Multiple Navision SQL Databases with different Nav Versions

tgupta

Hi Guys ,

I am trying to restore 3 different databases for three differnet clients on the server .One is native database for 3.70 a which was not a problem at all in restoring .Now left with 2 databases with Sql server .one of them which is on 3.70a and the other is using 3.70 b version .Now what i want is whenever the users i.e developers log in as a client on a partcular database it shud use the Exe for that particluar version Like if am using the database which is on 3.70a it shud open with finsql of 3.70a and if i am using the database which is on 3.70b it shud use the 3.70b finsql exe .I dont know how to do it .Looking thru the documentation but did not find any thing .

Any help will be highly appreciated .

Best Regards ,
Tarun

Joe_Mathis

The way I did it is by installing the different versions one at a time and then moving the client folders to their own directories ie

C:\Program Files\Navision 3.7
C:\Program Files\Navision 3.7a
C:\Program Files\Navision 3.7b
C:\Program Files\Navision 2.6

then making a shortcut to the fin.exe or the finsql.exe for each version. Then in the path of the shorcut target add ID=C:\myzups\Nav37a.zup

Mine looks like this
"C:\Program Files\Navision 3.7a\Client\finsql.exe" ID=C:\My Zups\Nav37a.zup

By default Windows associates a file type with a certain program but I've been very successful doing it this way.

They will have to be careful not to accidentally open the wrong database when using the shortcut because it will try to upgrade the older database to the newer version.

I know that you can specify which server and database in the fin.exe but am not sure if it works with finsql.exe

just add SERVERNAME=Your server,DATABASE=Your Datase,COMPANY=Cronus International LTD., to the target path. you can also put NTAuthentication=Yes in before the servername property and it should ask for login information prior to connecting to the server and then the database. I haven't had much luck with it but I am also using NT authentication

The hardest part of all of this is using c/odbc and c/front with different versions.

Best of Luck,

-J

ps I don't think that I would use stuck as a topic, if you describe the problem it makes it easier for those who come after you. :-k

tgupta

Hi jondoba ,
Thanx for the reply and i will appreciate if u could explain ur answer in a much detailed way pls

Best Regards,
Tarun

tgupta

hi jondoba,
I tried what you said but it does not work with finsql option .Any other workaround for it .

Thanks,
Tarun

kine

Same thing as jondoba wrote but may be in another way written :-)

Using:

Install all version of clients on your PC (or install only newest and older only copy the client folder from cd to your PC to some new folder)
- you will have 3 folders with 3 client versions

Create shortcut for each database you want to use - application will be the fin.exe or finsql.exe (based on the DB server you want to connect) in apropriate folder for the DB version (if it is version for 3.70B you use the fin.exe or finsql.exe from 3.70B).

In each shortcut use parameter ID=xxxx where xxxx is some unique value for the combination DB and version (to not mix zup files between versions and databases).

In each shortcut use other parameters to set to which server, database and company you want to connect. See documentation for more description of the parameters (w1w1ism.pdf or w1w1isql.pdf in doc folder on Install CD)...

It is working without problems... I am using versions 2.01, 2.60, 3.01, 3.10, 3.60, 3.70, 3.70A, 3.70B, 4.00 on my PC... :-)

Joe_Mathis

I did have trouble getting the servername and database commands to work, :oops: but as I am the only one using the shortcuts I don't change databases after I set up the shortcut.

:-k Try it with just the ID=zupfilename.zup

I know that some of the older versions don't allow you to specify the path but I was pretty sure that 3.7 lets you.

:? I don't want to sound condescending but you are adding to the shortcut target path and not a copy of the finsql.exe, right?

OK, i have time now so here is how I do it.

What I did was install 3.7b on my system to
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Business Solutions-Navision

then I copied the client folder from the other versions installation CD's to other directories

C:\Program Files\Navision\3-7\CLIENT
C:\Program Files\Navision\3-7a\CLIENT
C:\Program Files\Navision\2-6\CLIENT

I went into these directories and created shortcuts to the fin.exe and finsql.exe files. I put the shortcuts on the desktop.

I made a new directory on my C: drive
C:\MyZups

Then I brought up the properties of the shortcuts and in the target it had
"C:\Program Files\Navision\3-7\Client\finsql.exe"
I added ID=C:\My Zups\3-7.ZUP

So now the target looks like
"C:\Program Files\Navision\3-7\Client\finsql.exe" ID=C:\My Zups\3-7.ZUP

This did not work for my version 2.6. It wouldn't accept the path. So that target looks like
"C:\Program Files\Navision\2-6\Client\finsql.exe" ID=2-6.ZUP

Anyways...

Then I clicked apply and OK and closed it. Then I used the link and set my database and company for the one I wanted and it's been working ever since.

To restore the database I would do it with the appropriate shortcut.

I used the other commands at a client site but not on my own machine.

Hope that it helps,
[-o<

-Joe[/b]