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Thread extracting data from Remind5 app, which used DBISAM (1.08)
Wed, May 13 2015 10:53 AMPermanent Link

davecat

I apologize for asking such a weird question here, but searching didn't find anything helpful.  For many years now, we've used a calendar program, Remind5 (Reminder, version 5.0.0.28), written I believe by Mark Slaski.  He stopped answering email quite a few years ago now, & the link to his web site is broken (again, for years now).  The Help -> About says "DBISAM database system from ElevateSoft, version 1.08".

We'd like to extract the data we've got in this.  (We use it in effect as a historical archive as well as a current calendar.)  Ideally, what we'd like is to get a CSV file that could be imported into some similar, but current (& SUPPORTED), program or even into a spreadsheet.  There's no export feature in the program.  Is there any way to do this?

(I'd just do a report to disk & hack the text, but not all the fields print in reports.  None of this is configurable.)

Again, I apologize for putting this here, but I'm out of ideas myself & don't know where a question like this should be submitted.  

Thank you.

-- Dave
Wed, May 13 2015 11:15 AMPermanent Link

Raul

Team Elevate Team Elevate

<< davecat wrote:
Again, I apologize for putting this here, but I'm out of ideas myself & don't know where a question like this should be submitted.  
>>

Dave,

I suggest you email Elevatesoft support directly for faster response : support@elevatesoft.com

This is one of those issues that needs to be individually looked at (even though app author is not responding and app might be abandonware there are legal aspects in play still)

Raul
Wed, May 13 2015 11:19 AMPermanent Link

Matthew Jones

Raul wrote:

> I suggest you email Elevatesoft support directly for faster response
> : support@elevatesoft.com


If it is the raw data you are after, then you might be able to use the
publicly available DbSys tool to view and export the data. You can get
the v2 version from
http://www.elevatesoft.com/download?action=info&category=dbisam&type=dbisamadd&majorversion=2&version=2.12

But if you are on v1.08, it is likely that running this tool will
convert the database and make it inaccessible to the original
application, so be sure you have backups, and work on a copy too.
Support might have the original v1 DbSys available.

That said, if the "signature" is not the default, then you may not be
able to access the data anyway, unless you can find the signature.

Of course accessing the data might not get you the data how you want,
but it is as good as you can get.

--

Matthew Jones
Wed, May 13 2015 11:46 AMPermanent Link

Roy Lambert

NLH Associates

Team Elevate Team Elevate

davecat


Ignoring, for the moment, legal niceties and just thinking about the technical issues. If written using DBISAM then depending on how paranoid / horrible the developer was it may:

1. be totally open and easy to access with DBSys
2. have standard DBISAM encryption (not to difficult to sort out)
3. have a custom engine signature
4. have user written custom encryption

If 4 then give up - anyone this paranoid over a reminder application isn't going to make life easy for you.

If 1. then you can easily access the data (probably after upgrading) in DBSys - available from Elevate's web site. If you try this first do make sure you take a copy to play with. DBSys is nice, straighforward and simple to use.

2 & 3 will require some help and Tim, as Raul says, is your best first stop.

Depending on the version you may find that Mike Skolnik's (www.scalabium.com) DBISAM viewer will work.

The other potential problem is often working out what data is where even when you can see it Smile

If you just want it doing, are happy to pay for it then the best approach is to send a request to Tim and ask him to send you csv files back - no hassle.

Legally who knows. It will depend on the Ts&Cs in the original licence you signed  / accepted. I'm not sure what the legal position would be on accessing your own data in a different format. I do know that the film industry get very excited about converting VCR to DVD Smiley

Roy Lambert
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