When you upgrade your Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate applications, you must also upgrade your data before you begin processing. Otherwise you can receive the error "Unable to access data file. [File name] needs to be upgraded".

Before you begin

• If you own both Estimating and Accounting and Management Products, upgrade your Accounting and Management data files first
• Upgrade files from the server that hosts your data
• The file upgrade process is different for Service Management, Purchasing, and Inventory
  • See how to upgrade files in Service Management
  • See how to upgrade files in Purchasing or Inventory
• If you use named files, review the Installation Guide for additional information about upgrading files
• When upgrading data on a test server, disconnect any drives mapped to your live data. This ensures you don't accidentally upgrade it

If you migrated

If you recently migrated from a different server, check File Locations for all companies listed in the Select Company list. Ensure all data file locations go to a location on the new server. From Sage Desktop, go to File, Company Settings, File Locations.

Prepare to upgrade your files

1. Instruct all operators to exit all Sage 300 CRE applications.
2. Back up your data files. If you recently migrated from a different server, obtain a current backup on the original server.
3. At the server, verify the amount of available disk space on your drive. You need at least as much free disk space as the size of the folder you're upgrading. As an example, Construction Sample Data is 50 MB. Your drive requires at least this amount of free space to upgrade the files. If you're doing multiple data folders at the same time, you need the total size of those folders.

Upgrade your files

1. Go to Sage Desktop, Applications tab, Common Tasks, Tools, Upgrade Files.
2. Select to upgrade either the Current data folder or All data folders. An explanation of these options follows:
   • Current data folder: It upgrades the files you select only in the data folder from which you're currently working.
   • All data folders: It upgrades the files you select in all data folders that display in the Open Company Folder window. This can include data folders on other drives.
      CAUTION: Upgrading All data folders can take a substantial amount of time depending on the number of folders.
3. Force file upgrades: Usually, don't check this box. We use this option only for specific scenarios. See when to use Force File Upgrades.
4. Click Start.
5. You'll receive a prompt to select a Save in location and File name for the journal. Note the file and location to access it in the next steps. Click Save.
6. You can view the Background Tasks to watch the progress.
7. When it's complete, go to File and Printouts.
8. Browse to the location where you saved the journal, select it, and click Open.
9. Review the journal for any errors. Contact Sage Support for assistance reviewing the journal, if needed.
10. If you selected Current data folder and have other company folders, repeat these steps to upgrade other folders.

How do I get my data folder to open by default when I start a Sage 300 CRE application?