Other Software Can't Read Visual dBASE 7 Tables

Q: Other software (Excel, Word, dBASE for DOS ...) cannot read my Visual dBASE 7 Tables, what do I do?

A: Open the BDE Administrator, and go to the "Configuration" tab.

• Click on the '+' and open up the options here.
• Click on the '+' by "Drivers".
• Click on the '+' by "Native".
• Click on "dBASE".
• Click on "Level" on the right side of the screen, and change it to 4 or 5 (depending on your needs).
• Click on the "Object" menu, and select "Apply".
• Exit the BDE Administrator ...

NOTE: The "Level" setting only affects the creation of new tables ...

Open Visual dBASE (if it was open, shut it down, and re-open it), re-create the tables needed (create new tables with the same table structure), and copy the data from the old tables to the new ones.

If you are not sure of the table structure, in the Command Window, type:

USE tablename
LIST STRUCTURE TO PRINT
EJECT
USE

(The 'EJECT' command forces the Windows printer driver to release your output ..., the "USE" command at the end closes the table)

If you are not sure of the indexes (you will have to recreate them), you can get a listing by using:

USE tablename
LIST STATUS TO PRINT
EJECT

A simple method of copying the data (you may want to backup your data first):

USE newtable
APPEND FROM oldtable
DROP TABLE oldtable
RENAME TABLE newtable TO oldtable

Replace the words "newtable" and "oldtable" with your table names.