Anybody figured out what is the best way to convert Poker Journal's html backup into csv without asking and waiting for the app developer to do it?

I will try some other tracking apps but I only have the html backup from Poker Journal.

It seems a couple ppl in here only have the .html backup from PJ so I figured I would try to figure out how to get the data out of it.

The html file has a link that is a Base64 encoded version of your .sqlite file.

1. Open your .html file in a browser and copy the link. The link should start with something like this...

pkrjrnimport:<BR>4.0<BR>9-19-2014 18-8-26.pjbuzip<BR>UEsDBBQAAAAIAD19A0X3T.....

2. Go to this site (or any site that decodes Base64)

http://www.opinionatedgeek.com/dotne.../Base64Decode/

3. Paste in the contents of the link from your PJ .html file backup. Starting at the top of the text you copied in delete this...

"pkrjrnimport:<BR>4.0<BR>9-19-2014 18-8-26.pjbuzip<BR>"

Obviously your date in the middle will be different than mine but the idea is the same.

4. Click Decode. This will download a file called "DecodedBase64.bin". This file is a binary archive which you should be able to open with any unzipping type software. The contents will be your PJ2_0.sqlite file.

5. Go to convertpokerjournal.com and load your .sqlite file and it will convert it to .CSV

Hope that helps!

Awesome! Thanks!

Thanks for this.. Can anyone else confirm this works? Will give it a try later

I can confirm the steps harrythree posted works. I have my html backup converted to a csv file using his web app.

Glad it worked for ya!

harrythree, I managed to get my PJ into RG, BUT all my PJ sessions are recorded as starting on todays date..?? any ideas?
I checked the csv file and the session start dates do appear to be correct..

The only thing I've noticed about my import with the dates is that it always shows AM even when it was supposed to be PM.

You may want to delete the app and try the import again. But before you do that make sure your device settings are to United States and 12 hours.

That's in General -> Language & Region -> Region and General -> Date & Time -> 24-Hour time (makes sure this is off)

After you do that try importing again.

Yeah it seems strange.. I have iPhone 4s and don't use 24hr time. My region is Australia which is the same as when I used PJ..

It's been over three weeks since the PJ/iOS8 problem surfaced but there is still no resolution. Disgusting! The developer has stated that it is an iOS8 problem but other poker apps, e.g., RG work fine with new OS. Could the lack of resolution be caused by indifference or a lack of a sense of urgency? Whatever the cause, the lack of a speedy resolution of the problem has tarnished what was a great app and driven users to other apps that work with iOS8. Loved it but am leaving it!

How are long-term PJ users shocked? When io7 came out he dragged for a long time. When my friend told me ios8 was being released, my first thought was, "****, now I have to wait months for a PJ update before I can buy an iphone6 or update the operating system"

Michael just needs to sell the app already.

Thanks! I successfully got my .CSV file today. I also donated $10. I greatly appreciate your help. Cheers!

Just downloaded. I'm looking forward to giving it a try! [EDIT: It says imports are only supported via the paid version, so I just purchased it. I'm really hoping it's as good or better than PJ and that you guys stick with it (upgrades, support, etc!)

Thanks - I use 24 hour time so I had to change this.

Glad everything worked out and thanks for the donation!

Please fix this thanks developer

-Opening screen

While I like the idea of going straight to sessions played, when you first open the app, and thus have no sessions played to display, you get basically a blank screen with Filter and More buttons displayed with a + at the top.

I click click and ask questions later, but this might not be intuitive for some users the first time they open the app. Perhaps a splash screen for the first time it's opened stating to click the + to get started? It just seemed like, "where's the cash game button?" at first and then I clicked 'More' because I didn't see the + first.


-Tokes

Not really a fan of clicking 2 or more buttons to add tokes, but it's not a deal-breaker. It would be great if, like when you've added a few rebuys of differing amounts and it remembers the last 3 amounts, that when you click Dealer Tips that the last 3 different tip amounts are displayed along with the enter amount option like it is for rebuys.

If you tipped a buck earlier and then tipped 5 bucks later, now when you click tips you only have '$5.00' and 'enter amount' to choose from, so you'd have to click an extra 2 buttons to get $1 back as the default. I think most players have a few different tip amounts depending on who is in the box or pot size. If it remembers the last 3 or so tip amounts, then that would be better than PJ's toke button because you wouldn't have to hit it five times to enter $5.00, for example.


-End Game

This is the same as PJ, and I have the same minor criticism. When you click stop and get to the cashout screen, your timer is shut off only once you click save.

While this is great because if you're playing short-handed and the other players want to break the game and you hit cashout and begin to type in what you have in front of you and as you're doing that the brush found another player and now the other players want to play again, you can just hit cancel and your session is still going.

For this same reason, though, if you did type the amount in and click save and close the session before the game resumed, it would be handy for an app to have a 'resume' button option for a few minutes after you end the session when you click edit on a finished session for cases like these.

However, if you hit stop and don't have a chance to type in cashout amount and click save for whatever reason, then when you do click save your session will be off by however much time you were talking with someone, for example.

You have a great feature that you can save the session while turning the clock back so you don't have to change session length in edit mode on a finished session, but mostly I think if you've never hit cancel on the cashout screen (and thus go back to the timer screen), it should save the session at the moment Stop was clicked so you don't have to estimate your end session time.

Basically, I think 'End: On Save' (for people that clicked Stop but decided to play another orbit or whatever, or for people that are immediately saving the session) should also have another selection of 'End: On Stop' (for people that hit Stop and couldn't save immediately) in addition to the great feature of having the ability to roll the clock back at cashout. /nit


-Font

Font is really small in the results tab and in general overall. I have the same issue with Poker Journal, too. 20 years ago I'd be fine; today, I don't mind having 4 or 5 game results to look at before scrolling instead of putting on my reading glasses to see 7 or 8. Perhaps a large and small font option would be nice, but I understand how that would require a complete redesign for the larger font.

I like the black and red instead of green and red in other apps; it's much cleaner on the eyes. Personally, I'd ditch the parenthesis on losing sessions. Since we have different colors today and you use red and black, I think parenthesis is superfluous and unnecessary clutter (despite accounting tradition).

I think card room location would correspond better with stakes and game on the left side, but I can understand how some people would like to see results and place in the same column.

Although I'd prefer a slightly larger font overall, the larger font combined with bold and layout in the Reports screen is jarring. One or the other (larger or bold only in Reports); it's not consistent with the overall theme, imo.


-Tourney buyin

When you click 'New Buy-In' and type in the amount and click save, the new buyin amount is not checked by default so if you click Live Game it uses your last buyin amount rather the new one you just added.

Same goes for adding a new game variant. If I type in a new game, say Omaha 5x2, it's likely because I'm about to sit in that game and not adding new games at home (so I don't have to do it at the casino), but that's certainly more possible than the tourney buyin amounts being done ahead of time, I would think.


-Reports

Like you said, you're working on more glitzy stats and graphs, so I'll just talk about navigation. If I select, More > Reports > Cash Games > This Month, the only way to get back to the results tab is Cash Games > Reports > More > Done. I think a shortcut to get back to the home screen would be desirable.


Features I really like and/or are not on other apps:


-App is clean and smooth

Basically a Poker Journal type format without the clutter. Familiarity, cleanliness.


-Notes

I like the feature of being able to add separate notes for a single session (even though I rarely note). Perhaps having a time stamp for when each note was taken would benefit other players that do take notes frequently.


-Start time

The ability to retroactively start a session, in the event that you forgot to click start when you began your session, is a great feature. More than a few times I've been 10 minutes in before remembering to start the timer... so much easier than having to edit on the fly or remembering to edit after the session is closed.


-Add button

At first this seemed unnecessary since it just gives you all the options you can click on the timer screen, but it's far easier to use that one extra click for options than clicking the specific field you want to edit.


All you need to do is pump up the stats and graphs, and this app would seem (haven't seen the filter settings on the Pro version) like the easiest app to transition to for Poker Journal users, with some new/nice features and improvements in areas that PJ lacks.

wow, thanks for the great feedback.

the font size issue i have been working on for a while now. i want the app to adjust dynamically to how the font size is set in Settings. it's been surprisingly a lot of work, but it's coming along. also the idea of auto-selecting a new game variant etc when creating it is fixed in the next update. the rest of the stuff is pretty solid advice that i will try to incorporate into the app. thanks again!

Is there an ETA on when PJ will be fixed?

This is the email I got from Michael Golden a few weeks ago:

I am writing to inform you of current and serious issue with Poker Journal on iOS8.

First of all, I am sending this to as broad a list as possible. If you are not a Poker Journal user, you do not need to continue reading this. If you would rather not get emails from me, please email me, and I will remove you from my notification list.

As many of you have already written to me, iOS 8 is not currently compatable with Poker Journal. This is not due to any code issue that I have control of. This is due to a defect in iOS 8. Poker Journal will not install on a device that is using iOS8. This is due to a defect in the operation system. I have been working with Apple to figure out what is going on, but my most recent communication with them simply told me to file a bug report with apple and they are providing no further information. I am still trying to get them to respond. So far, they are not cooperating.

I will continue to try to get them to provide more information. I would also urge you to contact Apple and complain directly to them. This is a problem with iOS 8.


If you are affected by this issue, please read the rest of this email for urgent information. This is time critical inforormation if you are using iCloud to backup your data. (see below)

I recommend the following:
If you have NOT already upgraded to iOS 8, and you use Poker Joural... Wait. I will send you an email when this is resolved.

If you HAVE already upgraded, you may want to read this article (http://www.macworld.com/article/2687...downgrade.html OR http://www.iphonehacks.com/2014/09/d...ios-7-1-2.html) and consider downgrading. This may or may not be possible, but if you really need to run Poker Journal, this will be the only option until Apple resolves the issue. (Assuming you do not have access to a device with iOS7 or earlier.
WARNING: I cannot be responsible for any data loss that comes with this procedure.
Please understand that you proceed at your own risk!

As far as your DATA:
If you have used Poker Journal to backup your data and hav the backup email, rest assured, this email contains your Poker Journal database, and once Poker Journal is working again on your device, you will be able to restore your data from this email. (Kep it safe.)

If you Backup your device to iTunes. You will be able to restore your data from the iTunes backup once Poker Journal is working on your device again. If for some reason this does not restore, there are tools to go into the backup file and recover the Poker Journal database from the backup file from iTunes. Contact me for more information about the tools to do so. (free version of http://www.iphonebackupextractor.com works well)

If you backup your devices to iCloud ONLY. Then there are some things that you can do to help protect your Poker Journal data from being removed from your iCloud backup.
- The most important thing that you can do is TURN OFF iCLOUD backup from your device. From what I understand, iCloud keeps the most recent THREE backup files from your device.If you turn off your backups, then you are less likeley to have the backup that contains your Poker Journal data removed.

- Use a utility to Download your backup files from iCloud.
I am not sure the best answer for getting your backup from iCloud. There are some utilites for downlaoding and extracting files from your iCloud account... though they are not cheap. The one that looks most likely to work is:
http://www.iphonebackupextractor.com (cost $70)
I have not yet tried this, but hope to try it to verify that it works. If this works, and if you would like me to try to extract from your iCloud account so you don't have to, I am willing to try, but.. this would require you giving me your iCloud login. (I certainly can be trusted, but I would probably not be comfortable giving my apple ID and login to anyone personally.) If you want to know if this worked, please drop me an email, and I will update you as soon as i have tested this.

there is a free version, but it only works on iTunes backups, NOT iCloud. I have tested this, and I was able to extract a PJ database file from an iTunes backup. this is probably the easisiest way to get the file from that backup file.

I have tried another utility (http://www.recovery-transfer.com) but this did not find the sqlite file that is the database for poker journal. It looks like a cool free tool for accessing other data types from your iCloud backup, but not for PokerJournal.

These are the only two that I have seen so far...


There are tools that will get your data file back onto your device once Poker Journal is working on your device again If you get to this stage, email me and I will send you instructions on how to do this.

OR

If through any of the steps above you are able to get your Poker Joural database, If you are willing to send it to me, I will convert your data to a csv file that can be opened in Excel, or perhaps imported into another poker tracking program. (I would hate to loose you as a user, but I understand how difficult this must be.)

I wish I had better news for you. I hope Apple is comes around and becomes more responsive. I suspect they have their hands full with having to pull and update for iOS 8 already...

If you know anyone who uses Poker Journal, feel free to forward this email to them, or tell them to email me to get onto my notification list.

If I can answer any other questons, please do not hestiate to contact me.

My appologies,
Michael Golden



Prior to getting my Iphone 6+ I did the email back up and Itunes backup so Whenever he finally sends out update to the app I should be able to recover data from one of those places. In the meantime I have been using the free version of poker income, not sure how many sessions I can add for free.

Not very encouraging the he blames apple for this when app developers get weeks to fix their apps prior to the new software launches.

I'm in the market for one of these poker apps. What do people think of PJ, aside from the iOS8 problem? RunGood seems to be lacking in features.

I've given up on PJ and Michael Golden. Since his initial email he hasn't replied to me. I took him up on his offer to send me a .csv file with my data but he never replied after I sent him my backup file. I've emailed a few times and he still hasn't replied.

I purchased RunGood for $18. I've successfully imported my PJ data (thanks to link above itt that converted it for me!) and used RunGood to manage a few cash games and MTTs. I don't think it's lacking at all. It's quite worth it imho.

Cool. I look forward to the updates.

Thanks for downloading RunGood, and glad you like the app.

For those who gave feedback, I've taken all the suggestions in this thread to heart, and will be gradually implementing many of the features to improve the app (already submitted update 1.5.2 to Apple). Oftentimes I will explain my considerations for certain features in the RunGood support thread where you can give input on they are implemented.

Finally figured out how to import data from poker journal into run good.. Basically if you don't use the DAY/MONTH/YEAR date format you need to change the settings in your phone to US format before you import. then you can switch it back..


*this is if you use the instructions posted above converting .html backup --> .csv --> run good.

Same with me