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Upgrading from Bird Brain 5

Birding database for Macintosh computers

What is Bird Brain? | Order here

The current Bird Brain is now available here.

If you have data in Bird Brain 5 to move into the current Bird Brain, please follow these steps.

How to get your data so that you can import it into the current Bird Brain

1. Open the copy of Bird Brain 5.0 that contains your records. You have to do this on a Mac that will run Bird Brain 5. It will be impossible to open Bird Brain 5 in a Mac with the Intel Processor, and you have to open Bird Brain to get your records out.

2. From the File menu, choose Load/Delete/Dump.

Load/Delete/Dump

In the dialog box that opens, near the top will be a button that says "Open Reports Query (RQ)." Click this button. The Reports Query will open. To clear any restrictions, click the Clear button, and then press Tab. If the Clear button is gray, then that means you don't have any restrictions, and you're fine.

Dump Screen

Close the Reports Query window. You'll be back to the Load/Delete/Dump window.

If you would like to preview what records will be exported, click the "Preview Records Set to Delete or Dump (RQ)" button. A window will open showing all of your records that are going to be exported.

3. Click on the "Dump w/ Names (RQ)" button. To the left of this button is a label that says, "For dumping records to a word processor." (Note: "Dump" does not mean delete. It means export.)

You will get a dialog box asking what you want to name your file and where you want to save it on your computer.

4. Enter a name for your file. (It doesn't matter what you call it, as long as you remember what the name is and where you're putting it, so you can find it again. You might choose to call it "My BB5 records.")

5. Click the Dump button. Your records will be exported, and you will see a progress bar.

6. When that is finished, quit Bird Brain. You do not need to Save.

You have created a text file that contains your records. That file is what you will load into the new Bird Brain. Keep it safe. Don't try to open it. If you want to look at it, please make a copy and open the copy.

Cheers!

Michael and Diane Porter
Co-authors, Bird Brain