Appleworks database crashing--best solutions

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Appleworks database crashing--best solutions

Postby vincev » Tue Apr 05, 2005 10:10 am

My AW database, which I use at work is crashing like crazy. I would like to keep it instead of going to another system. I have multiple comment fields (4 per entry) and about 200 + entries. I use it as a Contact Relations System (as I haven't found one that works for Mac OSX that is as good as ACT!).

1) any hints about what might be making it crash? do the comment fields tend to be the sore points? any ideas?

2) if I get an older version of filemaker pro (pro 6 or pro 5), would that do the trick since it is a more robust database? Will I still be able to translate my AW6 db over to it with a minimum of work? Which version would be best? FM pro5 or 6 be closer to AW 6?

Any help appreciated. Thanks.

PS further, I just got an i/o input error box pop-up. any opinions?
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Appleworks database crashing--best solutions

Postby Jorge Lucas » Thu Apr 07, 2005 8:49 pm

Vincev,

Even though I have been using AppleWorks for more than six years, since I bought my first computer, an Power PC 5500/250, it seems that Apple is abandoning (is spelled this way?) AppleWorks.

I just put here and in the Apple's Discussion forum of AppleWorks a post complaining the AppleWorks could not support long titles in Spreadsheet's charts and the answer that came recommended me to use a older version of the program.

This is ridiculous, but the person that gave that advice knew the problem.

I have been a devoted fan of AppleWorks, because I can do most of my work with it: my students tests, my students grades (255 fields, which is the most you can have in a AppleWorks DB), spreadsheets of a lot of calculus and so on.

But now I have been reading about several crashs like yours and I am becoming worried about the important information I have in this suite.

Coming to your case, it seems to me that you are putting too long comments and they have a limit.

About the possibilities of going to FileMaker, I would only say: wait no more.
FileMaker is a commercial relational DB and you can not compare with the free AppleWorks. FM is a much more powerfull DB.

If I were living in the USA, I could sometime ago get a free copy of FM 6 (I do not know if it had any kind of restrictions).
Take a look on that and go to the last version you can get.

To translate your AppleWorks DB to FM 6 should be very easy, since they have the same origin: create a a FM 6 DB with the same fields, that is, the name and the type of the fields have to be equals. Most of the types are the same and if one is a little bit different, probably you could find a way to addapted it to fit your needs.

If you make the move and have some difficulties, someone will help you in a forum like this.
Maybe even here you could ask for some solution on this move.

Wish you luck on this,

Jorge Lucas ( I am not the guy of "Star Wars"; unhappily I do not even know him)
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Re: Appleworks database crashing--best solutions

Postby Merveil » Thu Apr 28, 2005 4:02 am

I had crashes with AppleWorks databases before. Sometimes my files got corrupted by this and I had to recover a backup. I didn't have the patience to figure out what was wrong, and migrated to another package. FileMaker is of course superior, just look at the price tag ;)
Merveil
 

Re: Appleworks database crashing--best solutions

Postby haumann » Thu Apr 28, 2005 2:30 pm

vincev wrote:My AW database, which I use at work is crashing like crazy. I would like to keep it instead of going to another system. I have multiple comment fields (4 per entry) and about 200 + entries. I use it as a Contact Relations System (as I haven't found one that works for Mac OSX that is as good as ACT!).

1) any hints about what might be making it crash? do the comment fields tend to be the sore points? any ideas?

2) if I get an older version of filemaker pro (pro 6 or pro 5), would that do the trick since it is a more robust database? Will I still be able to translate my AW6 db over to it with a minimum of work? Which version would be best? FM pro5 or 6 be closer to AW 6?

Any help appreciated. Thanks.

PS further, I just got an i/o input error box pop-up. any opinions?


My guess is that you've got one, or more, corrupted fields that cause AW to crash when it attempts to display the corrupt data. "Crashing like crazy" isn't especially helpful -- you can have a DB that is 80% corrupt, but if you never have the occasion to bring that part into view, you'd never know it. Alternatively, if you have only one field in one record in the entire DB that's causing the problem, and that field is among those that AW tries to display when your document is first opened, it will crash every time.

If you can open the document, turn off Page View in the "Window" menu. Then go to the "Layout" menu and deselect Show Multiple. Now you'll be able to step through the records one at a time to determine which record(s) cause a crash.

Another way to get a hint of the problem is, rather than stepping through the records one-by-one, select all records and drag the selection into a blank spreadsheet document. This may not be especially meaningful if you have carriage returns embedded in your remarks fields, but if there is some corruption in the DB, you'll be able to tell at least where it occurs when you see an interruption in the columns of data in the spreadsheet.

John@was
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