The GUI application has four tabs: Setup, Operations, GTR DB Config and Configuration. The Log Output panel below the tabs shows the progress and the error messages of every action.
The bar at the bottom of the window shows the status of the last action. The Open Manual button at its right end opens the manual as a PDF: the German version on a German Windows, otherwise the English version. The button appears only if the manual is installed.
The application reads and writes .env in its installation folder C:\ProgramData\GTR mbH\Firebird-Management.
Setup tab
The Setup tab shows which Firebird client libraries (fbclient.dll) the tool uses.
Detected installations
The Detected Installations box contains one status line for Firebird 2.5 and one for Firebird 5.x. The tool checks the paths in .env when the application starts.
| Color | Text | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Green | Found: Firebird <version> (<path>) | The client library exists. |
| Gray | Not installed on this computer | Firebird 2.5 line only: no Firebird 2.5 client library on this computer. See Migration without a Firebird 2.5 server. |
| Orange | Not found: <path> | Firebird 5.x line only: .env names a client library that does not exist. |
| Red | Not configured | Firebird 5.x line only: .env contains no client library. |
| Red | No .env file found | There is no .env file in the installation folder. |
| Gray | Not checked | The status has not been checked yet. |
Firebird version
A green line shows the version of the Firebird client library and its path, for example:
Found: Firebird 5.0.4.1812 (C:\Program Files\Firebird\Firebird_50\fbclient.dll)
The version is the file version of fbclient.dll. If client and server come from the same installation, it is also the server version. If the file has no version information, the line shows the path only.
One client for all operations
The tool loads one Firebird client library and uses it for all operations. It takes the Firebird 5 client if the file exists, otherwise a Firebird 2.5 client of the same bitness as the tool. The Firebird 5 client also works with Firebird 2.5 servers. A green Firebird 5 line is therefore enough to run all three operations.
Buttons
- Auto-Detect Firebird searches the Windows registry,
C:\Program Files\FirebirdandC:\Program Files (x86)\Firebirdfor Firebird 2.5 and 5.x installations. If an installation has both a 64-bit and a 32-bitfbclient.dll, it takes the 64-bit one. It then updates.envand shows the file in the Configuration tab. - Refresh Status reads
.envagain and updates the status lines.
If .env exists, Auto-Detect Firebird sets FB25_CLIENT and FB50_CLIENT for the versions it found. All other settings stay unchanged, including the passwords. A version it did not find keeps its existing line if the file still exists. A line that names a missing file becomes a comment. If .env does not exist, the tool creates a new file with default settings and the paths it found.
Operations tab
The Operations tab runs the database operations. The tab shows only the fields that the selected database location needs. If the window is too small for the tab, a scrollbar appears on the right.
Step 1: Select the database location
The Database Location box at the top offers three modes:
| Mode | Use it when |
|---|---|
| Local Database | The database file is on this computer, for example C:\Data\MyDatabase.fdb. |
| Remote Database (file access via network share) | The database file is on a network share, for example \\SERVER\Share\Database.fdb. |
| Remote Server (TCP/IP - Firebird port only) | You reach the Firebird server over its port, but not the database file. The server can run on this computer or on another computer. |
Remote databases explains both remote modes in detail.
Step 2: Enter the database
The box below Database Location depends on the mode.
Local Database: enter the path in Database file. Click Browse… to select the file, or type or paste the full path.
Remote Database (file access via network share): enter the path in Database file on the share (UNC path), for example \\SERVER\Share\Database.fdb. Browse… works here as well.
TCP/IP mode: the box Database on a Firebird server contains these fields:
- Server: name or IP address of the server, for example
192.168.1.100 - Port: Firebird port of the server
- Database path on the server: the path as the server sees it, for example
/opt/PROFDIA.FDBorD:\db\PROFDIA.FDB - User and Password: a Firebird user on the server and its password
The tool fills in Port from .env. It uses FB25_PORT (3050) for Vacuum Firebird 2.5 Database and for the migration. It uses FB50_PORT (3055) for Vacuum Firebird 5.x Database. The value follows the selected operation until you change the field yourself.
User comes from FB25_USER or FB50_USER, depending on the operation. Password comes from FB25_PASSWD or FB50_PASSWD, or from FB_PASSWD without them. The tool fills it in only for a server on this computer. This computer means localhost, 127.0.0.1, ::1, its name or one of its addresses. For a server on another computer, the field stays empty. Enter the password of that server. The tool does not save it in .env, and a password you typed stays when you change Server.
Firebird 5 target
The box Firebird 5 target appears only for Migrate from Firebird 2.5 to 5.x in the TCP/IP mode. It names the database that the Firebird 5 server creates:
- Server, Port, Database path on the server, User and Password work as in the source box. User and Password come from
FB50_USERandFB50_PASSWD. - Overwrite an existing database at the target: tick it if a database already exists at the target path and the migration may replace it. Without the tick, the migration stops before the backup if a file exists at the target path. See Target database cannot be created.
The tool copies Server and Database path on the server from the source box while you type. Port comes from FB50_PORT (3055). A field that you changed yourself keeps your value.
Check the target path before you start. If the Firebird 5 server runs on the same computer as the Firebird 2.5 server, the copied path points to the Firebird 2.5 database file. Enter a different path in that case.
Step 3: Select the operation
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Vacuum Firebird 2.5 Database | Clean up deleted records in Firebird 2.5 database |
| Vacuum Firebird 5.x Database | Clean up deleted records in Firebird 5.x database |
| Migrate from Firebird 2.5 to 5.x | Backup with FB 2.5 and restore with FB 5.x |
The options are grayed out if the Setup tab shows no Firebird client library in green.
Step 4: Start the operation
- Read the yellow warning beside Start Operation. Its text depends on the mode.
- Click Start Operation.
- The Confirm Operation dialog shows the operation, the database and, for a TCP/IP migration, the target. Check them.
- Click Yes.
- Follow the progress in the Log Output panel.
- Wait for the message box that reports the operation as completed.
If the operation fails, the error message names the files that the tool kept, for example the backup file or the safety copy. See How the operations work.
Before you start
- Close all programs and stop all services that use the database.
- The modes Local Database and Remote Database (file access via network share) keep a copy of the database as
<database>_orig. The TCP/IP mode makes no such copy. - Operations on large databases take several minutes or longer.
One job at a time
The tool runs one job at a time: an operation, Auto-Detect Firebird or Test connection on the GTR DB Config tab. While a job runs, the buttons that start these jobs are disabled.
The window does not close while a database operation runs. A click on the close button then shows An operation is running. Close the window after it has finished. Auto-Detect Firebird and Test connection do not block closing the window.
GTR DB Config tab
The GTR DB Config tab switches a database section of a GTR database INI file to Firebird 5, for example NCPro_db.ini of ProfDia or Nestcut_db.ini of NestCut. Use it after the migration of the database. Migrating the database configuration describes the tab.
Configuration tab
The Configuration tab shows the content of .env in an editor.
- Save .env writes the editor content to
.env. The tool then checks the status lines on the Setup tab again. - Load .env reads the file again. Use it after you changed
.envin another editor.
Settings
A .env file from the GTR Firebird setup looks like this:
FB_USER=SYSDBA
FB_PASSWD=masterkey
FB_SERVER=localhost
FB25_PORT=3050
FB25_CLIENT=C:\Program Files\Firebird\Firebird_25\bin\fbclient.dll
FB50_PORT=3055
FB50_USER=SYSDBA
FB50_PASSWD=<password from the setup>
FB50_CLIENT=C:\Program Files\Firebird\Firebird_50\fbclient.dll
Lines that start with # are comments.
| Setting | Meaning | Default |
|---|---|---|
FB_USER | User name for both Firebird versions | SYSDBA |
FB_PASSWD | Password for both Firebird versions | masterkey |
FB_SERVER | Firebird server of the command line application. The GUI application does not use it. | localhost |
FB25_PORT | Port of the Firebird 2.5 server | 3050 |
FB25_CLIENT | Path to fbclient.dll of Firebird 2.5 | |
FB25_USER, FB25_PASSWD | Optional user name and password for Firebird 2.5 | FB_USER, FB_PASSWD |
FB50_PORT | Port of the Firebird 5 server | 3055 |
FB50_CLIENT | Path to fbclient.dll of Firebird 5 | |
FB50_USER, FB50_PASSWD | Optional user name and password for Firebird 5. The GTR setup fills in FB50_PASSWD. | FB_USER, FB_PASSWD |
The modes Local Database and Remote Database (file access via network share) connect to the Firebird servers on this computer (localhost). They use the ports FB25_PORT and FB50_PORT. The TCP/IP mode uses server, port, user and password from its fields.
Different passwords per version
FB_USER and FB_PASSWD apply to both versions. The version-specific entries replace them:
# Common settings, used if no version-specific entry exists
FB_USER=SYSDBA
FB_PASSWD=masterkey
# Firebird 2.5
FB25_USER=SYSDBA
FB25_PASSWD=password25
# Firebird 5
FB50_USER=SYSDBA
FB50_PASSWD=password50
The tool connects to Firebird 2.5 with the Firebird 2.5 credentials and to Firebird 5 with the Firebird 5 credentials. This also applies to servers on other computers in the TCP/IP mode.