether in later versions...

The response from a majority of the DataEase community was not to move to DataEase for Windows and stay put in DFD.

We are a new team that took over DataEase development gradually from 2007 on-wards with a complete assumption of responsibility in 2012. We all have background from DFD so it was natural for us to look into what we could do for this part of our user base.

We strongly disagree with the migration policy. In our mind DataEase for DOS should have either been included in the new product - AS IS - or the line should have continued as a separate product where character based DataEase had been developed and sold as long as customers wanted it.

We even looked into making a DFD 6.x in 2008 but after converting the code to modern compilers realised that it was simply too late as the technical challenges was too big.

We have re-visited it on a regular basis and looked at everything from moving it to the web, including character based format in DFW etc.

But the problem was always that the application would need serious re-working and would never work "out of the box" or in any similar fashion to how it works in DFD i.e. it would be another migration misery.

We left the issue un-resolved as DFD customers was quite happy with being in DFD and soldering on.

We helped them with solutions to print in "modern" windows and research how they could run DFD in DosBox on x64 etc but nothing more than that.

Developers/and personal users was happy with this and we didn't give it any more thought until big corporate customers was moving to x64 windows.

Suddenly we were inundated with customers that wondered why their application would run on their new computers.

DFD would obviously only run in x86 (32 bit) so the answer was to keep their XP computers for this purpose i.e each user got two computers, or they ran DFD in a virutal XP session in Windows 7 (very demanding and slow).

Non of this was a satisfactory solution so customers quickly started to look into moving away from DFD.

Migrate to DE8....Same problem as before.
Buying off the shelf --- They had stayed with DFD because it was tailor made so NO.

They had been doing this ritual every 2-5 years for the last 20 years and always ended up with staying in DFD...so what now?

DFD no longer would work so the time was up!

We where working with a lot of other solutions when we realised that the only way we could sort this was to keep DFD running in x64 while at the same time integrating the DFD database in the family again.

We had the first version of LegEasy4DOS out within 6 months and the first beta version of LegEasyConnect (API to read/write DFD from anywhere via HTTP/JSON) 6 months later.

LegEasy4DOS has been a resounding success so DFD is again a part of the DataEase familly and will stay so as long as there are users out there that want to use it.

Legeasey DOS II will be out later this year and Legeasy Web Connect will be commercially available (already available via our Earlybird Program) in the new year.

In Legeasy Web Connect you will be able to connect seamlessly to your DFD app while keeping it unchanged and running in LDII.

You will be able to integrate DFD,DE9,WEB etc in any way you want.
Another significant problem with a DFD/DFW solution is that it is a file based database so it is difficult to run it multi location so as part of our new range we also offer dataease.cloud where you will be able to upload you DFD (DFW) application to our cloud and run it via your browser from anything/anywhere/anytime.

You will also be able to connect your app to a web portal directly and ex. build a web shop on top of your DFD application.

I know everyone with the DFD experience started disliking DataEase for Windows.

But, it is all about what you like to do in the future. Stay in a 3 bedroom house or move into 10 bedroom house :-)

I have many customers moved from DataEase for DOS (DFD) into DataEase for Windows (DFW).

Lot of things they do in Windows cannot be done in DFD, without pulling the hair out or every some of them are impossible.

Some examples are;

1. Printing a report into PDF, attaching the PDF to an email, and editing the subject, body...etc. and click SEND. All this can be done in DataEase for Window (DFW) with EASE.....

2. Create barcode, scan barcode into the database, print barcode all done in DFW with EASE....

3. Schedule in Windows to print a report in PDF and email it to employees in DFW with EASE......

4. Printing reports, documents....etc with a colourful logos in DFW with EASE.....

5. Attach photos into your DataEase forms with the record, like employees pictures....in DFW with EASE...

6. Convert a standard PDF form into an image, then put that as a background on a form to be filled in with fields created in DFW with EASE...

AND MANY MORE......etc...

FEW MORE INTERESTING FEATURES I FORGOT TO MENTION;

You can have multiple FORMS open at the same time in DFW. But, it cannot be done in DFD.

You can create MEMO field. Which can hold TEXT more than 4000 characters.......It cannot be done in DFD....

Around in 2013 I created this video. Please have a look what DFW can do;

https://youtu.be/WBblKVl3UUA

But, we moved beyond all of this and more new features....cool stuffs....