Processing e-Sword version 8 top file with a later version of e-Sword for the PC
SOURCE:
As provided by Module Robot, there is one downloadable file provided. The name of the author was Alfred Edersheim. The module Robot inaccurately changed the surname of the author to "Eldersheim”. The download filename is: “Eldersheim, Alfred - The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah.top.exe”
This is designed for the PC running e-Sword version 8.
If your PC security blocks and deletes files with the file type “exe”, even when you tell the PC to “Keep” the file, then here is a hint to overcome this problem. Append .docx to the filename. In the download options provided by your browser, provide the instructions to your PC to “Keep” the file, and to “allow” the file to be downloaded onto the PC.
After the file has downloaded successfully, now browse to the filename, and view the properties of the file. If the file is “blocked”, select the “unblock” open checkbox. When that box is selected, there will be a tick inside the check box, and the “Apply” button, which had been greyed out, will become available. Select the “Apply” and the “OK” buttons.
Now use the browser option to change the file type back to “.exe”, which refers to a self-installing wizard. Read the Rename warning, “If you change a filename extension, the file might become unusable. Are you sure you want to change it?” and respond by selecting the “Yes” option. The “exe” file is a wizard, which is programmed to save a copy of the file to the C:\Program Files\e-Sword or C:\Program Files (x86)\e-Sword folder.
Be aware that the programming of e-Sword changed with e-Sword versions 9 and 10. Then the topic editor files moved to another folder, and now wants to run topic files with the file type “topx”. This is not just a file name change, but the content of e-Sword also changed.
We read about these changes on the designer’s website, on the option “About”. The direct link is: https://www.e-sword.net/history.html
Read the details about e-Sword version 8 released in December 2008.
Read the details about e-Sword version 9 released in April 2009.
Read the details about e-Sword version 10.4 released in July 2014.
Read the details about e-Sword version 11 released in July 2016.
Note carefully what the exact destination folder name is into which the “top” file was saved by the wizard. If your PC is running a version of e-Sword later than e-Sword version 8, then you will have to open the topic editor and go to view the .top file in that directory folder. Let us assume that your PC is running 64-bit programs and that the folder was installed into the C:\Program Files(x86)\e-Sword folder. Close e-Sword if it is running. Close other applications also, as your PC has limited processing capacity. Restart e-Sword.
Open the Topic Editor screen, then press the “Ctrl” button, and you will see a pop-up with various options. Continue to hold down the “Ctrl” button. Select the “Open” option and browse to the folder into which the wizard saved the downloaded file. Now, also notice that at the lower right corner of the Topic Editor page, there is an option where you can change the selection, from “Topic Note Files (*.topx)” and here you can select an alternative option “Old Topic Note Files (*.top)”. Select that alternative option. Now browse down through the contents of the folder, till you find the required “top” file. Browse to the File, “Eldersheim, Alfred – The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah.top” and select that file. Use the “Open” button.
The file should load, and will be converted to a “topx” file, which should “save”. The previous “.top” file will remain in the folder, with “.old” appended to the file name.
This option of being able to convert a “top” to a “topx” file does not seem to be included in the e-Sword User Guide (version 10.4 issued 2014).
Now, think clearly. The E-Sword Topic Editor on our PC after version 11 no longer expects to find the Editor “topx” files in the C:\Program Files (x86)\e-Sword folder. So how can we now read the content of the “.topx” file? Close and restart e-Sword, and look in the Reference Library window option.
When I tried to open the file, my PC closed e-Sword, because my PC has severe space problems, and cannot save the files. When I looked for the file again, I found the filename as a “topx” file, but without content. I will try again, using another PC, after closing all open links in the internet browser and outlook.
On the laptop, when I selected the *.top file in the TOPIC EDITOR, the file was found. I then found the saved file, which was able to be listed in the e-Sword from Options > Resource Options > Reference Books. I found this at C: > Users > user-name > AppData > VirtualStore > Program Files (x86) > e-Sword folder as a .topx file. However, the content was blank. I was able to use the Bible Support utility, Module Installer version 0.6, to copy the .topx file to the c:\Program Files (x86)\e-Sword folder.
When I list the .top file the size is 3880 KB
When I list the .top.old file the size is 3880 KB
When I list the .topx file the size is 2 KB and there is no textual content.
If I look in the .top file with notepad++ it appears to have been created with Standard Jet DB in Unix ANSI coding.
Can Bible Support provide a solution so that the content of the .top file can be converted to .topx without losing its content?
Can someone from Bible Support check that e-Sword version 8 does open the *.top file successfully? Perhaps that type of Standard Jet DB database file is no longer available.
Edited by Olaf Bacon, 20 March 2023 - 06:46 AM.
