Live and phone support is no longer available for Crate Pro 5. This includes paid support. Please use the ticket system and forums.
Crate Pro 5 was certified on operating systems up to WIndows 7. To ensure you do not run into corrupted files due to Microsoft updates. we suggest removing your legacy computer from your network and turning off all updates on all programs on this computer. Most corruption is unrecoverable on this end-of-life version.
Your Crate Pro database files cannot get a virus like other software can. There are some things that you absolutely should be aware of when running a database such as Crate Pro:
DO NOT let your antivirus software scan the database.
DO NOT let any backup or mirroring software touch your live database. Especially any software that uses incremental processes.
DO NOT let any hard drive defragmentation processes software touch your live database.
DO NOT run the database from a cloud drive or folder such as Dropbox.
DO NOT create a 'share' from another location. Never open Crate Pro by creating a share.
DO NOT open Crate Pro 5 except by using the instructed method. Peer-to-peer and Client-Server installation require FileMaker Pro 6 and must only be opened via the instructions.
DO NOT reboot or allow your computer to hibernate while Crate Pro is open.
DO NOT perform updates to any program or your operating system while Crate Pro is open. Application and system updates use resources that might be needed to run calculations in Crate Pro. There isn't a method in Windows to give priority to a specific application but generally you can assume system processes will take precedence over application processes. Damage can occur if a calculation is stopped midway in Crate Pro due to a stopped process, even if its stopped for micro seconds.
DO confirm operating system updates still meet Crate Pro's technical requirement. Operating systems newer than Windows 7 are not certified.
Ensure that ALL 3rd party software and security updates exclude the folder that your Crate Pro files are installed in.
DO create manual backups by closing Crate Pro 5 and making a copy of the file. Save these files on a separate drive.
IMPORTANT !!!
If possible, install Crate Pro 5 on a it's own hard drive* or in a separate partition. If that's not practical, create a folder directly on your hard drive such as C:\CratePro and place the program there. Don't place them in your My Documents folder. A separate drive or partition makes it easier to not accidentally activate new antivirus software which can interfere with the database's ability to accurately write data. These types of software have an option to exclude a specific file, folder, or file extension, (the extension of the Crate Pro database files is .fp6 or .cp5).
Within your virus protection software, scanning software, update programs, defragmentations programs EXCLUDE all FileMaker files (.CP5 and .FP7 extensions)
*You must open Crate Pro 5 via a local drive using local resources. Do not install Crate Pro 5 on a removable drive.
We also recommend that you exclude your Crate Pro program folder from defragmentation. An easy way to do this is to install Crate Pro 5 on its own drive or partition and exclude that drive/partition.
Do not leave your cursor in an active field if you walk away from your computer. Clicking into most fields opens a calculation script which could be compromised should your computer shut down or go into hibernation while the script is open.
Crate Pro 5 with the .cp5 extension is a stand-alone version and should ONLY be accessed from the computer its installed on. Creating a share or network shortcut will damage your program over time.
Crate Pro 5 with the .fp6 extension is made for a peer-to-peer configuration on a local network. Your Crate Pro 5 program will be installed with FileMaker Pro 6 on your host computer and each client computer will have FileMaker Pro 6 only. You may install FileMaker Pro 6 on as many computers that you have licenses for.
Accessing Crate Pro 5 on the host computer you will use File>Open. To access Crate Pro 5 from a client computer you will open FileMaker Pro and select File-> Open Remote command. Creating a shortcut or share from a client will damage your Crate Pro 5 program over time.
Crate Pro 5 runs thousands of calculations to give you accurate results, running a large number of other applications on the same computer may limit the resources made available to Crate Pro 5 when the calculations need to run. While the limit is in microseconds, this can create errors if your operating system stops Crate Pro 5 when its running through its process. It's suggested to limit the number of resource using application or run Crate Pro on its own computer if possible.
BACK-UPS -- READ THIS!
Crate Pro is a business tool. How often you back up Crate Pro should be decided by your company policy and by how much data you can afford to lose should you need to reinstall. Due to updates in the Windows operating system, Crate Pro 5 backups can only be re-installed on the original computer it was activated for.
Crate Pro 5 does not write to your registry so easiest and safest back-up is to ensure Crate Pro is closed and manually copy/paste the entire program folder to a USB or external drive. Rename the folder with the current date and maintain several backups based on your company policy. You can use your backup software to make backups of the backups but do not use 3rd party backup software to directly backup your live database.
Legacy: If you’re using Filemaker Server 5.5 you may follow the Filemaker server recommended instructions for automating backups. Only FileMaker Server should be set to directly backup your live database.
A backup of your software should be performed as explained here. Using any backup software other than FileMaker Server 5.5 to backup your files may cause corruption in those files. In case you need to reinstall due to corruption, your best chance of saving data is by having multiple backups. If you do not have backups and your file becomes corrupted, your only option is to reinstall a new installation. (A new Crate Pro 5 file download and/or a Crate Pro 5 activation require a fee if you purchased prior to January 1, 2013 or have already had 5 activation requests)
IMPORTANT: Crate Pro 5 will only run on the computer it was activated for. In additional to backups we recommend that you export your data occasionally and save the information. Crate Pro 5 now runs on legacy operating systems and you may lose all access to your data if you run Crate Pro 5 on unapproved operating systems. An export will help you retain as much information as possible. Modules with data offer an Export option
REINSTALLATION:
Reinstallation documents are available on the Crate Pro website. If you’ve maintained your database following the Best Practice Guide recommendations you should be able to reinstall Crate Pro on the same computer and replace your data by using your last good backup. If you don't have back-up or there is corruption you'll need to install a clean copy.
Your CPSetup file contains your license information and will not work on any other computer so if you need to install on a new computer, follow the NEW installation procedure and download the Activation instructions pdf. If you have followed the suggestions in this document to protect your data, you may be able to migrate some of your data. Use the reinstallation document on CratePro.com.
Crate Pro 5 will not migrate any data into any other version of Crate Pro. That includes, Crate Pro 6 and future. Crate Pro 6 has added hundreds of new fields that are not included in Crate Pro 5.
SUPPORT
Ticket support for Crate Pro 5 includes Windows desktop operating systems till Windows 7 v1, EXCLUDING Vista and Windows NT. While we expect Crate Pro 5 to function fully on other Windows operating systems we will no longer be testing Crate Pro 5 on newer operating systems and do not provide support.
If you move to a newer operating system or want to switch to MAC, you will need to upgrade to Crate Pro 6
Filemaker Server 5.5 used in the Client-Server configuration can be run on Windows Server 2003. Filemaker Server 5.5 will not run on any newer operating systems.
Live support is no longer available for Crate Pro 5. This includes paid support for this version. Please use the forums and tickets for support.
Requests for Crate Pro 5 installation files and/or Activations do incur a fee due to administrative costs.