DataFlex 2021 introduced the capability of using Unicode data in DataFlex applications using in SQL database.
Applications using the DataFlex embedded database will still be supported (though they do not support Unicode data) and nothing needs to be done to those files. However, migrating those databases to an SQL database backend should be seriously considered.
Applications using SQL databases may have their tables character format set to either OEM or ANSI. See Table_Character_Format and DF_FILE_TABLE_CHARACTER_FORMAT.
Even though the OEM character format is still supported in DataFlex for backward compatibility with earlier DataFlex revisions, migrating OEM tables to ANSI/Unicode is strongly recommended.
Existing SQL databases created with earlier DataFlex revisions may be set to use either ANSI or OEM character format.
Tables in already in ANSI format can be used without any changes. Depending on the backend, ANSI tables can already store Unicode data or can be easily migrated to become Unicode capable.
Tables in OEM format can also be used, but they will not be able to store Unicode data. OEM tables are only supported for backward compatibility and it is highly recommended that they be converted to ANSI after applications are migrated to DataFlex 2021 or higher.
When migrating applications, the Studio Workspace Migration Wizard will inspect any SQL tables in each workspace and list the names of all OEM tables detected.
To convert existing OEM tables to ANSI, use the OEM to ANSI Conversion Wizard that is part of Database Builder and the wizard will analyze and to automatically convert to ANSI the OEM tables you select.