As explained here, Windows Vista required certain changes to RTG's software. We recommend certain steps to prepare RTG Bills or RTG Timer before you upgrade to Windows Vista.

However, you may have installed Windows Vista already and you now see that RTG Bills and RTG Timer V2.16 or below is not compatible. Here we explain how to upgrade to RTG Bills and RTG Timer Version 2.17 or above.

If you have RTG Bills or RTG Timer Version 2.16 or below installed in the Program Files directory, such as this standard location:

C:\Program Files\Rtgbills

it will not work correctly in Windows Vista.

Or you might have RTG Bills Version 2.17 installed but the data files are in the Program Files directory because you upgraded from RTG Bills V2.16 or below. Again, this will not work correctly in Windows Vista.

The solution is to move the folder where RTG Bills and RTG Timer are installed out of the Program Files folder temporarily. This will allow RTG Bills and RTG Timer to work so you can move the data files to a different location. Here is the approach we recommend:

1. Drag the folder Rtgbills from Program Files and drop it on your Desktop.
   
   Here are more detailed instructions that explain how to do that:
   
   
   1. Make sure you are a Windows Administrator on this computer. An ordinary user cannot change the Program Files folder.
      
      
   2. Double-click the Computer icon on the Desktop, or click the Start button (which no longer says Start on the button under Vista) and choose Computer.
      
      
   3. Double-click the C: drive.
      
      
   4. Double-click the Program Files folder.
      
      
   5. Find the Rtgbills folder inside the Program Files folder. Click the mouse button on the folder and keep the button down. Move the mouse (with the button still down) until it is over an unoccupied area of the Desktop, then release the mouse button.
      
      Vista will say you need to provide administrator permission. Click Continue. Another box pops up asking for permission. Click Continue again.
      
      The Rtgbills folder should now be on the Desktop.
   
   
2. If RTG Bills is installed, start it now. You have to double-click the file rtgbills.exe in the Rtgbills folder on your Desktop. Confirm that your data is there by looking at a report, such as the Matter List.
   
   Back up the data to a Backup folder on the Desktop as follows:
   
   
   1. Right-click an empty spot on the Desktop and choose New > Folder. Name it Backup.
      
      
   2. In RTG Bills, choose File > Backup from the menu.
      
      
   3. At the Back Up Data window, click the Desktop button to put the location of the Desktop in the Backup Folder box. If your version of RTG Bills does not have a Desktop button, click Browse and choose the Desktop there.
      
      
   4. Check any options in the Options frame. It is very important to include historical bills, if that is an option. (Recent versions include them automatically.)
      
      
   5. Click Begin Backup to create the backup files in a folder named Backup on your Desktop.
      
      
   6. Click OK when the backup is done.
   
   Rename the folder from Backup to Backup-Bills.
   
   
3. If RTG Timer was installed on this computer, you should now repeat this procedure for RTG Timer. You have to double-click the file rtgtimer.exe in the Rtgbills folder on your Desktop. Confirm that your data is there by looking at a report, such as the Fees and Expenses by Matter.
   
   Back up the data to a Backup folder on the Desktop as explained previously for RTG Bills.
   
   Rename the folder from Backup to Backup-Timer.
   
   
4. If you were using RTG Bills V2.16 or below, you must upgrade RTG Bills. Only versions V2.17 and above work properly with Windows Vista. See Upgrading RTG Bills.
   
   
5. Install RTG Bills V2.17 or above. When you start the installation program, Vista will ask for permission. Click Allow.
   
   For the Destination Location (where programs are installed), choose:

   C:\Program Files\Rtgbills

   For the Data Location, enter the Standard Data Location, which is this:

   C:\ProgramData\RTG\RTG Bills

   
   
6. Start RTG Bills. You can double-click the shortcut on the Desktop if you wish. Do not use the files inside the Rtgbills folder on the Desktop. That folder contains the old version of RTG Bills.
   
   If you upgraded to a newer version of RTG Bills, a message says that the database must be updated. Click Yes.
   
   For RTG Bills Version 2.20 and above, you will need to enter your license information.
   
   Choose File > Restore From Backup from the menu. Click Yes to start RTG Restore.
   
   At the Warning page, click Next.
   
   At the Source File page, click Browse and locate the Backup-Bills folder on the Desktop. Open it, select the Bills.rbi file, and click Open. Click Next.
   
   At the Destination Folder page, click the Standard Data Location button. In Vista, it should show this location:

   C:\ProgramData\RTG\RTG Bills\

   Click Next.
   
   At the Ready page, read the text carefully. It shows the date and time the backup was created. This should be very recent, if you just did the previous step to create the backup. When you are ready to proceed, click Restore.
   
   If everything works, a message says the data was restored. Click OK.
   
   
7. Start RTG Bills again. If you upgraded to a newer version of RTG Bills, a message says that RTG Bills must update the database format. Click Yes and RTG Bills will start.
   
   For RTG Bills Version 2.20 and above, you will need to enter your license information again.
   
   Confirm that you now see your data in RTG Bills.
   
   
8. Install RTG Timer. You must install the same version as RTG Bills, so be sure to use the same installation file that you used to install RTG Bills.
   
   When you start the installation program, Vista will ask for permission. Click Allow.
   
   Specify the same locations as for RTG Bills. For the Destination Location (where programs are installed), choose:

   C:\Program Files\Rtgbills

   For the Data Location, enter the Standard Data Location, which is this:

   C:\ProgramData\RTG\RTG Bills

   
   
9. Restore the RTG Timer data using the exact same procedure as for RTG Bills. Remember that we renamed the folder containing the RTG Timer data to Backup-Timer.
   
   
10. Start RTG Timer again. If you upgraded to a newer version of RTG Timer, a message says that RTG Timer must update the database format. Click Yes and RTG Timer will start.
    
    Confirm that you now see your data in RTG Timer.
    
    
11. Now that RTG Bills and RTG Timer are back in the original location, your Desktop shortcuts should work again.
    
    
12. Start RTG Timer. You may see a message that it cannot open the RTG Bills database. Click OK.
    
    Choose Setup > Other from the menu. On the Database tab, select From RTG Bills database. You need to enter the database location in the box. Click Reset if it is in the standard data location. Otherwise, click Browse and choose the correct location. Click Save.
    
    
13. When you are certain that everything is working correctly, you can delete these three folders on the Desktop: Backup-Bills, Backup-Timer, Rtgbills. Better yet, save them on a backup device and then delete them.

You should now be able to use RTG Bills and RTG Timer without problems.

Note: RTG Upgrade and Vista

RTG Upgrade is used for optional features and minor program updates. Before you start RTG Upgrade in either program (File > Upgrade), you must start RTG Bills or RTG Timer by right-clicking the icon and choosing Run as administrator.

If you just double-click the program icon, you will see the message Could not start RTG Upgrade when you attempt to upgrade. The reason is that RTG Upgrade must have the ability to change files in the Program Files folder, and Vista requires that it have administrator privileges to do that.