How to convert CardFile 4 database files to Atari Works database files
and back again.

Inorder to convert these files it is necessary to have the program
DB_CONV.  This is the Database File Converter by Dan Wilga and is part
of the CardFile 4 package.  I want to thank Dan for writing such a
useful utility!  You will also need a text editor to add or delete a
header line.  Atari Works will not suffice for this purpose
because it will not maintain the long lines during the conversion
process.  (Dan, would it be possible to make a small modification to
DB_CONV to get the header from a file <grin>).  When choosing a text
editor, make sure it can handle very long line lengths because some of
the lines will exceed 255 characters.

The following files should be included in the archive:

CARDFIL4.DCD      452 08/10/92 21:01 
CARDFILE.TAB      163 09/03/93 19:25 
CF4_WORK.DCL       78 08/28/93 15:00 
CONVERT .TXT      158 09/03/93 19:27 
WORKS   .DCD      438 08/28/93 15:01 
WORK_CF4.DCL       80 08/28/93 15:04 

Here is an explaination for each of the files:

CARDFIL4.DCD:  This file is the Database Converter Description for a
CardFile 4 database.

CARDFILE.TAB:  This file is the header line that is necessary to
include as the first line in the converted file when going from
CardFile 4 to Atari Works.

CF4_WORK.DCL:  This file is the Database Converter Link for going from
CardFile 4 to Atari Works.

CONVERT.TXT:  This file contains the text you are reading <grin>.

WORKS.DCD:  This file is the Database Converter Description for a
Atari Works import file.

WORK_CF4.DCL:  This file is the Database Converter Link for going from
Atari Work to CardFile 4.

Inorder to use the Database Converter Program all of the above files
need to be in the same directory.  It is not necessary for the files
you are converting to be in this directory however.

=====================================================================
           How to convert from CardFile 4 to Atari Works
           
1)  Run DB_CONV.PRG.

2)  Select the button [Load Link].  When the file selector appears,
    select the file CF4_WORK.DCL.

3)  Select the button [Convert].  When the file selector appears, 
    select the CardFile 4 database file you would like to convert.
    NOTE:  It is possible an alert dialog will appear with the
    following message:
        The header is not correct.
        Proceed anyway?
    It is perfectly ok to proceed.  This error will occur unless the
    database file you are converting was sorted by the Last Name
    field.

4)  When the file selector appears again, select a file for the output
    of this part of the conversion.  The file should end with a .TAB
    extension as this is the default extension for Atari Works.

5)  Quit DB_CONV.

6)  Now with a text editor, load the file you just created and insert
    as the first line, the file CARDFILE.TAB.  This is the header that
    Atari Works will be looking for.  It is a standard text file, but
    I didn't want to type it in everytime I convert a file.

7)  Save the file and quit the text editor.  

8)  Run Atari Works.  

9)  Under the File Menu, select the option Import File.  When the
    Import File dialog appears, select the DB Icon.  Then select the
    option:  TAB-delimited ASCII Text.  When the file selector appears
    select the file that you just created.

=====================================================================
           How to convert from Atari Works to CardFile 4

1)  Run Atari Works and load the database file you wish to convert to
    a CardFile 4 database.

2)  From the File Menu, select the option Export File.  When the
    Export File dialog appears, select the option:  TAB-delimited
    ASCII Text.  When the file selector appears, select a file for the
    output of this part of the conversion process.  The file should
    end with a .TAB extension as this is the default extension for
    DB_CONV.

3)  Quit Atari Works.

4)  Now with a text editor, remove the first line of the file.  This
    was a header created by Atari Works and is not necessary for the
    conversion process.

5)  Save the file and quit the text editor.

6)  Run DB_CONV.

7)  Select the button [Load Link].  When the file selector appears,
    select the file WORK_CF4.DCL.

8)  Select the button [Convert].  When the file selector appears, find
    and select the file you just edited.

9)  When the file selector appears again, select a file for the output
    of this part of the conversion process.  The file should end with
    a .DAT extension as this is the default extension for CardFile 4.