--- File CONVERT.TXT for SoftSpoken Mailer 2.0 10/21/93 ---

CONVERTING MAILER VERSION 1 FILES TO VERSION 2 FILES
--------------------------------------------------------

The file format for Mailer 2.0 is NOT compatible with prior 
versions.  Version 2 uses a dBase-compatible format for its 
native data file format, as described in the User's Guide.

Mailer 2.0 automatically converts Version 1 files to Version
2 files when you open a Version 1 file.  Conversion is done
by copying the data from the old file (.SM file) to a
new .DBF and .MDF file.  Your original Version 1 file will
not be changed.  If you have a custom template file (.TPL)
associated with your .SM file, it will be converted as well.

***********************************************
* Do NOT install Version 2.0 over an existing *
* SoftSpoken Mailer Version 1 directory.      *
***********************************************

To convert a SoftSpoken Mailer Version 1 file automatically
-----------------------------------------------------------

1.  If you have not already done so, install Mailer Version 2
in a new directory (normally C:\SM2), and run the program by
double clicking on the SoftSpoken Mailer 2.0 icon.  Make sure
you are running Version 2 by choosing About Mailer from the
Help menu.

2.  From the File menu choose Open.  In the dialog box, choose
the File Type as "Old Mailer 1.X (*.sm)", and choose the drive
and directory where the desired Mailer Version 1 file is
located (typically C:\SM).  Choose the desired .SM file and
then choose OK.

3.  Mailer will display a message advising you that it will
convert your file.  Choose OK.

4.  In the dialog box, Mailer will propose a new file name 
(with an extension of .MDF) in the Version 2 directory
(normally C:\SM2).  Choose OK to begin conversion.

Mailer will convert your file as follows:

1.  It will create a dBase file (with the same name and a 
.DBF extension), and copy the data to this new file.  If
your old file uses the default Exact and/or Near duplicate 
match codes, Mailer will compute the new version 2 match
code fields at the same time.  If you have Custom match
codes defined, these will also be converted automatically.

2.  Mailer will create a new .MDF file with the same name,
and initialize this file with the default screen layout
for your new data file.

3.  If your old file has a Form or Template selected, the
form file (.FRM) and template file (.TPL) will be copied
and converted if they do not already exist in the Mailer
Version 2 directory.

4.  If your old file has a code field profile (.COD) or 
Carrier Route Destination Entry file (.DDU), these files
will be copied and converted if they do not already
exist in the target directory.

5.  The index file (.CDX) for the new file will be created.

6.  Your new file will be displayed, ready for use.

You may now close the file or perform any operation desired.
To open this file in future sessions, simply choose the
new file name (.MDF extension).

Under rare circumstances, Mailer may not be able to convert
your file automatically (for example, if the converted
field names would lead to an ambiguous layout).  If Mailer
tells you that you will need to convert the file manually,
you may do so as described below.

To manually convert existing Mailer version 1 files:
----------------------------------------------------

You should use the automatic conversion described above 
wherever possible.

Manually converting an existing Version 1 mailing list to Version
2 can be done by converting the .SM file to a .DBF file, and
by making any minor changes needed to custom templates.  These
steps are described in detail below.

   NOTE: If you have a .SM file which has been exported to 
   the USPS or NCOA, but you have not yet merged the floppy 
   disks from them back into your list, you should perform 
   the Manage / Merge operation using the old version of 
   Mailer BEFORE converting to the new format or using 
   Mailer 2.0 on that file.

1.  Run your existing Mailer Version 1 program and export 
the desired files to dBase format (.DBF).  You may take all
the default options for all dialog boxes.  When specifying
the export file name, you will probably want to specify the
full path where you installed Mailer 2.0.  For example if
your are converting file MYSTUFF.SM, then the export file
name would normally be C:\SM2\MYSTUFF.DBF.

2.  Exit from Mailer 1 and start Mailer 2.0 by double
clicking on the Mailer 2.0 icon.

3.  Use the File / Open command.  In the drop-down list of
file types at the bottom left of the dialog box, choose
dBase files.  Then choose the desired .DBF file and choose
OK.

4.  An Existing Record Layout dialog box will let you designate 
the "kind" of field for each field.  Choose Help for more 
information.  Generally you can just choose OK. You may 
receive a warning message about not being able to detect 
duplicates because no match codes are defined.  This is OK 
for now.  Your file will be scanned to detect any deleted 
records, and the index file will be built.
   
   NOTE: Only one index file will be built for all indexes, 
   and it will be built much faster than in Version 1.

5.  After your file is open, you may wish to change the layout 
to include Exact and/or Near-duplicate checking fields.  
If you are not interested in detecting duplicates, you may
skip this step.  Use the File / Layout command and choose Help 
for more information.

This completes the conversion of the data file.

Note that Mailer 2.0 now maintains three files for each mailing 
list with the following file name extensions:

   .MDF file, which maintains general information, such as how 
       fields should be displayed on field, the current default
       font, and your current form and template.

   .DBF file, which holds all the records of your list.  This 
       is the most important file.  Keep good backups of this 
       file.

   .CDX file, which holds all indexes.  Mailer now uses a single
       FoxPro-compatible index file to hold all indexes.

Other Changes
-------------

To be dBase-compatible, field names in version 2.0 are in ALL CAPS
and cannot contain blanks.  Field names in data files converted
from .SM files will automatically meet these requirements (blanks
will be converted to underscore (_) characters.

If you use the automatic conversion, Mailer also converts the
template files as needed.

If you wish to manually copy template files from Version 1 to
to Version 2 (\SM2 directory), you should modify the field names as
required.  In particular note that the "Address 1" field must be
converted to "ADDRESS_1" (with an underscore instead of a blank),
or the address line will not be printed on your labels.

Some pre-defined field names have been changed to be more
consistent with general usage, and several new predefined
fields have been added.  Some of these changes are shown 
below:

Old           New            Description
---           ---            -----------
TITLE         PREFIX         Mr, Ms, Dr, etc.
(none)        SUFFIX         Jr, II, MD, CPA, etc.
JOB           TITLE          President, VP Marketing, etc.
ABC2          DP2            Delivery point barcode 2-digit add-on
(none)        DPC            D.P. barcode correction digit

If you have been using an Optional ZIP-City lookup database
prior to the 09/93 Revision, and wish to use this old 
ZIP-City lookup with Version 2, you will need to copy 
the ZIPCITY.DAT file from the Version 1 directory
(normally C:\SM) to the version 2 directory (normally C:\SM2).

Please see the manual for additional information about new
features.  In particular please read page 29 through 34
and page 49 through 50 carefully.

Thank you.

Copyright (C) 1993 SoftSpoken Inc.
All rights reserved worldwide
SoftSpoken Mailer is a trademark of SoftSpoken Inc.

                         --- End ---

