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sms2csv for Treo 650

May 25th, 2005 by Livy

sms2csv.php: convert sms from .pdb to .csv format for Treo 650

csv stands for Comma Separated Values file format. It is compatible with Microsoft Excel.

This is a free online PHP script that allows you save your sms messages to plain text file in .csv format.

It does not require download or install any software or program on your computer, no matter you are using Mac OS, Linux or Windows.

Simple to use. Just upload the Messages Database.pdb file from your computer. Choose what kind of output you want, downloadable csv file or online view.

Try it at http://mylivy.net/sms2csv/sms2csv.php

File size limit: 3M

Note: for Chinese SMS messages, you can choose “output to screen” then copy to your Word/Excel.

51 Responses to “sms2csv for Treo 650”

on 14 Jul 2005 at 9:08 pm Max Bonfanti

Hi, I really appreciated your tool.
I still have my treo600 because I cannot convert my sms databases to the new unified treo650 (and even my call log)
I think this is an important issue that palmone will never fix so anyone who is upgrading needs this utility.
If I send you some old sms .pdb can you please try to convert them to 650 ?

Thank you in advice

Max
on 30 Aug 2005 at 8:37 am Axel

Hi, I tried to upload my treo 650 Messages Database ( 591KB ), it did not work. “file was not uploaded” what can I do, that it works ?

Thanx

Axel
on 01 Sep 2005 at 6:49 am Livy

Hi Axel, the size limit for the database was initially set at 500KB, but I’d readjusted it to accept message database up to 800KB, you can try it again.
on 01 Sep 2005 at 2:03 pm Axel

Woooow, You are a GENIUS !!! It worked ! I have 591 KB more memory on my treo 650 now ! And I can conveniently read and archive the messages on my PC. Thank You very very much ! I looked for that for soooo long! The problem of getting the messages out of the Treo is discussed in a lot of forums! There are businessmen, kids, lovers… who all want to have their SMS dialogues on PC. I hope You will soon sell an application to help them all. With option to sort only by date (now standard) or by person and date (one dialogue after the other) Thanks again ! Axel
on 09 Oct 2005 at 8:10 pm Ken

the software is great! but i wonder if I can hv a “software-running” version for iMac…

Thx!
on 12 Oct 2005 at 7:36 pm Ken

Hi, what a great way to export SMS. But I found it not support Chinese?
on 02 Nov 2005 at 7:28 am Kurt

Great tool, I would love to use with my Verizon Treo 650 but for some reason, I do not have a messages database.pdb on my WinXP PC in the backup folder.

I have tried uploading the SMS- but I get in the CSV file is:
31.12.1903 16:00:00 in Cell B1.

Any idea of how I can get the SMS message threads from my T650 to CSV?
on 03 Jan 2006 at 2:42 pm Tony

Hi Guys,

there are so many web sites about how to convert SMS databases to something that can be read
on windows, I have a Treo 600 and would love to be able to backup my old SMS’s in a format that I can see on my PC and then delete them from my Treo. This script sounds great for Treo650, but does anyone ahve one similar for the Treo 600?
on 14 Feb 2006 at 3:18 am Brian

Thanks… It turns out my message database is about 2Mby… can your program accept it? I have some pictures in my sms… Thanks a million,
Brian
on 14 Feb 2006 at 10:26 am Livy

Hi Brian, if you have MMS inside the SMS database file, the original sms2csv by Viacheslav Kaloshin is more capable.

http://multik.org/sms2csv/ (but not accessible currently)

I increased the size limit to 2.5M. But uploading 2M file over internet may take longer time to upload. The script will take longer time to process. My web host limit the php script execution time.

This script was developped initially for Mac users, in which case the .exe file is not able to run on Mac OS.
on 18 Feb 2006 at 12:56 am Brian

Thank you a bunch! It worked!

I relized that if there are MMSs then the other SMS in the thread are not extracted at all, and also other errors are produced in the extracted files. Instead, if MMSs are removed, then the extract works much better.

I have also noticed that sometimes the text of two consecutive SMSs is joined into one. I was wondering whether this had to do with the fact that some special character such as ! was used in the message.

Warning to all: If you play with the pdf file (like I did) and then you hotsync, then the TREO may remove all your SMSs from your phone. My suggestion then is that you copy the file into another directory before playing with it. I think that what happened in my case is that I openened it with WordPad, re-saved it and then did a hotsync - at that time the system recognized that the date was different and deleted all!

Best,

Brian
on 19 Feb 2006 at 12:38 am Daniel

Hi, nice idea, but only get this… Hope you repair it soon..

Internal Server Error
The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.
Please contact the server administrator, webmaster@mylivy.net and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.

More information about this error may be available in the server error log.

Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.

——————————————————————————–

Apache/1.3.34 Server at www.mylivy.net Port 80
on 19 Feb 2006 at 10:29 am Livy

Hi Daniel,

The “500 Internal Server Error” is due to the resource limit set on my web host. I have no control. This may happen if the SMS DB file is too big.
on 21 Feb 2006 at 6:58 pm Brian

Those with a big SMS DB file I suggest you do the following:

- save your current messages file on a safe place
- remove the MMS that you have (archive copy for the future will be on the above file)
- now your messages DB file should be much smaller
- use the application to get your SMSs out (at least the ones that are not MMS)

Does anybody know how one can get the call list out of the TREO? Does anybody know how to delete the whole list?

Many regards,

Brian
on 03 Mar 2006 at 5:54 pm Oliver

Hi,
I just read about this useful applications and tried to upload my Message DB (350kb), but it was not trasnfered.
Is it still working?

Thanks!

Oliver

also, I have a big problem with SMS with happened now twice on my TREO 650. Suddenly all my inbox is gone, and whenever somebody sends me a sms, my Palm crashes/same for me sending a sms. When this happened first time (out of nothing, without me installing stuff..) and I synchronized with Desktop, it was working again. But now 2nd time it doesn’t. sms is not working anymore?
any ideas?
on 03 Mar 2006 at 8:15 pm Livy

due to migrating to a new web host, i didn’t check the file/durectory permission. now it should work fine.

thanks Oliver for informing me. By the way, your reset problem may be similar to this? http://mylivy.net/blog/?p=3

do let me know if you still have problem using it.
on 28 Mar 2006 at 5:14 am peter

how to run the pgm under Windows XP as stand alone (no web-browser, no internet)?
on 19 Apr 2006 at 2:44 am Nathan

I got this message in my CSV file…am I doing something wrong?

Thanks!

–

S
15.11.2005 14:45:24 21300 More

Fatal error: Maximum execution time of 30 seconds exceeded in /home/congyuan/public_html/sms2csv/sms2csv.php on line 300
on 19 Apr 2006 at 11:08 pm octavio

I have tried it and, at las for me, it nearly works. It seems to get confused with characters like ¿ ¡ some accented vowels and some other non standard. It should be nice to have this glitch solved.

thanks a lot for your efforts and regards from sunny Spain
on 25 Apr 2006 at 4:53 am Andrew Poretz

First I got the 30 second error message a few times. Then it “worked” but the resulting CSV file appeared to be empty. That happened twice. My kingdom for a good SMS printing program!
on 05 May 2006 at 6:22 am Pat H

Treo 600 to 650 - What happened to text messages?

I replaced my Palm Treo 600 with a Palm Treo 650. First I hot synced and backed my Palm 600 data. I installed the new Palm 650 software in the same location the Palm 600 desktop software was installed. My t-mobile SIM was placed in the Palm 650 and all data seemed to transfer. The exception to this was my text messages from my 600. The 600 used the application SMS v.1.0.1 to log text messages. The Treo 650 uses Messaging v.2.0. Any new messages that I have received since switching the phones use the later application. I really need to keep the “old” messages and would like them to transfer. It appears as if the SMS application is locked so I can not beam it over to the Treo 650. Is there a way to beam locked applications? I have another question. Are these messages stored on the SIM card .. or are they a application that should have been picked up when I installed the new Palm Desktop software?

Any ideas what I can do to resolve this?
on 06 Jul 2006 at 10:15 pm Barry

Thank you for your efforts with sms2csv. I have a treo 650, and am trying to convert my SMS files but get empty files, whether I use the .exe or the php version of your program. I select the SMS_Msg_Database.PDB file, or any of the chat thread files, but I get blank files in converting. Do you have any suggestions? I appreciate your time and efforts.
on 13 Jul 2006 at 6:58 am Anderson gj bodhi

I submit file and save csv but it is empty any thoughts running from an XP machine
on 05 Sep 2006 at 6:53 pm Jane

Hi. My Palm Treo 650 goes into a sift reset everytime i send a sms. I can receive sms and phone etc all fine. Have Hard Reset causing phone to die completely. Now on new Treo 650 and after 2 text out again I cannot send sms.

Error message is

../src/messageStore.c, line:1392, messageStoreOpenItem: item open alreday

Can anbody help? My mobile phone provider has failed to sort it out.

thanks

Jane
on 22 Sep 2006 at 11:22 am Zacky

I have 1 file “Messages_Database.PDB” but i cannot open it file size is 1.70MB

please help me
on 26 Sep 2006 at 3:50 pm Livy

I increased the file limit to 3M.
on 26 Nov 2006 at 4:39 am Pratana

i keep getting an empty .csv file is there something i am dong wrong? my file is only about 1.5mb
on 12 Dec 2006 at 1:05 pm zana

Hi Livy,

I’ve been using the sms2csv to convert Palm Treo 650 sms from pdb format to text format. It’s been a success and I really appreciate the program that u’ve developed.

I have few concerns and need your opinion/feedback regarding 2 matters, if u could help me with ur opinion, that would be great

1. Is it possible for me to extract deleted sms from the Treo 650? It is very crucial for me to investigate the deleted sms as it contains important evidence for the case i’ve been working on.

2. The time setting on the Palm is different than those time on the csv file that I’ve extracted. There is a lapse about 1 hour and sometime the time lapse is different from 1 sms to other sms. Why is it like that…and may i know how to detect in which area is the time is save in the pdb file and in what format?

Your idea/opinion is highly appreciated.

Thank you.
on 20 Dec 2006 at 11:26 pm Rico

Hi Livy,
I really appreciate your sms2csv to convert my sms from treo. But after using my treo more than 1 year now, I have messages.pdb bigger and bigger in filesize.

When I use your sms2csv nowadays, it always come up this comment:
Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 33554432 bytes exhausted (tried to allocate 16846400 bytes) in /var/www/client/util/pdb2csv/index.php on line 299

and my csv data always ended in the middle of data.

I’ve purged my recent sms but it doesn’t reduce the messages.pdb filesize.

Do you have any idea what should I do? Thx.
on 21 Dec 2006 at 7:31 pm Livy

Hi Rico,

I suggest you use the Windows DOS utility from http://mylivy.net/blog/?p=21
on 29 Jan 2007 at 2:26 am David

i can’t find the Messages Database.pdb file any where… I searched for it and it doesn’t show up.
on 09 Feb 2007 at 4:06 am johnny

thanks for putting this together online! super easy to use! the only problem i had was that when i uploaded, the excel file only returned messages from 2005 and seemed to ignore messages from 2006 and 2007. my file is only 590kb. but thanks for doing this and making it free and available to all!
on 04 Apr 2007 at 5:43 pm Thor

Hi,

I get a “File Not Found” error when I click on the link to the PHP script. Have you removed the service? Do you know if it’s available elsewhere (either platform independant, or for Mac OS X)?

Cheers,
Thor
on 05 Apr 2007 at 10:50 am Jack

Hi,

I met the same problem as Thor, do you have any comment to us? Thanks.

Rgds,
Jack
on 08 Apr 2007 at 5:06 pm Livy

Restored the sms2csv.php from backup. No idea why it disappeared. Thanks for informing me this.
on 27 Apr 2007 at 12:01 pm Lavinia

I submit file and save csv but it is empty. I’ve tried so many different ways but still nothing shows up–not any information OR any errors…just a blank file. What to do? It sounds like it’s exactly what I’m looking for…!
on 28 Apr 2007 at 5:48 pm Livy

Hi Lavinia,

It could be your Messages Database.pdb file has a different format. Maybe you should try the DOS version at http://mylivy.net/blog/?p=21
on 03 May 2007 at 12:29 am Jim

Any suggestions for the Treo 700w?
on 17 Jul 2007 at 10:42 pm Cobra_cz

Thanks a lot for providing the script and its source!
I lost many hours trying to write my own script (it never worked), and finally I found something which works.
on 24 Jul 2007 at 11:43 am Manish Sharma

Hello Livy,

You are doing a great work !! But unfortunatly this is not working for me. File that I downloaded shows 0 Bytes and doesnt show anything. Mine file size is 792 KB. Pls check and help. Thanks in advance
on 08 Sep 2007 at 8:00 am Is there a solution for Treo 700 W?

PLease email me
on 08 Sep 2007 at 8:01 am Jeff

Is there a solution for the Treo 700W
? email me please
on 10 Sep 2007 at 1:41 am Kamayoq

Fantastic tool… I had been saving texts on my Treo 650 for many months because I could not read them on the PC. Now, all can be read and I can clear my Treo of precious space. Thanks so much for making this available.
on 10 Nov 2007 at 11:33 am crystal

im looking to find a solution for the Treo 700W please email me
on 15 Jan 2008 at 12:53 am Nathan

Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 33554432 bytes exhausted (tried to allocate 16794196 bytes) in /home/httpd/vhosts/mylivy.net/httpdocs/sms2csv/sms2csv.php on line 299

my file size is only 508k??? any suggestions?
on 28 Feb 2008 at 12:43 am Sean

I get the same problem as Nathan. memory exhausted…
on 28 Apr 2008 at 1:41 am Frank

how do you install your php file on a server? i installed it but it just looks like code.

i think my file is too big for your web based version. it only extracts the first 100 msgs. although the file on my hd is only 1.8 megs.

anyway, great little program.

thanks
on 28 Apr 2008 at 1:54 am Frank

ps - my website, server etc, is php enabled… just fyi thx again
on 22 Aug 2008 at 1:56 pm vtwolfpack

Hi. I used this program to convert my SMSs to CSV. Is there a way for them to be converted back to pdb format. I do not want to keep all of them but some I would like to keep so I want to edit the csv file and then convert it back to pdb format. Does anyone know of a program that can do this?
on 08 Oct 2008 at 10:41 am werutzb

Hi!

I would like extend my SQL experience.
I red really many SQL books and want to
get more about SQL for my work as oracle database manager.

What would you recommend?

Thanks,
Werutz
on 08 May 2009 at 8:18 pm thetom

it doesn’t work for me!it gives me back an empty file!
I have a treo 650 and my file is less than 1MB.
also the dos version doesn’t work.

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51 Responses to “sms2csv for Treo 650”

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