Quick Start Guide¶

Step 1 — Migrate Data to SQL¶

1. Open the BTR2SQL Migration Utility from the Windows Start menu under Mertech Data Systems.

2. Use Select Files to choose the tables to migrate. For a first migration, use Select All.

3. Click Convert Data Files.

4. Click OK to migrate all selected tables using default settings.

Step 2 — Replace Btrieve Access DLLs¶

Your application uses either wbtrv32.dll or w3btrv7.dll (32-bit) to access Btrieve data. For 64-bit applications, the equivalent DLLs are wbtrv64.dll and w64btrv.dll. BTR2SQL provides replacement DLLs that redirect these calls to the SQL backend. The replacement DLLs are located in:

• 32-bit: <Program Files>\Mertech Data Systems\DB Drivers\Btrieve\deploy\<backend>\

• 64-bit: <Program Files>\Mertech Data Systems\DB Drivers\Btrieve\deploy\<backend>\x64\

where <backend> is mssql, oracle, or pgsql. Choose the DLLs that match your application’s bitness. If you are unsure which DLL name your application uses, replace both.

Place the DLL where your application will find it first:

1. Application directory (recommended) — place the DLL in the same folder as your application executable. This guarantees the correct version is loaded.

2. System PATH — place the DLL in a common location such as Windows\System32.

Example: If your 32-bit application is in c:\myapp\bin and you are using Oracle, copy w3btrv7.dll and ora_btr.cfg from the deploy\oracle folder to c:\myapp\bin. For a 64-bit application, copy w64btrv.dll and ora_btr.cfg from deploy\oracle\x64 instead.

Step 3 — Test¶

With the data migrated and the Mertech DLL in place, your application should work without any code changes. When the application opens a Btrieve file (e.g., billing.mkd), the Mertech driver reads the corresponding INT file, connects to the SQL backend, and serves the data.

On first connection, a login dialog appears for the user to enter SQL credentials. You can store credentials in an mds.ini file to avoid this prompt in production.

You can shut down Pervasive services at this point — the application is now served entirely by the SQL backend.

Step 4 — Deploy¶

When deploying to end users, include these files with your application:

• The Mertech replacement DLL — w3btrv7.dll / wbtrv32.dll (32-bit) or w64btrv.dll / wbtrv64.dll (64-bit)

• The license file (e.g., sql_btr.cfg)

• The .INT files generated during migration

• An mds.ini file with connection settings

The original Btrieve data files and DDFs are not needed in the deployed environment. No registry keys or COM registration is required.

The SQL client libraries for your chosen backend must be installed on each machine running the application.