# Upgrading from a Previous Version

Reports created in JReport Designer 7 or prior must be converted to Version 13.5 before they can be modified with JReport Designer 13.5. The conversion procedure is described below. However, JReport Version 7 or prior reports can continue to be published to, and run by JReport Server 13.5 without any modifications.

To upgrade Version 7.1 or prior reports to Version 13.5:

1. Be sure that JReport Designer 13.5 has been installed in a folder that does not contain any previous versions of JReport Designer. If it does, uninstall and reinstall to a new directory.
2. Convert a set of reports by either of following methods:
   - Run the conversion tool rptconv.bat/rptconv.sh which is located in `<install_root>\bin`.
   - Convert a report by opening it directly and then saving it with JReport Designer 13.5.

A Version 7 or prior report is converted to a flow layout report with a banded object. A banded object has the same report sections that a Version 7 or prior report template has, however in Version 13.5 the sections are called panels. Any other data objects in the Version 7 or prior report are converted to the corresponding data containers within the banded object.

All converted reports can be used in the same way as a new Version 13.5 report that contains a banded object. You can insert other components into the banded panels as described in Component placement. In addition, the features of Version 13.5, such as page mode, displays types, CSS styles and so on can be applied to the converted reports. However, in the converted reports, the layout cannot extend beyond the banded object as it can for a new report created in Version 13.5. That is, while you can insert components into the banded object created as a result of the migration, you cannot insert components after the banded object. If your reports require this functionality, you will need to re-create the report as a new report in Version 13.5.

Note: Migrated reports need to be analyzed to determine how Version 13.5 functionality can best be applied. For example, converted reports that share a dataset should be combined into page reports to take full advantage of Version 13.5 performance improvements. Contact Jinfonet Professional Services for assistance if desired.