Upgrading from V17 single user to V18 multi user [ Edited ]

[maris]

Hello,

I am in the process of upgrading from V17 single user license to V18 multi user license. I have tried to collect as much documentation as necessary but do not seem to find any documentation on how to get my current database on my local PC safely restored on the server on which V18 will be installed. The local PC is on Windows 7 and the server on windows server 2012.

I assume I can just initiate a new database on the server and then restore this database with a backup of my local database but I am not sure.

[Gary W · Accepted solution]

That's correct.

Emails attached to Act will be copied into the Attachments folder. Any existing emails in this folder will be kept and remain accessible when backing up and moving.

Note: This only affects emails that have actually been attached in Act, which happens when you select E-mail subject, message and all attachments in the E-mail setup wizard:

If you have either of the other two options above this selected, then the email content text will be saved directly in the history record, and no files will be attached.

[Gary W]

Hi maris,

Our Knowledgebase is a great place to find documentation on things like this. Here's our Knowledgebase article on how to move a database from one machine to another: http://kb.act.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/19818

You can move the database to the server even if it's running a newer version of Act. It will prompt you to upgrade the database once you open it on the newer version.

Let us know if you need any other advice.

[GLComputing]

Just to add to what Gary said, you don't need to "initiate a new database on the server" ... You just restore the Backup from the old one with "Restore As"

[maris]

My problem is that the database I backup is a local one (I had a single user license up to now).  The database restore on the server is now OK but the paths to the documents is not. I want all my document to reside on a directory on the server but all my shortcut links point (obviously) to a local path on my machine. When another user wants to open an existing document via the database on the server the document can not be opened because the path does not exist..

Added on 7 September.

To be more precise, in my current database I use shortcuts instead of direct links to my files. These link files are now located on:

c:\Users\[users name]\Documents\ACT\ACT Data\Databases\adres1-database files\Attachments\

The actual documents made with Act templates are also stored locally (although I make a backup to the server every night)  on:

For example:

\\[local pc naame]\adres1-database files Attachments\2016\0440.docx

When I install V18 on the server and I restore my local database backup on the server (from my V17 single user version)  these links no longer work, at least not when other users try to open an attached document via the central database. This is very frustrating but perhaps I should install V18 on my pc first?

I would love to see a concise step by step scenario for upgrading Act from a single user local configuration to a multi user server configuration.

[Gary W]

Hi maris,

In Act, when you add a file or folder as a shortcut, a windows shortcut link is added to the Attachments folder in the database files folder. This shortcut contains the path to the actual file. Act cannot change this path when you backup and move your database.

When you add a file directly, a copy of the file is made and saved in the Attachments folder. Act will then use this file when you open the file from the inside the software. This way the file doesn't get moved away from where it's supposed to be during a database backup and move.

We recommend that you add files into Act directly, and only use shortcuts for specific reasons, i.e. you have limited storage space available, or specifically need to link to file which is frequently changed to avoid having to reattach the file.

To workaround this issue with your existing shortcuts, you could try and use a third-party utility to re-target the shortcut links to the updated location. For example: http://jacquelin.potier.free.fr/ShortcutsSearchAndReplace

[maris]

Thank you Gary, we are going to try this.

Just a quick question about outloook:. I assume that Act will store messages from both users in the designated attachment directory on the server after I have upgraded but will also restore my local outlook messages in this directory because I am not using any shortcuts here and the other users are able to read the messages from the restored database.

[Gary W · Accepted solution]

That's correct.

Emails attached to Act will be copied into the Attachments folder. Any existing emails in this folder will be kept and remain accessible when backing up and moving.

Note: This only affects emails that have actually been attached in Act, which happens when you select E-mail subject, message and all attachments in the E-mail setup wizard:

If you have either of the other two options above this selected, then the email content text will be saved directly in the history record, and no files will be attached.