When you start RTG Bills, it says it has to update the database. Then you get an error message, Error creating matter field for full retainer. Cannot define field more than once.

We know of two situations that can cause this problem:

Situation 1:
Perhaps you were running Version 2.03 or above, which updated the database, then you uninstalled it and installed Version 2.01 (or 2.02). This usually happens when you install RTG Bills on a new computer or a new hard disk, and you have the installation file for Version 2.01 (or 2.02) plus upgrades to a later version.

Situation 2:
You were running RTG Bills Version 2.03 or above, but you had RTG Timer Version 2.01 or 2.02 installed. You ran RTG Timer and it detected the fact that the RTG Timer program was a lower version than the RTG Bills database.

When you try to run a program with a lower version than the database, it should refuse to run. However, due to a program bug in Versions 2.01 and 2.02, it claims to "update the database" and changes the database version number to 2.01 or 2.02. At this point, the version number does not match the actual structure of the database, so problems are inevitable.

In situation 1, when you upgrade to V2.03, it tries to update the database again, thinking it is V2.01 (or V2.02), since that's the number stored in the database. Similarly, in situation 2, when you run RTG Bills, it sees a lower version number in the database and tries to update it. In either situation, the update fails with an error message because the database is already updated.

The solution is to run a special program, dbfixver.exe, that changes the version number in the database. Save it in the same folder as RTG Bills and double-click the file to run it.

You need to know what version number you had before the problems started. (If in doubt, set the number to 203, meaning Version 2.03. If that fails, try a higher number.) Click Update and the version will be changed.

Click here to download the program

To avoid this problem, do not run RTG Bills or RTG Timer Version 2.01 or 2.02 when the database has been updated to a later version. You can install Version 2.01 or 2.02, but do not run RTG Bills or RTG Timer. Upgrade to at least Version 2.03 before you run RTG Bills or RTG Timer. Also, if you have RTG Timer installed in the same folder as RTG Bills, you should upgrade both of them at the same time.