Transferring ComicBase Data From Macintosh to Windows Computers

What you'll need

• A computer running Mac OS 7.1 or later
  
• A computer running Windows 98 SE or later (or Virtual PC)
  
• Your ComicBase Program disk
  
• A way of transferring data between the two, such as a floppy disk, CD burner, network connection, or mutually accessible email account.
  

Transferring your data

1. Launch ComicBase on your Macintosh
   
   
2. Choose the File menu and select the Export command
   
   
   
   Highlight the fields you want to move over from the left column such as the Comic Title, Issue Number, Quantity in Stock, Condition, and Cost fields. Hit the Move button to shift them into the right column. If you have added information to other fields, such as Notes, you may want to move those over as well. Export only the fields that you have made changes to (the other information will already be in ComicBase).
   
   At the bottom of the Export dialog, check the “Export Only Issues in Stock” and “Include Field Titles”
   
   
3. Click the Export button and save the file as “Comics.txt” to your Desktop.
   
   
4. Transfer the file to your Windows computer. No matter which transfer method (listed below) is used, we suggest that you copy the file to your Windows computer's Desktop to make finding it later easy.
   
   - If you have a floppy or ZIP drive on both computers, format a disk for DOS, then copy the file to it. You can then move that floppy over to your Windows machine.
   
   - If you have a CD burner on your Macintosh, you can burn the file to a CD (but make sure the CD is created in ISO [Windows] or Hybrid format)
   
   - If you have a network connection between the two computers, you may be able to directly copy the file (see your network administrator for details)
   
   - You could also attach the file to an email to yourself, then download the file from your Windows computer.
   
   
5. Insert your ComicBase disc in your Windows computer and install ComicBase
   
   
6. Launch ComicBase on your Windows machine and choose the File menu's Import command. Open the file you copied in step 4.
   
   
   
   
7. Using the Preview of First Record (right) as a guide, move the fields from the Available Fields list to the Import Fields list, matching the exact order of the file you're importing.
   
   
   
   
8. When you have lined the fields up properly, change the “Lines to skip at beginning” setting (bottom) to 1, to skip over the field header in your import file.
   
   
9. Make sure the item separator is set to Tab, the Record Separator is set to Return, and the “Replace only matching or new issues” setting is selected.
   
   
10. Click the Options… button and check “Convert Mac ASCII characters to PC characters”. Click OK.
    
    
    
    
11. Click the Import button to begin importing your data into ComicBase. The process may take several minutes to complete.
    
    Note: If there are any new or unrecognized titles, you'll be prompted to match them to their equivalents in ComicBase (i,e., if you added a title called Ultralord (2nd Series) and ComicBase refers to it as Ultralord (Vol. 2)), or create them anew for this copy of ComicBase. Avoid skipping over unrecognized titles, as this will cause any issues you're transferring under those titles to be ignored.