>When deploying new database structures of applications that are already in use by our customers, we want to upgrade the dbc and the accompaning dbf structures, without erasing their live data.
>
>We tried to by making an empty copy of our own developer's database, moving the customer's data in a backup dir, placing our empty (new) one in the data directory and with an "append from" statement to add the live data into the new structure (added fields will then be left blank; that's not a problem).
>
>The problem is that during the data-import the stored procedures are triggered and cause multiple errors, ending in a complete mess....
>
>We're eager to hear other people's experiences and possible third-party products that make it possible to 'weave' an old (data-carrying) database with a new (empty) one.

See Stonefield in the UT Partnership Program area. Well worth the money. The discount helps offset the cost of upgrading your membership on UT.

I use Stonefield for all my apps and it has more than paid for itself in time saved from having to develop the tools they already provide - reindexing, updating structures, updating the dbc, validating views when you change the source table's structure, etc.