DataFlex Migration & Support
for businesses in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the US.
Data Access Corporation still develops DataFlex, but the character-mode applications built in the late 1980s and 1990s have no path forward and almost nobody left who reads them.
- Independent No licence commission, no reseller agenda
- 18+ yrs Building business software
- Fixed Price scopes, no surprises
- AU NZ UK US Perth-based, working remotely
The platform survived. The old applications did not come with it.
DataFlex is still a live product, which surprises people. What is not live is the character-mode generation: applications built for DOS and early Windows, with the data in .DAT files, the field names in paired .TAG files and indexes numbered .K1 upward. Modern DataFlex is a different environment, so those applications did not simply carry forward.
The same file format underpins compatible systems such as PFXplus, so a business running one of these is often running something even more obscure than DataFlex itself.
Your DataFlex project, end to end
Three stages. Scoped and fixed-price before anything starts, delivered by the founder, and your existing system stays running until cutover.
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Week 0
Read the system as it is
We go through the existing application and record what it actually does, including the parts nobody documented. You get a written inventory and a fixed price before any build starts.
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Weeks 1-N
Rebuild and run in parallel
The replacement runs beside the original until the numbers reconcile. The old system stays untouched and switched on the whole time.
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Cutover
Go live and hand over
Cutover on a date you choose, then thirty days of support. Source code, documentation and credentials are handed to you, in your name.
What the work actually is
A documented format makes this methodical, not mysterious
The .FD definitions describe the records and the .TAG files name the fields, so a complete extraction is verifiable rather than reverse-engineered. We reconcile it, then decide about the application with you.
What you have now
- .DAT data files with .TAG field names
- .K1 upward index files
- .FD file definitions
- Character-mode screens under emulation
A documented format makes this methodical, not mysterious
The .FD definitions describe the records and the .TAG files name the fields, so a complete extraction is verifiable rather than reverse-engineered. We reconcile it, then decide about the application with you.
See how a project runsWhat you end up with
- A complete, reconciled extraction into SQL Server or PostgreSQL
- The workflow rebuilt as a web application
- Historical records readable without the original software
The 5 pieces of DataFlex work we are asked for
Most engagements are some combination of these, and most start with the first.
Read the definitions
The .FD and .TAG files describe every record and field, which makes a complete extraction provable against the source.
Extract every table
All .DAT files with their indexes, reconciled on row counts and control totals before anything is relied upon.
Document the business rules
From the source where it exists, so the knowledge stops living in one person’s head.
Rebuild the application
A web application following the same workflow, or nothing at all if the data alone is what you need.
Keep an archive that opens
Historical records readable without the original software, which usually matters for audit long after the system goes.
Where you are now
It works, and nobody will touch it
- Character-mode screens running under terminal emulation
- No forward path from the classic generation to modern DataFlex
- A shrinking pool of developers, most of them retired
- Data that nothing else in the business can reach
After
Supported, documented and yours
- Data in a supported database, reportable with ordinary tools
- Integration with your accounting and other systems becomes possible
- A codebase and documentation you own
- One less emulated environment to keep alive
Scoped and quoted before you commit. You own the code, the documentation and the credentials at the end of it.
Get a fixed-price scopeDataFlex questions
Is DataFlex dead?
No. Data Access Corporation still develops it. What has no forward path is the character-mode generation built for DOS and early Windows, and that is what we are usually asked to deal with.
Can you read .DAT and .TAG files?
Yes. The format is documented: the .FD definitions describe the records and the .TAG file carries the field names, so extraction is verifiable rather than guesswork.
We are actually running PFXplus, not DataFlex. Does that matter?
Not for the data. PFXplus was built DataFlex-compatible, so the file structures are the same family. We have a separate page on PFXplus specifically.
Do we have to replace the application as well?
No. Getting the data somewhere safe and readable is a complete piece of work on its own, and it removes the urgency so you can decide about the application without a deadline over you.
Could we move to modern DataFlex instead?
It is worth considering and we will look at it honestly. Moving from character mode to the modern environment is closer to a rebuild than an upgrade, so it competes with other targets rather than winning automatically.
Sending your details…
You can stay on this page while we send it.
Tell us what you are running
What the system does, roughly how old it is, and what is forcing the question. We will come back with a straight answer and a fixed-price scope, even if the answer is to leave it alone.
Prefer a quick chat? Call 0425 531 127. We answer the phone in Perth.
