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RowingBeaconDigital rowing logbook
ContentsSwitching from efa2, and back

Your data

Switching from efa2, and back

Brings in a complete efa2 project, with its outings, damage reports and reservations, without retyping anything, and can hand it back to efa2.

Where to find it
First launch › I’m coming from efa or Management › Data › efa2
Available since
v2.0 (October 2026)
Module to turn on
None

What it is for

efa2 is the tool that inspired RowingBeacon. RowingBeacon can take over its data, damage reports and reservations included, and give it back.

A club can therefore change software without losing its history, return to efa2, or use both side by side.

How to use it

  1. In efa: Backups › “Create Backup”.
  2. Install RowingBeacon, on Windows or Linux. See Installation in minutes.
  3. On first launch, choose the “I’m coming from efa” profile, then “efa ZIP backup…”. efa’s “Data folder…”, the one that holds the .efa2project file, works too.
  4. Check the numbers shown in the preview, then click “Import and start”. On a computer that is already in use, the import is done in Management › Data › “Import an efa2 project”, with the “Replace and import” button.
  5. To go back to efa2: Management › Data › “Export to efa2” creates, wherever you choose, a ZIP backup that efa2 can restore.
The “Create Backup” tab in efa2, with “Save Configuration Data” and “Save Project” ticked
The “Create Backup” tab in efa2, with “Save Configuration Data” and “Save Project” ticked
In efa: the “Create Backup” tab.
Preview of an efa2 project import: 38 boats, 110 rowers, 5 routes and 5,925 outings, 9 of them on the water
Preview of an efa2 project import: 38 boats, 110 rowers, 5 routes and 5,925 outings, 9 of them on the water
The preview before the import, on a fictional club: the number of boats, rowers, routes and outings found in the efa2 project.
The efa2 section of Management › Data in Rowing Beacon: import an efa2 project from a ZIP backup or a data folder, or export to efa2
The efa2 section of Management › Data in Rowing Beacon: import an efa2 project from a ZIP backup or a data folder, or export to efa2
The efa2 section of Management › Data: import an efa2 project or export to efa2.

What comes across

In efa2In RowingBeacon
Boats, with their variantsBoats, with their riggings (4x / 4-)
External boatsArchived boats
PersonsRowers
DestinationsRoutes, with their distance
All the logbooksA single history; each outing keeps its original logbook
Outings in progressOutings in progress
Damage reports, with their severity, repaired or notOpen or repaired damage reports, in each boat’s history. They are exported again with their severity, see Boat damage reports
Unavailable boatsOut-of-service boats, with their reason. An out-of-service boat with no damage is exported again as unavailable
Free-text namesGuests
Boat reservationsReservations in the Reservations module, exported back to efa2, see Boat reservations
Messages, standard crews, waters, outing groups, club work, DRV badges, saved statistics, damage reports of an unknown boatKept without a screen, and written back when exporting to efa2

Limits and details

  • The import replaces all the club’s current data. A backup is made just before; if it fails, the import is cancelled.
  • efa is not modified by the import.
  • The modules whose data the project contains are turned on by the import, for example Damages and Reservations.
  • Only efa 2.x projects are read. The round trip has been checked with efa 2.5.3.
  • The two programs do not synchronise: each move from one to the other goes through a backup.
  • When exporting to efa2, incidents are not carried over, nor are rowers beyond 24, nor cox beyond the first. Damage reports and reservations are.
  • Reservations made in efa2 for the whole day are kept and exported again, but they are not shown in RowingBeacon.
  • A project with no boats or no persons is refused, so that the club’s data is not erased.
  • The full guide, with all the limits: Migrating from efa2.

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