Spring 2008 Update to the Himalayan Database

The Spring 2008 update to the Himalayan Database adds new records for expeditions in the Spring/Summer 2008 seasons and provides corrections and additions to records for the previous seasons from 1900-2007.

Note that all 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 Updates to the Himalayan Database should be applied to the original database before this update is applied. If you have not applied these earlier updates, you may apply instead the Combined 2004-2007 update to the original Himalayan Database before applying the Spring 2008 update.

This update package includes:

Spring 2008 update files for Himalayan Database

The complete instructions for updating the Himalayan Database are given in Appendix E of the Himalayan Database Program Guide. A brief summary is given below.

Note the Spring 2008 Update will update over 14,000 member records. Many of the changes are only to the residence field in the member record for climbers from Japan, S Korea, and serveral European countries in order to correct, enhance, or standardize residence information. Future updates will continue this process for climbers from other countries.

Updating the Himalayan Database

First download the compressed Spring 2008 Update files from the web site onto your hard drive and decompress by double-clicking on the update package.

For Windows users, the update package is in the file Himal Spring 2008 Updates.zip

For Power Macintosh users, the update package is in the file Himal Spring 2008 Upd.sea.hqx

The result of the decompression is a folder with the name "Himal Spring 2008 Updates" containing 14 update files:

expchgs.dbf

expchgs.fpt

expchgs.cdx

explog.dbf

memchgs.dbf

memchgs.fpt

memchgs.cdx

memlog.dbf

refer.dbf

refer.fpt

refer.cdx

peaks.dbf

peaks.fpt

peaks.cdx

The files of the form "exp..." and "mem..." contain the changes to be applied to the EXPED and MEMBERS tables. The files of the form "refer..." and "peaks..." are replacement files for the current files in the Himdata folder that are automatically loaded during the update process.

Make sure that you have your original Himalayan Database CD available (and inserted into your computer) before starting the update process as you may be required to reauthenicate the database when you restart the program after completing the update.

Start the Himal program and use the Update command in the File menu to apply the updates to the Himalayan Database. Confirm that you wish to proceed with the update and then navigate to the Himal Spring 2008 Updates folder and select the first file named "expchgs.dbf" and click the OK button in the Open dialog box. All remaining update files are loaded automatically during the update process. Confirmation messages are given that each of the four tables (expeditions, members, literature references, and peaks) have been updated.

For Windows users, the Himalayan Database may be updated using either the original version of the Himal program or version 1.1 of the Himal program which is posted on this web site.

For Power Macintosh users, the Himalayan Database may be updated using either the original version of the Himal program or version 1.1.1 of the Himal program which is posted on this web site. Do not use version 1.1 which was posted earlier as there is an error in the update processing in that version.