# Upgrading from a Previous Version

JReport Version 7 reports must be converted to Version 9 before they can be modified with JReport Designer 9. The conversion procedure is described below. However, JReport Version 7 reports can continue to be published to, and run by JReport Enterprise Server 9 without any modifications.

To upgrade Version 7 reports to Version 9:

1. Be sure that JReport Designer 9 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 9.

A Version 7 report is converted to a flow layout report with a banded object. A banded object has the same report sections that a Version 7 report template has, however in Version 9 the sections are called panels. Any other data objects from the Version 7 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 9 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 9, 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 9. 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 9.

Note: Migrated reports need to be analyzed to determine how Version 9 functionality can best be applied. For example, converted reports that share a dataset should be combined into report sets to take full advantage of Version 9 performance improvements. Contact Jinfonet Professional Services for assistance if desired.