making the transition
by Matt Watson

Now that you've upgraded to Release 3, things look a bit different. What can you do to ease the transition for you and your users? This explanation of how the user environment has changed should help you move painlessly from Release 2 to Release 3.

changes in the workspace
Let's assume you have one of the most common network configurations-a home-directory server serving client workstations. The first time users log in after their machines have been upgraded to Release 3, they'll notice some differences in the workspace. The icons in the File Viewer will have a new look, as will folders on the shelf. Because the folders on the shelf and applications on the dock will have been replaced by the default folders and applications, users will need to take a minute or two and readjust the dock and shelf to suit their personal preferences. The upgrade does not remove the Release 2 workspace and dock defaults-if users later log into a machine that hasn't been upgraded, their old dock and shelf will still be intact.

some assembly required
Don't worry, it isn't necessary to reinstall all your application defaults. Even though the defaults database mechanism has changed for Release 3, the old defaults are still in place after the upgrade.

Although most users should have no problems after upgrading, there are a couple of things that will need to be updated:

Digital Librarian^TM target indexes

Third-party applications that use Release 2 files

updating target indexes
The indexing scheme changed between Release 2 and Release 3, so any Digital Librarian targets that were created, as opposed to shipped with the system, in Release 2 will need to be reindexed for Release 3. This does not delete the old index, so the old index may be deleted during the upgrade process if disk space needs to be recovered. After the upgrade, all of the on-line documentation will have new Release 3 indexes.

At some point in the process of upgrading your network, users may have to log into Release 2 and Release 3 machines alternately. If this will be necessary, do not delete the old Digital Librarian indexes because Release 2 will still need them. Only when all machines on the network have been upgraded to Release 3 should you delete the old indexes. Because Upgrade 3.0 takes care of updating the indexes of /NextLibrary/Documentation and /NextDeveloper/Examples and similar things, only indexes of folders that were created manually will need to be saved.

updating third-party applications
Unfortunately, there's no standard way to determine which third-party applications use Release 2 files. Some Release 2 third-party applications assume that Edit is located in /NextApps/Edit, but in Release 3, all NeXT applications have a .app extension, which means that Edit is now in /NextApps/Edit.app. If an application needs a file that exists only on a Release 2 file system, change the defaults if you can, using the file's new location. If this can't be done, find out if the application developer has a maintenance release specifically for Release 3.

troubleshooting
If you're having compatibility problems after upgrading, try a few things before calling for help:

If the problem is with a third-party application, see if the application developer has released an updated version for Release 3. If not, see if some of the defaults for that application need to be changed.

Make sure applications created specifically for Release 3 are not being started up under Release 2. Such an application will quit immediately after being started up. An example of this would be a shared directory, such as /LocalApps, that has applications compiled under Release 3. If a Release 2 machine mounts this folder, a user logged into that computer will not be able to start up any of these Release 3-specific applications.

If you find question-mark icons in your File Viewer, they could be links to Release 2 files that no longer exist in Release 3. You may just need to re-create the link or find the equivalent Release 3 file.

on your way
So, after a few adjustments to the new environment, you and your users should be on your way to fully utilizing the new features and enhancements in Release 3. Make sure to read the on-line Release Notes in /NextLibrary/Documentation in their respective directories. Please, drop us a line at feedback@next.com if you find anything we've missed.