Original message from: LouPero@aol.com >In a message dated 8/25/2001 9:05:24 AM Pacific Daylight Time, >agrisolia@texoma.net writes: >The reason why is that a person only upgrades once a year and forgets just >what the program does from one time to the next. That's why we have this >list, so now everyone on the list has been reminded that the files don't get >moved into the new directory. And also, don't forget to make some good >backups. It works fine if you pay attention. Oh well, daddy always said, "There's more than one way to skin a cat". I'd rather just follow the directions. That way files don't have to move from one directory to another, they simply stay where they are and the rest of the program overwrites itself around them. As for what's new in FO this year, there's a list at: http://www.formalsoft.com/features.htm Of course how you choose to do it is none of my business, but your original question made me think I might have missed something and that FO upgrades were somehow different from other software upgrades. Tony Grisolia

Generally, I like to do a clean install, so put a new version of FO in it's own directory, i.e. C:\fowin8, C:\fowin9, C:\fowin10. I put the data in a subdirectory such as C:\fowin10\data. With each version of the program and its data is together, I sometimes leave an older version on the computer to help answer questions that come to the list. When adding data to the new version, I usually leave the data in the old directory and just make a gedcom from the previous version and add it to the version I just installed. Make sure to disable programs like Zone Alarm and your antivirus program before installing any program, as they can cause programs to install incorrectly. It is ALWAYS wise to save a gedcom and a couple separate backups of each database off the computer BEFORE installing a new version of any program. Even then keep some of your old backups over time for possible corruption that you could discover months later. Margaret Scheffler