Zyzzyva: The Last Word in Word Study

How to Migrate Your Data from CSW07 to CSW12

If you have been using Zyzzyva with CSW07 as your main lexicon, you will probably want to migrate your CSW07 quiz data to CSW12, which became the official lexicon on January 1, 2012. To do this, follow the steps on this page exactly. This series of steps will leave your CSW07 cardbox intact, while migrating it to CSW12 and deleting the "removed in CSW12" words from your CSW12 cardbox.

Since there are several steps, this process may look intimidating, but each step should be simple and straightforward. I'm sorry it's such a pain to do this. There really should be a better way to migrate from one lexicon to another. In future versions of Zyzzyva, I plan to make this easily doable within Zyzzyva itself.

If you encounter any problems, please join the Zyzzyva Users group and send an email to the mailing list. There are many experienced users on this list, and you will probably receive help from someone fairly quickly.

STEP 1 - Update to the latest version of Zyzzyva

Make sure you have installed Zyzzyva 2.1.5 or later. This will ensure that your version of Zyzzyva contains both CSW07 and CSW12 lexicons.

STEP 2 - Enable both CSW07 and CSW12 in lexicon preferences

Zyzzyva will need to load both CSW07 and CSW12 lexicons. Do the following:

Start Zyzzyva.
Open the Preferences window by clicking the button with a wrench and screwdriver.
While you are here, write down the directory listed under the Data Directory preference. You will need it later.
Make sure the Load lexicons checkbox is checked.
If the list of lexicons already contains both CSW07 and CSW12, skip to STEP 3.
Click the Edit button, which will open a Select Lexicons window.
On this window, make sure the Load checkbox is checked beside both CSW07 and CSW12.
Also check the Default button beside the CSW12 lexicon. This will make CSW12 your default lexicon.
Click the OK button.
Zyzzyva may prompt you to build lexicon databases for CSW07, CSW12, or both. If prompted, click the Yes button and skip to STEP 4.

STEP 3 - Update lexicon databases for CSW07 and CSW12

Before proceeding, we'll want Zyzzyva to have updated lexicons for both CSW07 and CSW12 lexicons. If Zyzzyva prompted you to create databases at the end of STEP 2, or if you know that your lexicon databases are already up to date, you can skip this step and go to STEP 4. Otherwise, do the following:

Choose Tools > Rebuild Database from the main program menu.
On the window that appears, choose Rebuild database for a single lexicon.
Select CSW07 in the lexicon dropdown.
Click the OK button. This will rebuild the CSW07 lexicon database, and may take several minutes.
Repeat the above four actions for CSW12.

STEP 4 - Go to the Zyzzyva Data Directory

Now we're going to copy some files around inside Zyzzyva's data directory. You almost never need to do this during Zyzzyva's normal operation, but migrating from CSW07 to CSW12 is a rare event that requires manual intervention.

Shut down Zyzzyva.
Open a file browser and navigate to the Data Directory that you wrote down in STEP 2. Go to the quiz/data subdirectory underneath the main Data Directory.

STEP 5 - Copy CSW07 data into CSW12

You should now be inside the quiz/data subdirectory under the Zyzzyva data directory. If you have previously copied your CSW07 quiz data into CSW12, then you should see a CSW12 directory and you can skip to STEP 6. Otherwise, do the following:

Create a new directory called CSW12. This should appear alongside the CSW07 directory in the file browser.
Copy the CSW07/Anagrams.db file, and paste it into the CSW12 directory. This will create a new file called CSW12/Anagrams.db.

STEP 6 - Trick Zyzzyva behind its back

Now we're going to trick Zyzzyva temporarily into thinking your CSW12 cardbox is really CSW07, so it can remove the "removed in CSW12" words from your cardbox. This step is necessary because those words only exist in the CSW07 lexicon, so they can only be removed from the CSW07 cardbox.

You should still be inside the quiz/data subdirectory under the Zyzzyva data directory, and you should see both CSW07 and CSW12 subdirectories. Do the following:

Make backup copies of both the CSW07 and CSW12 directories. Data could be lost, so make sure you have a backup.
Rename the CSW07/Anagrams.db file to CSW07/Anagrams-original.db.
Drag your CSW12/Anagrams.db file into the CSW07 directory, so it becomes CSW07/Anagrams.db.

STEP 7 - Delete "Removed in CSW12" words from the cardbox

Now Zyzzyva will think that your CSW12 cardbox information is really CSW07. We're going to delete the "removed in CSW12" words from the cardbox. Do the following:

Start Zyzzyva.
Open a Search tab with the CSW07 lexicon. Do a search with the following conditions. This will find all the "removed in CSW12" words that have only one anagram.

NOT In Lexicon: CSW12
Number of Anagrams: Min 1, Max 1

Right-click the list and choose Remove list from cardbox.
Shut down Zyzzyva.

STEP 8 - Restore everything as it was

Your file browser should still be inside the quiz/data subdirectory under the Zyzzyva data directory. Do the following:

Drag the CSW07/Anagrams.db file back into the CSW12 directory, so it is once again CSW12/Anagrams.db.
Rename CSW07/Anagrams-original.db so it is once again CSW07/Anagrams.db.

Congratulations!

Now when you start Zyzzyva again, all your CSW07 quiz data should be available in CSW12, and the "removed in CSW12" words will not appear in the CSW12 cardbox. You may want to open a Cardbox tab, choose CSW12 as the lexicon, and click the Refresh button to make sure everything looks right. Happy CSW12 studying!

Buy Zyzzyva Stuff!

You can buy Zyzzyva T-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs and more at the Zyzzyva Online Store. For every item you buy, a percentage goes to me to help continue Zyzzyva development. It's a great way to get some classy Zyzzyva gear while helping out the project at the same time!

* SALE! *

I have some items left over from the Zyzzyva fundraiser, and I'm selling them here. While supplies last, you can buy T-shirts directly from me cheaper than you can buy them at the CafePress store linked above. You can buy tile sets and lapel pins cheaply, too.

If you find Zyzzyva useful, I would be very happy to receive a donation via PayPal, which you can do by clicking the button below. Thank you for your support!