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Bird Brain Software

Bird Brain 7.4 Instructions
Downloading, Installing and Upgrading

There are three sections of instructions on this page. Everyone should do Section A first.

Then, if you are upgrading, you will do Section B or Section C, depending on what version you are upgrading from. 

Download free trial.

Click or scroll down to see the appropriate instructions
Section A

Everybody should do this first. All new users, upgraders, and those testing the free trial.
Follow these instructions to download and install the Bird Brain 7.4 Folder on your Mac.

Click here
Section B Upgrading from Bird Brain 7, 7.1, 7.2, or 7.3
After you have done Section A, and you are upgrading from Bird Brain 7, 7.1, 7.2, or 7.3 to BB 7.3, use these instructions.
Click here
Section C Upgrading from Bird Brain 6.5, 6.4, 6.3, 6.2, or 6.1. 
After you have done Section A, and you are upgrading from any of the Bird Brain 6.x versions, use these instructions.
Click here
Section D

Bird Brain Rescue Service
If you can't upgrade because Bird Brain won't open, or it crashes, we can help.

Click here

Instructions Sections A, B, and C are below.


Section A — for new users, all upgraders, and free trial


1. Check System Requirements

Your computer should match or exceed the system requirements listed below.

Operating System Recommended Computer Minimum RAM Recommended RAM
Catalina Intel-based Mac 2 GB 4 GB
Mojave Intel-based Mac 2 GB 4 GB
High Sierra v10.13 Intel-based Mac 2 GB 4 GB
Sierra v10.12 Intel-based Mac 2 GB 4 GB
El Capitan v10.11 Intel-based Mac 2 GB 4 GB
Yosemite v10.10 Intel-based Mac 2 GB 4 GB

2. Download and install Bird Brain 7.4 Folder

Download the Bird Brain 7.4 Installer.dmg

Download IconYou'll get a page that includes a Download button.

Click Download.

That will download the Bird Brain 7.4 Installer.dmg file to your Downloads folder or wherever you have set your browser's preferences to download files. Be sure you wait until the download is complete.

After it downloads, open your Downloads folder, and you should see the Bird Brain 7.4 Installer.dmg file.

 

Bird Brain 7.4 Installer.dmg


Doubleclick on the file to launch the installer. The installer will open.

Bird Brain Installer Window

From the Installer window, drag the Bird Brain 7.4 Folder icon to the Home folder on your Mac. That will copy the Bird Brain 7.4 Folder to your Home folder.

Home FolderYou can open your Home folder in the Finder by choosing Home from the Go menu or by typing Shift-Command-H. (Regardless of the name of your Home folder, it has an icon of a little house in the Finder.) Do not drag the Bird Brain 7.4 Folder anywhere else. Keep it in the Home folder.

After the copying is finished, you can close the installer by clicking the red button in the upper left of the window.

Why put it in the Home folder?
If the Bird Brain 7.4 Folder is in the Home folder, its files won't be in your your iCloud Drive even it you have iCloud activated.

What's the iCloud Drive?
It's a feature in the MacOS for storing your computer's files on the Internet so that they can be easily shared by other computers or mobile devices.

If the iCloud Drive is activated, your Documents folder and your Desktop Folder automatically move into your iCloud drive. When upgrading to Sierra, High Sierra, Mojave, or Catalina, it's easy to activate iCloud and not even know you did it.

To learn more details about the iCloud Drive, see here.

Why not run Bird Brain from the iCloud Drive?
Safety first. The iCloud feature is great. However, there's not enough experience yet with running Bird Brain in iCloud to be sure it's absolutely safe.

Until we better understand all the issues, we recommend not doing it.

Putting the Bird Brain 7.4 Folder in your Home folder keeps you in control
If you install the Bird Brain 7.4 Folder in your Home folder, you can still move it later if and when you decide you want to have it in your iCloud Drive.

The Home folder is the safe choice for installation. It works whether you have iCloud activated or not. And it works for all these Mac operating systems: Yosemite, El Capitan, Sierra, High Sierra, Mojave, and Catalina.

3. Launch Bird Brain

Open the Bird Brain 7.4 Folder that is inside your Home folder.  You should see these files:

Bird Brain 7.3 Files

First launch:

Double-click on the birdy icon. You will get a dialog box similar to this, asking you if you're sure you want to open Bird Brain.

Starting with Catalina, Apple is requiring all software downloaded from the Internet to be both CodeSigned and Notarized. CodeSigning identifies the software as a product of an Apple Certified Developer. Notarizing goes one step further. Notarizing means that Apple has checked the software and has determined it to free from malware.

Catalina will not allow non-notarized sofware to open on your Mac.

Click the Open button. Bird Brain will open.

4. What you see when Bird Brain Opens

You will see an About Bird Brain window for a few seconds, and then the Sighting Record window will open, with a Downy Woodpecker sighting showing.

About Bird Brain   

This is the first record of the Tutorial Records that come pre-installed in Bird Brain. They work with the Bird Brain Quick Start Tutorial to help you learn how to use the program. You'll find the Bird Brain Quick Start Tutorial in the Help menu.

5. Put the Bird Brain 7.4 icon in your dock

It's a great idea to put the your Bird Brain icon on the dock. Makes it easy to launch Bird Brain. Here's how.

Open the Bird Brain 7.4 Folder. Select the birdy icon in the Finder. Hold down the Shift Key, and choose Add to Dock from the File menu. The icon will be added to the end of the application section of the Dock. You can then drag it wherever you want it on the Dock.

Birdie Icon

Here's another way to add the birdie icon to the Dock. You can drag the icon from the Finder to the Dock. But if you do, be careful to hold down the mouse button until you reach the dock. If you let up too soon, you will move the Bird Brain 7.4 file out of its folder. You don't want to do that. If you do, Bird Brain won't work until you put it back.

 

Getting rid of the Installer (optional)

Installer iconThe installer has finished its work. It's OK to keep it around, but if you want to get rid of it, here's how to do it.

You can eject it by right-clicking on its icon on the desktop and choosing Eject.

Or you can also eject it from the Finder sidebar by clicking its up-arrow there.

 sidebar installer icon

What new users of Bird Brain need to know

Bird Brain Quick Start Tutorial

Bird Brain 7.4 comes with 60 Tutorial Records installed. The first thing you should do is take the Bird Brain Quick Start Tutorial that's in the Help menu. It works with the 60 Tutorial Records that come pre-installed in Bird Brain 7.4 to help you learn the program.

Go to Bird Brain's Help menu, the last menu on the right.
Choose Bird Brain Quick Start Tutorial.

The Quick Start manual will open in a separate window. It's a standard PDF file. You can have it open at the same time that you're using Bird Brain. Or you can print it out.

Rules you will need to follow

Keep the files in the Bird Brain 7.4 Folder intact
Don't move any of the files out of the Bird Brain 7.4 Folder, and don't rename them. Their names and locations are critical for Bird Brain to work correctly.

Always open Bird Brain using the birdie icon
Always launch Bird Brain by clicking on the birdie icon in your Bird Brain 7.4 Folder or the birdie icon in the Dock. Don't open the program by clicking on the Bird Brain Records.USR file.

Birdie Icon

Bird Brain Registraion

Although this download is the full, working version of Bird Brain 7.4, you can't enter more than 70 records until after you purchase a Bird Brain 7.4 registration code. Previous registration codes won't work.

You get the registration code sent to  you when you buy Bird Brain 7.4 or one of the upgrades at the Birdwatching Dot Com Store.

When you order, you'll receive an email with your registration name and license code. To enter them in Bird Brain, you'll choose Bird Brain Registration from Bird Brain's Help menu. Please enter your name and code exactly as you received it.

License agreement

By installing Bird Brain, you agree to the terms of this software license agreement.

See License Agreement

 


Section B — Upgrading from previous versions of Bird Brain


Upgrading to Bird Brain 7.4
from Bird Brain 7, 7.1, 7.2, or 7.3

If you have not done Section A, above, be sure to do it first.

Overview

To upgrade, you will export your data from your previous version of Bird Brain, which will create new exported files in your Bird Brain Folder. You will move these new, exported files into your new Bird Brain 7.4 Folder. Then you will import that data into Bird Brain 7.4.

What versions of Bird Brain work with Catalina and previous operating systems? 

Bird Brain 7 and 7.1

Bird Brain versions 7 and 7.1 won't open on Mojave or Catalina or will crash. Therefore, Bird Brain 7 and 7.1 users should upgrade to Bird Brain 7.4 before installing Catalina. 

But even if this happens, all is not lost. See the Bird Brain Rescue Service section below.

Bird Brain 7.2

Bird Brain version 7.2 does not have this problem. It works on Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra, Sierra, El Capitan, and Yosemite.

What if I can't open my current version of Bird Brain on my new operating system?

Your old version of Bird Brain may not work on your upgraded Mac operating system.

But even if this happens, all is not lost. See the Bird Brain Rescue Service section below.

How to export your data

Find your current Bird Brain Folder

If you have been using Bird Brain 7.3 or 7.2, you should find your Bird Brain Folder in your Home Folder.

If you were still using Bird Brain 7 or 7.1, your Bird Brain Folder should be in the Documents folder. If you happen to have put it somewhere else, you'll need to find it.

Export your records data

  1. Open the Bird Brain Folder.
  2. If there are any files whose names begin with "Exported...", put them in the trash. This will avoid confusion with your new exports.
  3. Open Bird Brain 7, 7.1, 7.2, or 7.3
  4. Choose Export All Records Data from the File Menu
  5. Quit Bird Brain
  6. Open your Bird Brain 7, 7.1, 7.2, or 7.3 Folder. You should see one, two, or three files that have now been created there. These files contain all your data.

    Exported BB7 Location LatLong.fmp12
    Exported BB7 Records.fmp12
    Exported BB7 Species Pics.fmp12

Exported Files Icons

It's OK if you see only one or two of these files. It just means you didn't have all three kinds of data in your previous Bird Brain records. But you should at least have the Exported BB7 Records.fmp12 file. If not, start over.

How to import your data into Bird Brain 7.4

Assuming you have already downloaded and installed Bird Brain 7.4 on your computer, you should see a new folder, the Bird Brain 7.4 Folder, in the Home folder on your computer.

Copy your one, two, or three exported files from your previous Bird Brain Folder, and paste them into your Bird Brain 7.4 Folder. Now you're ready to import your data into Bird Brain 7.4.

Import your data into Bird Brain 7.4.

Re-ImportOpen Bird Brain 7.4.

From the File menu, choose Re-Import All BB7 Records Data.

Bird Brain will delete the Tutorial Records and will import your data into Bird Brain 7.4.

Please wait for the process to finish. You'll get a message telling you when it's done. 

Congratulations! You're ready to use Bird Brain 7.4.

  6.5 Converter 6.4 Converter 6.3 Converter 6.2 Converter 6.1 Converter


Section C — Upgrading from Bird Brain 6.5, 6.4, 6.3, 6.2, or 6.1


Upgrade Instructions
for upgrading from
Bird Brain 6.5, 6.4, 6.3, 6.2, or 6.1

If you have not done Section A, above, be sure to do it first.

Send us your file and we will convert it for you.

All versions of Bird Brain after Bird Brain 6.5 have a new file structure. The file with your data, Bird Brain Records.USR, will have to be converted to the new file structure.

Furthermore, the Mac operating system has been upgraded several times. This means the do-it-yourself file converter utility we previously provided for customers won't work most of the time. There are many ways for the process to go wrong and frustrate the user. Especially Bird Brain 6.5-and-earlier users.

So, to make it simple and make it work for everybody, we are asking you to send us your Bird Brain Records.USR file and let us do the conversion process for you. That's the good news.

The bad news is it costs more for the upgrade. The upgrade cost from Bird Brain 6.5 and earlier is $39.95.

You can purchase this special Bird Brain 6.5-and-earlier upgrade by clicking on the link below.

Birdwatching Dot Com Store

Here's what to send us

Find the Bird Brain Folder you are currently using.
Open its folder, and double-click on the Birdy icon to open Bird Brain.
Check to see if it's really the one with all your records.
Quit Bird Brain.
Look inside the Bird Brain Folder for the file named: Bird Brain Records.USR.

Send that file to us, using the link below. You can send a file up to 2 GB in size. Be sure to incude your name when you do the file transfer.

https://www.transferbigfiles.com/dropbox/BirdBrain

If your Bird Brain Records.USR file is larger than 2 GB, you can select it in the Finder and then choose Compress from the File menu. If the resulting zip file is still too big, call us, and we'll work something out. 800-779-7256.

Here's what we will send you

We will convert the file and send it back to you ready to go in Bird Brain 7.4 with all your records and your registation name and code already entered.


Section D — Bird Brain Rescue Service


I installed Catalina or Mojave, and now Bird Brain crashes!

Has this happened to you?

Perhaps you installed a newer operating system on your Mac before upgrading to Bird Brain 7.4. And say you were running Bird Brain 7, or 7.1. And now when you try to export your records data, the older Bird Brain crashes. So you can't even export your data. Yikes!

If you're stuck in this trap, there is help!

What to do?

First, purchase, download, and install the Bird Brain 7.4 Upgrade. It will work on Catalina and Mojave, and it will be ready to receive your rescued data. See Section A, above.

If you haven't already done so, then purchase the Bird Brain Rescue Service ($20) and send us the appropriate Bird Brain Records.USR file. We'll open the file, export your data, format it for Bird Brain 7.4, and send it back to you.

Send Bird Brain Records.USRHere's what to send us

Find the Bird Brain Folder that contains your Bird Brain that crashes.

Look inside the Bird Brain Folder for the file named: Bird Brain Records.USR.

Send that file to us.

Use this file transfer link.

You can send a file up to 2 GB in size.

Be sure to incude your name and the version of Bird Brain (for example, "John Smith, BB 7.1").

If your Bird Brain Records.USR file is larger than 2 GB, you can select it in the Finder and then choose Compress from the File menu. If the resulting zip file is still too big, call us, and we'll work something out. 800-779-7256.

Here's what we will send you

We will convert the file and send it back to you, ready to go in Bird Brain 7.4.