Converting a single file
To convert and open a single file:
1.
If the file you want to convert is currently open in the previous version of FileMaker Pro, close the file.
If you attempt to convert a file that is currently open, an alert message will appear indicating that the file is already in use, and the file won’t convert.
2.
Start FileMaker Pro 12.
3.
Do one of the following:
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If you see the Open File dialog box, continue with step 4.
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If you see the FileMaker Quick Start Screen, click Browse.
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If you don’t see any dialog box, choose File menu > Open.
4.
In the Open dialog box, select the file to convert, then click Open.
Note  You can also begin conversion by dragging the file onto the FileMaker Pro 12 application icon.
The Conversion dialog box appears, where you can choose to rename the existing file prior to conversion. By default, FileMaker Pro does not rename the file.
5.
Do one of the following:
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To skip renaming the old file, make sure the Rename old file checkbox is cleared, then click OK. It’s not necessary to rename the old file if it includes the .fp7 filename extension, because your converted file will have the .fmp12 extension.
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To rename the old file, select Rename old file. Either accept the default name (which is the original filename appended with “Old”), or enter a new name. Then click OK.
Note  If a filename includes a period (.), other than the one that precedes the filename extension, remove it. If a period exists in a filename, FileMaker Pro won’t add the .fmp12 extension to the converted file.
6.
In the Name Converted File dialog box, enter the filename that you want for the new file.
If you did not rename the file in step 5, the default filename for the new file is the old filename (with the .fmp12 extension, if the original filename had an extension). If you renamed the file, the default filename for the new file is the new name (with the .fmp12 extension, if the original filename had an extension).
7.
Click Save to start the conversion.
During a prolonged conversion, the File Format Conversion dialog box appears and shows the conversion progress. If a file being converted contains indexed fields, you can save time by clicking Skip when the index is being re-created, which postpones indexing until later.
8.
Using a text editor such as Notepad (Windows) or TextEdit (Mac OS), open the Conversion.log file located in the folder that contains your converted database.
The Conversion.log file is located in the same folder as the converted file. The Conversion.log file contains a journal of the conversion process that you just completed. Much of it contains status messages that indicate the different file components that were converted. It also may contain error messages that indicate areas where you may need to make manual corrections to the converted file before testing it further.
Related topics 
Troubleshooting conversion problems
Reading the Conversion.log file
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