Installation of efa - electronic Logbook - Version 2

This document describes the installation of efa, as well as the steps to upgrade from version 1.x to version 2.x.

Table of Contents

Help and Support

For help and support with installation problems or any other questions regarding efa, please consult the Support Forum at: http://forum.nmichael.de.

Requirements of Version 2.x

Understanding the Version Numbers

  efa Version 1.x efa Version 2.x
Version Name: ... 1.8.0 1.8.3 2_dev01 2_dev05 2_betax 2.0.0 2.0.x 2.1.0 ...
internal Version Number: ... 1.8.0_xx 1.8.3_xx 1.9.0_xx 1.9.0_xx 1.9.9_xx 2.0.0_xx 2.0.x_xx 2.1.0_xx ...
Update Possibilities within Version 1.x:
Online Update or install over		 within Version 2.x:
Online Update or install over
Upgrade ------->
Migration from Version 1.x to 2.x:
see Section Migration from efa Version 1.x to Version 2.x

"Version 1.x" refers to all efa1 Versions up to Version 1.8.3, as well as the first efa2 pre-released versions with the internal version number 1.9.0.

"Version 2.x" refers to the efa2 Beta Version efa2_beta (internal version number 1.9.9) as well as Version 2.0 and all following versions 2.x.

To find out about your current efa version, please click the efa logo in efa or select option Info from menu Help.

Installation of this Version (Version 2.x)

If you already use a previous version of efa (Version 1.x), install or unpack this version in a separate directory and follow the instructions in section Migration from efa Version 1.x to Version 2.x.

If this is your first efa installation, install or unpack into a new directory and follow the instructions in section Getting started with efa.

If you are updating an efa 2.x installation, please install or unpack this update into the same directory as your previous efa 2.x installation. Caution: This only applies if your previous version is a version 2.x (internal version number 1.9.9, 2.0 or newer)!

Installation with Windows Setup Program

If you have downloaded the Windows Installer for efa, please start the setup program and follow the steps through the installation.

Installation of ZIP Archive

If you have downloaded the ZIP archive, please create a directory for efa (like c:\Program Files\efa2 on Windows or /opt/efa2 on Linux) and unpack the content of the ZIP archive into this directory.

Getting started with efa

Starting efa

efa comes in two different flavors depending on the intended use:

  1. The Boathouse Version comes with a simplified user interface which is intended for the use in a boathouse where all rowers enter their outings directly into efa. All administrative tasks require an admin login with a password.
  2. The Basis Version starts up with an administrative user interface which allows full access to all data and is intended for use by administrators or private users.

If you have used the Windows setup program it has automatically created entries for starting efa in your Windows start menu.

Otherwise you can start efa by running the following batch files or shell scrips:

efaBase.shefa Base Version (Linux/UNIX)
efaBase.batefa Base Version (Windows)
efaBths.shefa Boathouse Version (Linux/UNIX)
efaBths.batefa Boathouse Version (Windows)
efaCLI.shefa Command Line Interface (Linux/UNIX)
efaCLI.batefa Command Line Interface (Windows)

Start Problems

If efa fails to start with a message For security reasons efa won't start, please delete in the home directory on your computer (on Windows usually C:\Document & Settings\username, on Linux/UNIX usually /home/username) the file named .efa_installpath, where installpath is the location of your efa installation.
Example: If on Windows efa is installed at C:\Program Files\efa2, please delete in C:\Document & Settings\username the file .efa_CProgramFilesefa2.
If on Linux efa is installed at /opt/efa2, please delete in /home/username the file named .efa_optefa2.
Caution: If multiple version of efa are installed, many similar of these files exist. Please be careful to delete the right one!

Setting up efa

In efa 2.x all data is organized in Projects. Usually you will just create one project for your club, which will contain all data.

To get started with efa 2.x, please create a new project in Admin Mode. If you want to import data from efa 1.x, please follow the instrunctions in section Migration from efa Version 1.x to Version 2.x.

Else create a new, empty logbook after creating the project. Boats, Persons, and Destinations can either be entered manually, or be imported by the import functions in respective administration dialogs. The order of importing data may have to follow certain dependencies (for example, the status that a person may have must be imported or created before the persons are imported; waters have to be defined before destinations using these waters are imported etc.). Note This import function is not intended to import data of efa Version 1.x!

The main steps to setup and configure efa are described in this document.

Migration from efa Version 1.x to Version 2.x

For an explanation of the version numbers, please see section Understanding the Version Numbers.

Prerequisits for Migration from Version 1.x to Version 2.x

efa Version 2.x can only import data from the 1.x versions 1.8.3 and 1.9.0. If you are using an older version than 1.8.3, please update to version 1.8.3 first.

Preparations in efa Version 1.x before Data Import into Version 2.x

The following steps should be completed in Version 1.x before the data import into the new version:

  1. Open all old data of Version 1.x in efa 1.8.3 (or 1.9.0)
    In order to convert all data, including old logbooks, member lists, boats etc., into the format of Version 1.8.3 (or 1.9.0), they must at least once be touched bz efa. To accomplish this, please create a statistic in efa 1.x with the option all logbooks and no limitation on any dates.
  2. Document Installation Directory of efa 1.x
    Please write down the installation directory of your efa 1.x installation. You will be asked for this when importing data into version 2.x.
  3. Cleanup and Documentation of Logbooks, Member Lists, etc.
    For importing data into version 2.0 it is important that the data is free of errors.
    Please open all logbnooks, one after another, and check whether all logbooks, as well as boat lists, member lists, and destination lists are complete. Please write down for all logbooks:
    You can find this information under Administration - Logbook - Settings for the logbook, or in the Boathouse Version in Admin Mode - Full Logbook Access - Administration - Logbook - Settings for the logbook.
    The links to previous Logbook and next Logbook form a chain of logbooks, for example 2009 <-> 2010 <-> 2011. Please ensure that this chain is correct and complete, for example: If logbook2010 refers to 2009 as previous logbook, then logbook 2009 must also refer to 2010 as next loogbook etc.
    If you have test logbook or incomplete logbooks which you don't want to import, please write down their names separately.
  4. Correct or Create Synonys in efa 1.x
    In order for the import into efa 2.x to work correctly, please verify that in case of combined boats or persons whose names have changed a synonym has been defined.
  5. Timespan of Logbook
    In efa 1.x it sometimes happens that a session is entered with a wrong date, like 12.3.2021 instead of 12.3.2011. Such entries must be corrected prior to the import. You find those easiest if you create a statistic for the logbook without the option all logbooks (no limitation to any dates) and closely pay attention to the date of entries efa finds.
  6. efa in the Boat House
    If you are using efa in the boat house, please finish all open sessions before starting the import.
  7. Create Statistics
    In order to verify whether all data has successfully been imported into version 2.x, you should now create some statistics in efa 1.x, to be able to later compare them with analogous statistics created in efa 2.x.
  8. Data Backup
    efa 2.x does not modify or delete any data of version 1.x. But to be protected against errors and erroneous operation, you should perform a backup of all your efa 1.x data and save it on an external medium like a memory stick.
    If you have been storing all data in the data folder of efa (see above), it is sufficient to copy that folder.

Install efa Version 2.x

Install or unpack efa 2.x into a new, empty directory, as described in section Installation of this Version (Version 2.x)

Preparation in Version 2.x before starting the Import

If you have defined custom types for session or boat types in efa 1.x, then these must be defined in efa 2.x before starting the import. In this case, please open the efa configuration, activate the Expert Mode, and add these types in the corresponding categories unter Types by clicking on the plus symbol. As a name (appears in red on the left side) you must enter the exact same name as in efa 1.x (same spelling).

Importing efa 1.x Data into Version 2.x

After installing efa 2.x, starte the new version as described in Getting started with efa and create a new project. After the last step of project creation, you will be asked whether you want to import data from Version 1.x. Please select this option.
Node: This is the only opportunity to import data from version 1.x. Importing data at a later point in time is not possible!

The first steop of the import dialog will ask you to select the location of your efa 1.x installation, which you have written down before.

efa now searches the selected efa 1.x installation for data and presents you with a selection of data to import. Select all data you want to import (normally all data), and specify names and time ranges for logbooks.
Caution: efa2 only allows sessions to be added to logbooks within the configured time ranges. All imported sessions must be within the specified range for the logbook (see step Preprarations).

During import a logfile will be created, which also contains warnings and errors that might have occurred. If you experience a lot of errors, please delete the project again and try to fix those errors in efa 1.x first, then inport the data again. If only a few errors occur, you may as well fix them in efa 2.x If you need help to figure out what the errors are about and how to fix them, please consult the Support Forum.

After the import, thoroughly validate your data for correctness (for example by comparing statistics from version 2.x with previous statistics from version 1.x), and start your productive use of efa 2.x only when your certain that all data is correct..

Limitations of the Import: