I am trying to import data from a FoxPro database into Sql Server however am having some very strange issues with the data. I am using the OLE DB driver and can query the data however some of the fields seem to contain text in a different encoding. I have used a few DBF viewer tools and it appears the same in there. An example of the text is:
SDRSDFFGGDFHEJKIYerwwvFH
Is this some kind of encoding that FoxPro (v8) applies? How can I extract this data?
EDIT
Having looked through most of the tables it does appear that this only occurs in 1 table and the data is displayed correctly within the system which is making me think it is encrypted. Are there standard encryption methods used within FoxPro that I can use to decrypt this?
DISCLAIMER
The aim of extracting this data is to assist in migrating from a Fox Pro application to a new shiny non FoxPro system. I have the full support of the previous systems owner and the data owner however not the encumbent development company hence the question
Foxpro does have some 3rd party utilities to do encryption, or could also use its own framework library utility class that performs encryption / decryption, but its nothing complex like SHA or such. Another utility that was commonly available was a product called “Cryptor”. However, if you encrypted a file for protection with that, I dont think you couldn even open the file as it also encrypted the file header and would not be recognized as a regular table to even view the records. Even if it WAS directly from within VFP.
If you have access to all the old code, or even the executable, you could run a de-compiler against it to hone-in on the table in question and see if there’s any in-code encryption / decryption before the fields are displayed. Such decryption tool that does a great job is called “ReFox” and will decrypt all the way down to form, class libraries and prg files.