This section provides information that may be of interest to people updating from older versions of A-Shell, or selecting a platform on which to run A-Shell, or moving A-Shell from one platform to another.

A brief note on the confusing language of "update" and "upgrade" and "conversion." In this documentation, we use the terms as follows:

•   Update: this is a move from an older version of A-Shell to a newer version. It does NOT involve a software license, it does NOT provide additional options or features, it (generally) does NOT cost anything and you will probably not even notice any difference between the old and new versions. The purpose of an update is to keep your software "reasonably current" in relation to what the developers of A-Shell are working on and distributing. A-Shell is constantly being improved, in large ways and small, with bug fixes and new features, and it is generally a good idea to keep your copy up to date. There are exceptions and special considerations, of course.

•   Upgrade: this is when you add features or capabilities to A-Shell, or when you increase the number of authorized users. Such changes generally require issuance of a new software license, and make your software "bigger" than it was before, in the sense that you have expanded its capabilities by either numbers or features. For example: A-Shell has an add-on bit of software called "PDFX" that allows you to easily create PDF files from reports. Adding PDFX to your system is an upgrade and requires a new license; see Updating the License if that's what you need to do.

•   Conversion: this is a platform change from Windows to UNIX or vice versa, or from any A-Shell platform to any other.

Also note that the information in this section frequently parallels and/or overlaps with the A-Shell Installation documentation, which see for related details.